Do not aim to be valiant over wine, for wine has destroyed many: Aim to be valiant translates a Greek word meaning “be or act like a man.” Good News Translation is good with “prove your manhood.” New Revised Standard Version has “prove your strength,” and Contemporary English Version says “prove you are strong.” But since ben Sira is addressing men, the reference to manhood is appropriate. He is referring to men who are hard drinkers, thinking that the more they can drink the more of real men they are. We may reverse the order of the lines as follows:

• Wine has destroyed many people [or, lives], and heavy drinking is not a good way to prove your manhood.

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.