Good News Translation adds a paragraph break here to separate this verse from the numerical proverb preceding it.

A merchant can hardly keep from wrongdoing, and a tradesman will not be declared innocent of sin: The Greek words translated merchant and tradesman refer to similar kinds of people. The merchant was someone who managed a business and might travel on business. The tradesman was someone who conducted business in a questionable manner, who would be called in English a huckster. Whether ben Sira himself intended such a distinction can be doubted, however, and the Handbook believes the two words can be combined into one with no problem; for example, the whole verse may be rendered:

• It is hard for merchants to avoid doing wrong; they are all guilty of sin.

Contemporary English Version also provides a helpful model:

• It is almost impossible
to succeed in business
and still be honest.

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.