For verses 16-18, see 1 Sam 7.7-11.

He called upon the Lord, the Mighty One: This is very similar to verse 5a. A possible rendering here is “He prayed to the Mighty Lord.”

When his enemies pressed him on every side: This is exactly the same as verse 5b. As in verse 5, Good News Translation reverses the order of the first two lines to good effect.

And he offered in sacrifice a sucking lamb: A sucking lamb is a lamb (or, baby sheep) that is still sucking its mother’s milk.

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.