Do not go to meet a loose woman: Do not go to meet means here “Do not get involved with” or “Stay away from.” The Greek phrase rendered loose woman can describe a “prostitute” (New Jerusalem Bible), or more likely in this context, a “mistress.” “Don’t get involved with a woman of loose morals” would pretty well cover the meaning of this line, at least as far as the Greek is concerned. The Hebrew reads “strange woman,” which is idiomatic for a woman not your own wife. This is the basis of Good News Translation‘s translation: “Keep away from other men’s wives.” In this context it is probably better to follow the Greek by saying “Keep away from women of loose morals [or, immoral women].”

Lest you fall into her snares may be rendered “or she will catch you in her traps.” If, however, the metaphor of snares or “traps” will be difficult to translate, we may say “or she will use her beauty to get you under her control.”

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 has removed some of them and destroyed them, and has extinguished the memory of them from the earth is literally “he removed from them and destroyed them and erased from earth their memory.” Extinguished the memory of them from the earth means that people have forgotten they ever existed. Good News Translation provides a good model: “He destroyed some so completely that they are not even remembered any more.” But if translators use the suggested combination of verses 15-16 just above, this verse will need to begin “The Lord has destroyed some nations so completely….” Otherwise, the word “some” in Good News Translation would refer to the “weaker nations” mentioned in that model. And has extinguished the memory of them from the earth may also be expressed as “and no one remembers that those people [or, nations] ever lived.”

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.

Do not wonder at the works of a sinner: Sinful people may seem to accomplish quite a lot, but ben Sira tells us not to wonder at this. This verb could mean several things: (1) “Do not be surprised at what sinners accomplish” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible; similarly Contemporary English Version), (2) “Don’t be jealous of what sinners achieve” (Good News Translation), or (3) “Do not admire the achievements of sinners” (New Jerusalem Bible). The Hebrew is not legible here and gives no help. The Handbook prefers the interpretation of Good News Translation; jealousy seems to be the most natural response of a hard-working honest person to the greater accomplishments of a sinner, and jealousy is something to be warned against. Another way to say this is “Don’t be jealous when sinners are successful.” Yet any of these three approaches make sense, and translators may choose whichever one they wish.

But trust in the Lord and keep at your toil: Ignore what sinners accomplish. Just keep doing what you are supposed to do, and trust the Lord. New Jerusalem Bible interprets keep at your toil to mean “mind your own business,” which fits the context, but we think this clause means “keep working at your job.” Good News Translation “just stick to your own work” hints at New Jerusalem Bible‘s interpretation. We are to do our work, and let the Lord worry about the sinner’s accomplishments. The first two lines in this verse may be expressed as follows:

• Don’t be jealous when sinners are successful, but trust the Lord and keep working at your job.

For it is easy in the sight of the Lord to enrich a poor man quickly and suddenly: For it is easy in the sight of the Lord means “It is very easy for the Lord” (Good News Translation). These two lines may be rendered “If the Lord wants to, he can very easily make a poor person suddenly rich.” The idea is that if you stick to your job and trust the Lord, you might become rich also. Not necessarily, but maybe. Quickly and suddenly are synonyms. The translator may find two nearly synonymous words to translate them, or he may condense them into one word, as Good News Translation has done.

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.

Do not lift a weight beyond your strength: An object too heavy for a person to lift may still be lifted, although not without injury. Ben Sira’s point in the first two lines of this verse is that if you associate with people higher than your own social class you will be hurt. Good News Translation “Don’t try to lift something too heavy for you” does not express correctly the meaning of the Greek here. A better rendering is “Don’t try to lift something that you are not strong enough to lift.”

Nor associate with a man mightier and richer than you: Mightier refers to high social status rather than bodily strength. The author is not saying that we should have no contact at all with “people who are richer and more powerful” (Good News Translation) than we are. He is saying that we should not try to think of ourselves as their social equals and seek out their company. Good News Translation “keep company with” is a modern English equivalent of associate with. An alternative model for this line is “Don’t try to be friends with people who are richer and more powerful than you.”

How can the clay pot associate with the iron kettle?: New English Bible “How can a [clay] jug be friends with a [iron] kettle?” is a good model if translators are sure that readers will understand the irony here, that it will not be heard as ridiculous. Good News Translation envisions an actual situation where the pot and the kettle might be placed beside each other, and frames this rhetorical question as a statement: “You cannot keep a clay pot next to an iron kettle.” The phrases clay pot and iron kettle translate two words in the Greek, designating two everyday ancient objects. Pots and jugs are often made of unbreakable materials today, so readers will probably need to be told that this pot or jug was made of clay, and the kettle was made of iron or some other metal, in order for the next line to make sense.

