And the people besought the Lord Most High in prayer before him who is merciful: The prayers continued until the worship service ended. Besought and in prayer are easily combined; Good News Translation has “kept praying,” and Contemporary English Version says simply “prayed.”

Till the order of worship of the Lord was ended; so they completed his service: These two lines are synonymous. Good News Translation combines them by saying “until the service of worship had come to a close.” Contemporary English Version is similar with “until the ceremonies of worship were finished.” We could even say “until they had finished worshiping the Lord.”

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.