Therefore the Lord assured him by an oath that the nations would be blessed through his posterity: Therefore (“And so” in Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) implies that since Abraham was found faithful, the Lord made him this “solemn promise” (Good News Translation). The Lord is literally “he,” but Revised Standard Version spells out the pronoun for clarity. The nations refers to nations other than Israel. Good News Translation “the world” is a good equivalent. Other possibilities are “the people of all nations” and “all the people of the world.” Posterity refers to “descendants.” That the nations would be blessed through his posterity may be rendered “that his descendants would bring great benefits to all the people of the world.”

That he would multiply him like the dust of the earth: This is a second part of the “solemn promise.” The Lord promises that Abraham will have so many descendants that one could no more count them than one could count particles of dust. So we may translate “that their number would be countless, like the dust of the earth” (Good News Translation) or “They would be more numerous than specks of dust on the earth.” (Some translators may find the image “grains of sand” more appropriate than dust; see Gen 22.17.)

And exalt his posterity like the stars: This is a third part of the “solemn promise.” To exalt is literally to elevate; the figure here says that God will raise Abraham’s descendants as high as the stars. This is very difficult in English, and Good News Translation abandons the simile and simply states the meaning: “that they would be honored more than any other people on earth.”

And cause them to inherit from sea to sea: This is a fourth part of the “solemn promise.” God promises Abraham that his descendants will have (inherit) a land of their own. We cannot be certain exactly what is meant by from sea to sea. In Exo 23.31 there are more specific references: “from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines” (New Revised Standard Version), which Good News Translation translates “from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Mediterranean Sea.” See also Deut 11.24; Josh 1.4. Our passage here more closely resembles Psa 72.8 and Zech 9.10, where a vague “from sea to sea” may serve simply to express the greatness of Israel in an exaggerated figure of speech. For the whole line Good News Translation has “and that their land would extend from sea to sea,” and Contemporary English Version says “and they would be given land from sea to sea.” We might also express this as “and he [the Lord] would give them land that would extend from sea to sea.”

And from the River to the ends of the earth: The River in the Old Testament usually means the Euphrates River (in modern Iraq). The ends of the earth (literally “the end of the earth”) may simply refer to the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, where the land of Israel ended. There is really no evidence that the promise to Abraham was ever understood as meaning the whole world. If ben Sira were pressed here, he would probably say that this passage refers to the territory from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and eastward as far as the Euphrates River. Trying to be this precise in translation, however, may miss the real effect of the author’s sweeping exaggeration.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• And so, the Lord assured Abraham with a strong [or, solemn] promise that his descendants would be a blessing [or, bring great benefits] to all the people of the world; that they would be more numerous than the particles of dust on the earth; that they would be more honored [or, receive more honor] than any other people on earth; and that he [the Lord] would give them land that would extend from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.

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.

He called upon the Most High, the Mighty One: Instead of called upon, Good News Translation has “prayed to” since calling on God means praying. Good News Translation combines the divine titles here into one phrase: “the mighty Lord Most High.” An American Translation has “the Most High Ruler,” which is a more literal translation than Revised Standard Version. For the Most High, see 4.10. An alternative model for this line is “He prayed to the Mighty One in heaven.”

When enemies pressed him on every side: Good News Translation reverses the order of the lines in this verse to good effect. It puts the events in logical order: first the enemies’ attack, then the prayer. “Threatening” is a good equivalent to pressed.

The last half of this verse in Good News Translation (“and his prayer was answered…”) should begin the next verse. It has verse number 6 in the wrong place.

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.

For your songs and proverbs and parables, and for your interpretations, the countries marveled at you: Parables are “stories that teach” or “stories with a hidden meaning.” Some languages make wide use of such stories for teaching purposes, but in other cultures proverbs and parables may come under the heading of “wise sayings.” Your interpretations probably refers to 1 Kgs 10.1-3, in which case a good translation of it would be “the answers you gave to questions.” The countries means “Nations around the world” (Good News Translation). Alternative models for this verse are:

• Your songs, proverbs [or, wise sayings], stories with a hidden meaning, and the answers you gave to questions amazed many nations.

