He who returns a kindness offers fine flour: For He who returns a kindness, Contemporary English Version has “Showing kindness to someone who has been kind to you.” Fine flour is rendered “grain offering” by Good News Translation; see Lev 2 for a description of this offering. In Good News Translation this line is rendered “Returning a kindness is like a grain offering,” but we may also say “Showing kindness to someone who has been kind to you is like offering the finest flour [or, grain] to the Lord.” In cultures that do not have a generic word for “grain” or a word for “flour,” translators may say “Showing kindness to someone who has been kind to you is like giving them rich [or, the best] food.”

And he who gives alms sacrifices a thank offering: For gives alms, see 7.10. Good News Translation‘s equivalent to thank offering is “thanksgiving offering.” The thank offering was a type of fellowship offering; see Lev 7.12-15. An alternative model for this line is “and giving to the poor is like offering a sacrifice to express thanks to the Lord [or, to show him that you are grateful].”

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.