The pot will strike against it, and will itself be broken: New English Bible expresses the meaning of this line well with “If they knock together, the one [pot] will be smashed.” New Jerusalem Bible is similar with “It [the pot] will only break when they bang against each other.” Perhaps we may say “Sooner or later the pot will hit up against the kettle and break” or “Sooner or later the clay pot will be knocked against the metal kettle and break.” Another possibility for the last two lines of this verse is “You don’t put a clay pot next to an iron kettle, because if one hits the other, the pot will break.”

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.

A greedy man’s eye is not satisfied with a portion: Greedy describes a person who wants everything he can have, who always wants more than he has. Good News Translation combines this line with the preceding one into one sentence, which is possible. “Never satisfied with what he has” (Good News Translation) is okay, but it would be little sharper to say “never satisfied with just a part of anything” or “never satisfied with just his own share of something.” Compare 31.13.

And mean injustice withers the soul: Good News Translation (and New Jerusalem Bible) is translating a conjectural emendation. This is not necessary. The sense of this line in Greek can be adequately represented like this: “This is greedy, it is unjust, and it will dry up the soul.” Withers the soul (Good News Translation “will shrivel up a person’s soul”) is a powerful image. An equivalent image in English is “will suck the life out of a person.”

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.

If you will, you can keep the commandments: This is the center of the section, and we could not hope to find a clearer statement of personal responsibility. The very simplicity of Good News Translation‘s translation accents this: “If you want to, you can keep the Lord’s commands.” Plain language is effective here. There is no reason to think that commandments here refers only to the Ten Commandments. The whole Law is meant. Good News Translation‘s addition of “Lord’s” with “commands” is helpful. Contemporary English Version‘s model for this line is also good: “You are able to obey his Law if you really want to.”

And to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice: The Greek of this line is cryptic. The entire verse reads literally “If you wish, you will keep commandments and faith to do satisfactions.” The key to understanding the second line is the Greek noun for “satisfactions.” It means “good will, pleasure,” and as Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation and other versions understand it, it refers here to our own good will, so that whether or not we keep faith is a matter of our own choice. However, it is now well established that this noun in Jewish literature often refers to God’s will or good pleasure, not our own. The most familiar occurrence of this noun is in the song of the angels at Jesus’ birth (Luke 2.14). In our opinion, the usual interpretation of this line is mistaken. New Jerusalem Bible is on the right track with “and so be faithful to his will.” This is also consistent with the Hebrew text. A model for the verse based on this interpretation is:

• If you [really] want to, you can keep the Lord’s commandments and faithfully do what he wants.

Translators who are reluctant to follow the Handbook’s recommendation here will find a good model of the traditional interpretation in Good News Translation.

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.

After this the Lord looked upon the earth, and filled it with his good things: Having made the heavenly bodies (After this), God turns his attention to the earth. According to the creation account of Genesis, the earth was formed (day three) before the heavenly bodies (day four), but Genesis also has plant life appear on day three (Gen 1.11-13). Ben Sira says nothing specifically about plant life here, but good things seems to imply it even though verse 30 speaks only about creatures or animals. The short phrase After this is rendered “When the Lord had made all this” in Good News Translation. The reason for this is that nothing has been said about God making anything since verse 26. Good News Translation reminds the reader of the sequence of events. Translators who are following Good News Translation in translating this section as poetry may run into trouble here with overly long lines (as indeed Good News Translation has). There is nothing wrong with expanding this verse into three lines if it is helpful. Good News Translation, for instance, could be modified to read:

• When the Lord had made all this [the heavenly bodies],
he turned his attention to the earth,
and filled [or, furnished/provided] it with good things.

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.

It is not possible to diminish or increase them: The idea here is that no one can think of a merciful deed that the Lord has not done or destroy the force of one that he has done. Good News Translation‘s two separate clauses, both in the first person plural, are effective. Contemporary English Version is also helpful with “Nor can we make that number larger or smaller.” Another possible approach is “We cannot possibly make them less merciful or more in number.”

Nor is it possible to trace the wonders of the Lord: The Greek verb translated trace here is the same one rendered “search out” in verse 4. It is best to see this line not as repetitious, but as a summary statement of verses 1-6a. The translator can point the reader in the right direction by translating this line as a separate sentence, as Good News Translation does. In some languages it will be helpful to begin the statement with “To sum up” or “In conclusion”; for example, “In conclusion, it is not possible to understand the marvelous things the Lord has done.”

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.