To son or wife, to brother or friend, do not give power over yourself, as long as you live: Most translators will probably feel more comfortable reversing the two halves of this sentence, as in Good News Translation. Good News Translation may be revised slightly to say “Never, as long as you live, give anyone else power to make decisions for you—whether….”

And do not give your property to another, lest you change your mind and must ask for it: The Greek word rendered property refers to belongings of any kind; it does not refer specifically to real estate. An American Translation translates “money,” which is certainly possible, but again, overly specific. A general term such as “belongings” is appropriate, or we can reword the third line, saying “Do not give away what is yours to anyone.” It would be possible to tie this into the previous line by saying “Do not give any of them [son, wife, brother, friend] what is yours.” Ben Sira is not advising against generosity; he is talking about an old person exercising due caution about prematurely giving away assets he may need to live on later.

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.