As the fat is selected from the peace offering, so David was selected from the sons of Israel: The background for the first line is in Lev 3.3-5. Peace offering is customarily translated “fellowship offering” in Good News Translation (see the comments on 35.1). The technical term for this offering is not used in Hebrew here, although it is in Greek. New English Bible and Revised English Bible say simply “sacrifice,” and nothing essential is lost. Our advice is that translators need not worry too much about the precise sacrificial term here. The idea is that in the peace offering, it was a choice portion of the fat that was selected to be burned; so David was the choice portion out of all Israel. It is an obscure comparison that is not likely to mean much to readers. Perhaps translators can work with an approach such as one of the following:

• Just as the priests set aside part of a sacrifice as the finest part, the Lord chose David as the finest man in Israel.

• Just as the priests set aside the finest part of the sacrifices for the Lord, the Lord chose David….

• David belonged to the Lord, just as the fat from sacrifices also belong to him.

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.