• The people of many nations were amazed by your songs….

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.

The first line of this verse logically belongs with verse 25. Consequently Good News Translation has reversed the order of the lines. Translators should follow this. We will discuss them in reverse order.

And comforted those who mourned in Zion: Here Zion is Jerusalem. For this line Good News Translation has “He comforted the mourners in Jerusalem.” We may also translate “He comforted those in Jerusalem who were sorrowing.”

By the spirit of might he saw the last things: By the spirit of might is literally “By a spirit of might.” New Revised Standard Version says “By his dauntless spirit,” which is the sense followed by Good News Translation. Good News Translation renders the last things as “the future.” We could translate this line as “The Lord’s spirit gave him the power to look into the future.”

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.

He reached out his hand to the cup and poured a libation of the blood of the grape: When the High Priest reached for the cup, one of the other priests would have handed it to him. Some translators may wish to make this clear; for example, the first line may be rendered “he reached for a cup that an assistant handed to him.” Libation refers to a drink offering; Good News Translation has moved this idea to a point later in the verse. Blood of the grape refers to wine (see 39.26). Good News Translation describes the wine as “sweet-smelling,” bringing this idea up from the last line of the verse. See Num 15.5-7; 28.7. But it is also possible to describe the wine as “blood-red” (Contemporary English Version) and begin this verse by saying “he reached for a cup of bloodred wine which an assistant handed him, and poured….”

He poured it out at the foot of the altar: The wine was not poured on the altar itself, but at its foot; The Mishnah says that the High Priest stooped to pour it out (Tamid 7.3).

A pleasing odor to the Most High, the King of all may be rendered “as a pleasant-smelling offering to the Lord Most High, the King of all [or, the One who rules over everything].” One Greek word is translated King of all. It is used nowhere else in Scripture.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• he reached for a cup of blood-red wine which an assistant handed him. Then he poured it out at the foot of the altar as a pleasant-smelling offering to the Lord Most High, the King of all [or, the One who rules over 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.

My soul grappled with wisdom: Good News Translation‘s rendering here does not mean “I fought on behalf of Wisdom” but “I fought to obtain Wisdom.” Another possible model is “I struggled hard to become wise.”

And in my conduct I was strict: Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation appear to give a straightforward translation of the Greek text. New Jerusalem Bible, however, sees a textual problem here and translates “I have been scrupulous in keeping the Law” (similarly An American Translation, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, La Bible Pléiade). The word “Law” is only a conjecture; although it is adopted by both Rahlfs and Ziegler, it appears in no Greek manuscript. (But compare 19.20. The difference in Greek is only the presence or absence of two letters. The Hebrew text is altogether different.) We prefer to stay with the Greek text, following Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. We do not believe the Greek is unusual enough to merit a note saying the meaning of the Greek is unclear.

I spread out my hands to the heavens, and lamented my ignorance of her: Spreading out one’s hands toward heaven was a traditional posture of prayer. Good News Translation “When I prayed” expresses the meaning adequately. The last line indicates that in prayer, the author confessed to God how lacking in wisdom he was. Good News Translation has good idiomatic English here, but it will be difficult as a model for many languages. Perhaps we could say “and said to the Lord, ‘I am sorry I know so little of Wisdom.’ ” For the last two lines we could translate “When I prayed, I would sadly admit to the Lord how little wisdom I had.”

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.

The fear of the Lord delights the heart: This means that revering the Lord makes a person happy. Good News Translation varies its vocabulary by translating fear as “honor” in this verse, and restructures the sentence by saying that honoring the Lord “is a heartfelt delight.” We may also render this as “If you revere the Lord, your heart will be filled with joy [or, delight].”

And gives gladness and joy and long life: The Greek word for gladness is the same as the one used in verse 11. The Greek word translated long life has to do with length of earthly life, not eternal life. Good News Translation has combined gladness and joy in the clause “it will give you a long and happy life,” which it connects with verse 13 as part of the same sentence. We may reorder the elements of the verse, moving long life to the beginning of the verse as follows:

• And if you fear him, your life will be long,
and your heart will be always filled with joy.

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.