Then all the people together made haste and fell to the ground upon their faces: Good News Translation leaves out together. This could be included by saying “Then the people, all together, immediately….” Fell to the ground means that they intentionally went to the ground. Good News Translation says “bowed down with their faces to the ground,” which is a physical impossibility for most humans. A better model for these two lines is “Immediately, all the people prostrated themselves [or, lay flat] with their faces touching the ground.”

To worship their Lord, the Almighty, God Most High may be rendered “to worship their Lord, the most powerful God who is above everything.”

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.