In the holy tabernacle I ministered before him: The holy tabernacle (Good News Translation “the Sacred Tent”) refers to the tent described in Exo 26, which served as a place for the Israelites to worship until Solomon built the Temple. Translators should check how they translated tabernacle in Exodus and Leviticus. Holy means it belongs to God, so holy tabernacle may be rendered “his tent.” Another possible model for this line is “I served him [the Lord] in his Tent.”

And so I was established in Zion: So here means “in this way.” This line means that just as Wisdom had served God in the Tabernacle, she settled down to serve him in the Temple (Zion), when it was established. Good News Translation specifies that Zion is a mountain, “Mount Zion.” While in this verse it is a reference to the Jerusalem Temple, it also may refer to Jerusalem itself, and so leads into the next verse. An alternative model for this line is “In this way I also served him in the Temple on Mount Zion.”

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.