Without them a city cannot be established: New Revised Standard Version is better with “Without them no city can be inhabited.” But since a city by definition is inhabited, Good News Translation says it all with “Without such people there could be no cities.”

And men can neither sojourn nor live there: New Revised Standard Version and New American Bible prefer to follow the Syriac here; New Revised Standard Version has “and wherever they live, they will not grow hungry.” This makes sense, and if the Greek is wrong, the error can be explained. However, the Handbook is comfortable with the Greek. New English Bible translates “no settlers or travellers would come to it.” This may be better than Good News Translation, which somehow sounds too modern.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Without such people there would be no cities; no one would want to live in such a place, or even visit there.

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.