But they called upon the Lord who is merciful, spreading forth their hands toward him: Spreading forth their hands toward him describes the customary posture of prayer, and is synonymous with called upon the Lord. Good News Translation combines these two lines into “But they prayed to the merciful Lord.”

And the Holy One quickly heard them from heaven: Good News Translation translates this line as a continuation of the previous sentence, saying “the Holy One in heaven, who quickly answered their prayers.” Some translators will wish to combine the Lord who is merciful with the Holy One. For the Holy One, see the comments on 4.14. We suggest the following model for the first three lines: “But they prayed to the merciful and holy [or, pure] Lord in heaven, who quickly answered their prayers.”

And delivered them by the hand of Isaiah: See 2 Kgs 19.14-37. This means that the Lord used Isaiah as a means of saving Jerusalem. Isaiah denounced Assyria and predicted that the Assyrians would fail in their attempt to capture the city. By the hand of is purely idiomatic. Good News Translation shifts the focus slightly with “and sent Isaiah to save them,” but it can serve as a model.

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.