All their works are as the sun before him, and his eyes are continually upon their ways: The author is again speaking about people in general, not just Israel. Compare verse 15; 39.19-20. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version reverse the lines of this verse since the second line is a more general statement that clarifies the meaning of the first line. It is better to let the plainer statement prepare the reader for the more difficult one. Good News Translation begins well with “The Lord is always watching what people do,” which is emphasized in its next statement. “Clear as day to him” (Good News Translation) is a common English idiom that expresses nicely the meaning of the phrase as the sun before him. However, translators may find the following rendering a better model for the second line: “Everything they do is as clear to him as sunlight [or, daylight].” Another possibility is “He can see everything we do as clearly as we see the sun” (similarly Contemporary English Version).

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.