Do nothing without deliberation may be rendered “Think carefully about what you are going to do before you do it.”

And when you have acted, do not regret it: New English Bible says “and afterwards you will have no regrets.” We favor, however, the interpretation in Good News Translation: “and once you have done something, don’t look back and wish you had done something else.” This same interpretation, in a form actually closer to the Greek, is given in a footnote in New Jerusalem Bible: “do not change your mind once you are actually doing something.” This is a good model, but Good News Translation is also acceptable.

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.