Where there is entertainment, do not pour out talk: This continues the thought in the last line, and these two lines may be connected; for example, “and don’t talk during the music or other entertainment” (Contemporary English Version). Other guests may want to enjoy the entertainment more than they want to hear an old man talk.

Do not display your cleverness out of season: You may want to use the occasion of the party to impress people with your wit and wisdom, but it is an inappropriate occasion. Good News Translation does well with “it’s the wrong time to show off your wit,” but Contemporary English Version is simpler with “That is not the right time for clever remarks.”

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.