Verses 5-6 are a parenthetical remark that interrupts the flow of thought. The medicines brought forth from the earth (verse 4) will be referred back to by a pronoun in verse 7. Translators are strongly urged to place verses 5-6 within parentheses.

Was not water made sweet with a tree: This is a reference to the incident in Exo 15.25. Made sweet refers to bitter water being made “fit to drink” (Good News Translation). It is not clear from Exo 15.25 whether a whole tree or a piece of wood was thrown into the water, and it is not clear from this passage which ben Sira intended. Translators should refer back to their translation of Exo 15.25, and make this reference conform to that one. Good News Translation and New Revised Standard Version slipped here; they both translate “tree” here, but “piece of wood” in Exodus. Contemporary English Version uses “piece of wood” in Exodus and translates this line as “One time even a piece of wood made water fit to drink.”

In order that his power might be known: There is an unfortunate ambiguity here (see the Revised Standard Version footnote). We cannot tell from the Greek whether his power refers to God’s power or to the tree’s power, that is, its abilities to cure. Translations are about equally divided. New Revised Standard Version revised the reference to God’s power in Revised Standard Version so as to refer to the tree’s power; Revised English Bible revised the reference to the tree’s power in New English Bible so as to refer to God’s power. The Hebrew, however, clearly refers to God’s power, and on that basis we would prefer it.

Good News Translation provides a good model for translators who wish to translate this verse as a question, as in Greek. The rhetorical question expects the answer “Yes.” Others may wish to translate it as a statement by saying:

• A piece of wood once made bitter water fit to drink and this showed the Lord’s power.

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.