The sun looks down on everything with its light is literally “The sun, shining, looks down on everything.” The figure of the sun looking down is a simple one, but many translators will be more comfortable with Good News Translation‘s rewording: “The light of the sun shines down on everything.”

And the work of the Lord is full of his glory: Good News Translation says “and everything is filled with the Lord’s glory,” but a better rendering is “and everything the Lord has made is filled with his glory.” The second line gives the result of the first one, so the two lines may be combined as follows:

• When the sun shines down on the earth,
the Lord’s brightness [or, glory] can be seen everywhere.

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.