A man of no understanding has vain and false hopes: A man of no understanding may be translated “Foolish people” (Good News Translation) or even “ignorant people” (Contemporary English Version). Vain and false hopes are things that someone hopes for, but that have no chance of coming to pass. In some languages it will be necessary to make this clear; for example, the whole line may be rendered “Ignorant [or, Foolish] people are always hoping for things that will never happen, and so deceive themselves.” Only foolish people take such things seriously. Good News Translation expresses the idea of the Greek word translated false with the verb “are deceived.”

And dreams give wings to fools: Here dreams refers to literal dreams that come during sleep, not to hopes or aspirations. Rather than find a synonym for “Foolish people,” Good News Translation translates fools with the pronoun “them.” Dreams give wings to fools means that fools allow dreams to give them vain and false hopes. Good News Translation says “dreams get them all excited.” This is idiomatic English, in which “all excited” does not mean “all fools excited,” but simply “very excited.” We may also say “Dreams lead them to be even more stupid [or, foolish].”

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.