My son: This is a good point for a paragraph or stanza break (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation). There is a change in tone. The writer has been talking about misers for several verses, and has said some harsh things. It is almost as if he has been so carried away with his condemnation of stinginess that he has forgotten about his reader. Here he pauses, collects himself, and quietly speaks directly to his reader. If he were speaking, he would probably reach out and place his hand on the young man’s shoulder. For comments on My son, see 2.1.

Treat yourself well, according to your means: According to your means translates a very awkward phrase in Greek, but its meaning is clear enough. This whole clause may be rendered “treat yourself as well as you can afford to” or “Be good to yourself according to what you have” (Contemporary English Version).

And present worthy offerings to the Lord: The Hebrew text of this line substantially repeats the thought of the first one, but with a highly idiomatic expression that the Greek translator probably misunderstood. Several translations prefer to read the Hebrew here (for example, New American Bible), but we suggest staying with the Greek. It is simple enough, but since the thought of the line interrupts the context, the translator may want to consider setting it off by rendering the whole verse as “My child, treat yourself as well as you can afford to—but bring worthy offerings to the Lord” or “… bring the kind of offerings to the Lord that he deserves.”

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.