Good News Translation‘s paragraph break here is appropriate.
All men are from the ground, and Adam was created of the dust: In Hebrew these two lines say the same thing. The Hebrew word ʾadam is used, which means “humanity,” and ben Sira probably meant it in that sense rather than referring to the person Adam of Genesis. However, the Greek text chose to translate by the proper name Adam, and the Handbook suggests that translators do so also. Ground and dust are synonyms; they may be translated by one term if convenient. Good News Translation is good, but for this verse we could also say “Every human being, even Adam himself, has been made from earth,” “Every human being from Adam on has been made from earth,” “The Lord made every human being from Adam on from earth [or, soil],” or even “The Lord used soil to make every human being from Adam on.” We suggest joining this verse to the next one in one sentence.
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.
