Like a tempest which no man can see, so most of his works are concealed: The Greek of this verse is obscure. An American Translation offers as reasonable a literal translation as is possible: “There are hurricanes which no man sees, And the most of his doings are done in secret.” The skeptic is saying that God’s actions are far removed from human activity. Storms occur in areas where no human being lives; most of what God does is just as remote from us. One possible model here is:

• Most of what the Lord does is far away from us; it is like a storm that occurs where no one lives.

It would be appropriate to add the following footnote: “The Greek of this verse is unclear.”

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.