A man honored in poverty, how much more in wealth!: Good News Translation “think how much he will be honored…” is an English idiom. Another approach for this whole line is “If someone is honored while he is poor, he will be honored even more if he becomes rich” or “If people honor a person while he is poor, they will respect him even more if he becomes rich.”

And a man dishonored in wealth, how much more in poverty!: This line may be rendered like the suggested models for the first line by saying “If someone is despised while he is rich, he will be despised even more if he becomes poor” or “If people despise a person when he is rich, they will despise him even more when he becomes poor.”

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.