Rich experience is the crown of the aged: To speak of a person’s crown is to speak of that which gives the person dignity and nobility, and does so in an attractive manner. Rich experience (Good News Translation “long experience”) dignifies the elderly; it is a good thing, and no one but the elderly have lived long enough to have it. Good News Translation preserves the metaphor of the crown. However, for this line we may also say “The long experience of elderly people is like a crown.”

And their boast is the fear of the Lord: This means that the fear or reverence of the Lord is the legitimate boast of the elderly (obviously, some old people are not religious). As Good News Translation puts it, “and they can boast of nothing finer than their fear of the Lord.” The fear of the Lord refers to reverence for the Lord and obedience to him.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• The long experience of elderly people is like a crown, and people like this can boast that they have reverence for the Lord.

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.