No thought escapes him: This means that we cannot think anything without the Lord being aware of it. Good News Translation says “He takes notice of our every thought.”

And not one word is hidden from him: We cannot keep the Lord from knowing our thoughts, or hearing our words.

A possible model for this verse is:

• He knows everything we think,
and hears every word we speak.

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.