Flee from sin as from a snake is literally “As from the face [presence] of a snake flee from sin.” Flee indicates the vigor and certainty with which we should avoid sin, not that we should literally run. When you encounter a poisonous snake, you want to get away from it just as quickly as possible. We should treat sin the same way. In a number of languages it will be difficult to compare sin to a snake, or even to personify sin. In such cases the line may be rendered “Avoid sinning [or, disobeying the Lord’s Law] just as you avoid [or, flee from] a snake.”

For if you approach sin, it will bite you: Presumably the image here is of being bitten by the snake. Good News Translation‘s restructuring of this verse transfers the image of the bite to the lion, but the meaning of the verse is still clear, and the restructuring is effective.

Its teeth are lion’s teeth, and destroy the souls of men: The idea of sinking teeth into the soul is vivid and understandable in English, but it may be difficult in some languages. The phrase destroy the souls of men means “kill people, take the lives of people.” For lion see 4.30.

We may also restructure this verse in the following ways:

• Sin is like a deadly snake; its fangs are like a lion’s teeth. Stay away! If you come close, it will bite you.

• Avoid sinning just as you would [avoid] a snake. Sin is like a snake. Its fangs are like a lion’s teeth, and if you come too close, it will kill you.

• Avoid sinning [or, disobeying the Lord] just as you avoid a snake. If not, it will bite you as a lion does, and kill you.

• Flee from sin as though it were a snake; if you get too close, it will bite you. And the teeth of sin are like those of a lion; they can kill.

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.