He who seeks the law will be filled with it: Good News Translation correctly expresses the meaning of seeks the law and be filled with it by saying “Study his Law, and you will master it.” To seek it is to study it, and to be filled with it is to learn it well, to “master it.” But we may even say “If you sincerely study God’s Law, you will master it.”

But the hypocrite will stumble at it: The hypocrite in this context is someone who makes a pious show of studying the Law, but is not really interested. He is “insincere” (Good News Translation). Good News Translation joins this line effectively with the previous one by saying “unless you are insincere about it, in which case you will fail.” This is worth following, though it can be sharpened and simplified as follows: “unless you do not take it seriously. Then you will fail.” Another approach is a new sentence: “But if you do not take it seriously, you will fail.”

An alternative model for the whole verse is:

• If you sincerely study God’s Law, you will master it. But if you do not take it seriously [or, are not serious about it], you will fail.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Sirach. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.