Do good to a godly man, and you will be repaid: When you show kindness to a godly man (Good News Translation “a devout person”), you will be rewarded in some way. Good News Translation reverses the order of the elements in this line and restructures the clauses. This works well in English, and sounds more natural.

If not by him, certainly by the Most High: The person you are kind to may repay you, but even if he or she is not able to, God will reward you. The Most High refers to God’s supreme majesty, not to his physical size or height (see the comments on 4.10). Good News Translation makes this line, which is a subordinate clause in Greek, into a separate sentence. However, we may reorder the clauses and translate the whole verse in the active voice as follows:

• When you are kind to a godly [or, devout] person, either he or the Lord Most High will repay you [or, do good to you in return].

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.