Nations will declare his wisdom, and the congregation will proclaim his praise: Nations refers to the “Gentiles” (Good News Translation), the non-Jewish peoples; by contrast, the congregation refers to a Jewish assembly. In fact, it probably refers figuratively to “the congregation of Israel” often spoken of in the Old Testament, as if all of Israel were gathered in one place. It would be proper to translate it so, and we could reverse the two lines for effect as follows:

• The Jewish people will always speak of him with respect, and the Gentiles will talk about his wisdom.

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.