Of the law of the Most High and his covenant: The Most High refers to God in his majesty, not to his size or height (see 4.10). For covenant see the comments on 17.12. An alternative model for this line is “For example, don’t be ashamed of obeying the Law of the Lord Most High, and following his covenant [or, agreement] with his people.”

And of rendering judgment to acquit the ungodly: This may mean either of two things. (1) You should render a fair judgment even in a case where an ungodly person happens to be in the right. (2) The ungodly are foreigners, and you should judge them just as fairly as you would judge a fellow Jew. We believe Good News Translation is correct in following the first option. A possible rendering is “Or if you are judging a godless person [or, a person who doesn’t worship the Lord], and you declare him innocent because you believe it’s true.”

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.