After this the Lord looked upon the earth, and filled it with his good things: Having made the heavenly bodies (After this), God turns his attention to the earth. According to the creation account of Genesis, the earth was formed (day three) before the heavenly bodies (day four), but Genesis also has plant life appear on day three (Gen 1.11-13). Ben Sira says nothing specifically about plant life here, but good things seems to imply it even though verse 30 speaks only about creatures or animals. The short phrase After this is rendered “When the Lord had made all this” in Good News Translation. The reason for this is that nothing has been said about God making anything since verse 26. Good News Translation reminds the reader of the sequence of events. Translators who are following Good News Translation in translating this section as poetry may run into trouble here with overly long lines (as indeed Good News Translation has). There is nothing wrong with expanding this verse into three lines if it is helpful. Good News Translation, for instance, could be modified to read:

• When the Lord had made all this [the heavenly bodies],
he turned his attention to the earth,
and filled [or, furnished/provided] it with good things.

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.