For when a man is dead, he will inherit creeping things, and wild beasts, and worms: Man here has the sense of “person.” Inherit here means to “come into possession of.” Whatever the king may have owned in his lifetime, when he dies, all he will “own” are the living creatures that will consume his body. The precise biological identities of these creatures are less important than their function. Good News Translation lacks the idea of wild beasts, which includes animals such as hyenas that feed on dead bodies. Translators may use terms for whatever creatures in their own localities that are seen feeding on the bodies of dead animals. This is not supposed to be a pretty verse. An alternative model is:

• Then after we have died, wild animals, maggots, and worms will eat our bodies.

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.