The vision of dreams is this against that, the likeness of a face confronting a face: The word “mirror” (Good News Translation) does not appear in the Greek text, but it is clearly implied. Good News Translation expresses the meaning of this verse well with “What you see in a dream is no more real than the reflection of your face in a mirror.”

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.