Whatever is from the dust returns to dust: The Greek of this line is almost identical with that of 40.11a (see the comments there). Good News Translation here reads the Hebrew; we recommend that translators follow Revised Standard Version in translating the Greek text. So we may translate “Everything that comes from the earth goes back to the earth” or “The Lord created all living things from the soil and they will all go back to it.”

So the ungodly go from curse to destruction: The curse (verse 9) is experienced in this life, at the end of which the ungodly meet destruction; they never amount to anything. This line may be rendered “Cursed while they live, the ungodly will be destroyed.” Another model is “So it is with those who do not revere the Lord; they live under the Lord’s curse, and at the end he destroys them.”

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.