What fellowship has a wolf with a lamb? No more has a sinner with a godly man: The word for fellowship is a verb in Greek, and it is the same verb translated “associate[s]” in verses 1 and 2 (twice in verse 2). Many societies are familiar with the wolf. But where it is unknown, translators may say “wild dog” or even “jackal.” New Revised Standard Version has a good translation for the first line here: “What does a wolf have in common with a lamb?” This is of course a rhetorical question, and can be expressed as a statement; for example, “A wolf has nothing in common with a lamb” or “Wolves have nothing in common with lambs.” The full sense of this verse is “What do wolves and lambs have in common? Nothing. That’s what sinners have in common with devout people—nothing.” Good News Translation takes the two lines and makes them into a single statement. We may also combine the lines as follows:

• Sinners and people who revere God are as different as wolves and lambs.

In cultures where wolves and lambs are unknown, we may say:

• Sinners and people who revere God are as different as wild animals and tame animals.

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.