He made for them tongue and eyes; he gave them ears and a mind for thinking: The Greek of this verse reads “Discernment and tongue and eyes, ears and heart he gave them for thinking.” He made for them, which Revised Standard Version in its footnote attributes to the Syriac, can be attributed also to the Hebrew as reconstructed from the Greek (there is no Hebrew text for this verse). Scholars differ as to whether this alteration of the text is necessary. New Revised Standard Version and New English Bible read the Greek text. (Oddly, Revised English Bible reads an emended text, with Revised Standard Version.) Good News Translation appears to read the Greek, assuming that “minds” compresses the thought of a mind for thinking in the second line. We recommend following the Greek as does Good News Translation (also Contemporary English Version). In our judgment the Greek noun for “Discernment” is used in the same sense that it has in 15.14, where Revised Standard Version renders it “inclination.” Refer to the comments there. Mind is literally “heart,” which to the Hebrews was the organ of thinking. “Mind,” “head,” and “brains” are English equivalents.

We offer the following renderings as models for this verse:

• He gave them their tongues, eyes, and ears;
he gave them brains with which to think,
and allowed them to make their own decisions.

• He gave us [or, them] tongues for speaking, eyes for seeing, and ears for hearing.
He also gave us [or, them] brains with which to think,
and allowed us [or, them] to make our [or, their] own decisions.

The last line of these models is an expanded translation of the Greek word for “Discernment,” in keeping with the use of this word in 15.14. It is moved from first place in the verse to last for two reasons. (1) It fits the logical progression. A person transmits and receives information with his tongue, eyes, and ears; then thinks the information through; and then makes decisions. Box and Oesterley are so impressed with the illogical order of the Greek that they follow the Syriac and reverse verses 6 and 7. We modestly suggest that our proposal is better. (2) It makes for a better tie with the next verse.

New English Bible provides an excellent alternative from the same perspective:

• He gave men tongue and eyes and ears,
the power of choice and a mind for thinking.

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.