He marshals the host of the height of heaven: The image here is that of a military officer reviewing his troops (Luís Alonso Schökel “God has the heavenly army pass in review”). The officer is the Lord (which needs to be made clear in translation), and the troops (the host of the height of heaven) probably are the sun and the stars. The Greek verb rendered marshals literally means “look out over” (Good News Translation), but it also implies “have control of.” Good News Translation provides a good model for this line, but we could also say “The Lord has authority over all the stars in the sky.”

But all men are dust and ashes: This line provides a stark contrast between the Lord and human beings (all men). Good News Translation accents the contrast by reducing “human beings” to a question so abbreviated as to suggest that they are of no consequence: “Human beings?” It follows this question with a short sentence that just sweeps them out of the way: “They are dust and ashes.” An alternative model for this line is “But human beings are nothing more than dust and ashes.”

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.