Better is the man who hides his folly than the man who hides his wisdom: The form of this verse may prove misleading; it seems at first to suggest that both items are bad, but one is worse than the other (compare verse 25). Here, however, the first item is good (the man who hides his folly) and the second one is bad (the man who hides his wisdom). A more drastic restructuring than even Good News Translation offers may be called for by rendering this verse in one of the following ways:

• It’s all right to hide your foolishness, but don’t hide your wisdom.

• If you do something foolish, try not to call attention to it, but don’t be shy about using your wisdom.

• Hide your foolishness, but don’t hide your wisdom.

At the close of this verse Revised Standard Version, but not Good News Translation, has a footnote containing verse 32. This additional verse is found in only one manuscript. We prefer to ignore it, and suggest that translators do the same.

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.