Till he repays man according to his deeds, and the works of men according to their devices: These two lines provide a transition from Israel’s enemies (verse 18) to Israel herself (verse 19cd). The author expects God to give all humanity what it deserves. We do not recommend following Good News Translation in casting these lines in the first person. The author is speaking here of Israel among the nations of the world. In the next two lines he will focus on Israel, the Lord’s people. New English Bible says “until he gives all men their deserts, judging their actions by their intentions.”

Till he judges the case of his people is literally “until he judges the judgment of his people.” This may be rendered “until he judges in favor of his people.” (This line begins verse 25 in Ziegler’s Greek text.)

And makes them rejoice in his mercy: Alone among the nations, Israel receives mercy from God the judge. When this is done, their despair is turned into joy, the bitterness of verse 15 becomes joy. It should be noted, however, that instead of rejoice in his mercy, the Hebrew reads “rejoice in his salvation.” This is an almost exact quote of the phrase in Isa 25.9, and it sounds like a deliberate reference to it. We would suggest following the lead of the Hebrew here. It is a legitimate case of interpreting the Greek in the light of the Hebrew, so that no textual footnote is necessary. See the model below.

Since verse 18c, there have been four long clauses beginning with till. We suggest that a new sentence begin with verse 19, repeating the main verb. The following is a suggested model for verses 18-19:

• And the Lord will act quickly. Like a brave soldier in battle, * he will not rest until he has taken vengeance on Israel’s arrogant enemies, until he has crushed their cruel power, broken their evil authority, and removed them entirely. He will not rest until he has repaid all humanity for what their thoughts and actions deserve. Then he will judge his own people, save them, and give them happiness.
* Hebrew Like a brave soldier in battle; Greek does not have these words.

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.