For they too will pray to the Lord: A literal reading of the Greek would mean that when your recovery depends on doctors, then they will pray. Revised Standard Version is an acceptable model. Good News Translation shifts the focus slightly, but the result is satisfying. “The doctor’s prayer is that…” suggests that what follows represents what doctors customarily pray for. Another possible model is “The doctor will ask the Lord how to….”

That he should grant them success in diagnosis: When a doctor examines a patient and determines what is wrong with the person, he or she is making a diagnosis. As the Revised Standard Version footnote indicates, diagnosis translates the Hebrew (literally “interpretation”). Good News Translation, following New English Bible, takes the Greek (literally “rest”) to refer to relieving pain (see verse 7, where a different expression is used). We prefer Good News Translation.

And in healing, for the sake of preserving life: For the sake of preserving life is redundant; if someone is healed, life is preserved. Good News Translation‘s translation of the verse leaves the idea understood.

Good News Translation‘s approach to the whole verse can be recommended, although New English Bible suggests another way, saying “then they too will pray to the Lord to give them success in relieving pain and finding a cure to save their patient’s life.” Another possible model is:

• The doctor will ask the Lord to make him able to ease his patients’ pain and find cures to save their lives.

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.

I have yet more to say, which I have thought upon: Here ben Sira says that he is not through—he has more ideas he wants to write about. The translator’s task here is to convey the feeling that a pause in the book has been reached, and the writer has stopped to catch his breath. Contemporary English Version has a good model: “I have hardly begun to tell you all the things I want to say.”

And I am filled, like the moon at the full: In English at any rate, a person full of ideas is not likely to be compared to the full moon. It is a peculiar comparison—we feel that the word full is being used in two different senses—and all translations are somewhat forced, including Good News Translation, which strains too hard. In English we can speak of a person being “at the height of his powers,” meaning at that time in his life when he is strongest, or at the point in his career where he is producing or accomplishing the most. Perhaps this is the feeling ben Sira had in writing this. By ancient standards he has already written a good-sized book, but there is so much more he wants to say. Translators will be on their own as to how they can deal in a natural way with this figure of speech, but in English a possible model for the whole verse is:

• But now I want to discuss more of my ideas. I am at the height of my powers now, like the full moon.

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.

Better is the man who hides his folly than the man who hides his wisdom: The meaning of this verse is subtle. Of the two men here, the first one is said to be better, even though he is foolish. He is better because he at least has sense enough to recognize that he is foolish, and tries to hide it. There is no sense at all in hiding wisdom. Wisdom is something to take pride in, something to share. Unlike money, a person can share wisdom without losing any of it himself. Good News Translation is good here, but alternative models that sharpen the point of this verse are:

• A foolish person who covers up his foolishness is better than a wise person who keeps his wisdom to himself

• A foolish person who doesn’t reveal how foolish he is, is better than a wise person who doesn’t teach others his wisdom.

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.

One confirms the good things of the other: The verb “completes” in Good News Translation is inappropriate, since it contradicts the previous line. The idea is that every thing in creation is itself good, and confirms (or reinforces, supports, complements, even echoes) everything else that is good. Another way to translate this line is “Everything says ‘Amen’ [or, ‘Well done’] to the goodness of everything else.”

And who can have enough of beholding his glory?: Good News Translation is good here. Compare New Jerusalem Bible: “Who could ever grow tired of gazing at his glory?” Notice that Good News Translation says “this splendor” rather than “his splendor.” We agree with this. In the Greek text it is not clear that the pronoun here refers to the Lord rather than to creation. But in Hebrew the reference is clearly to the splendor of creation. Here the Greek should be interpreted in light of the Hebrew.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Everything says “Amen” [or, “Well done”] to the goodness of everything else.
Who could ever grow tired or gazing at the splendor [or, beauty] of creation?

The last line is a rhetorical question. In languages that do not have rhetorical questions, this line may be rendered “No one will ever get tired from gazing at the splendor of what has been created [or, what the Lord has created].”

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 the Lord has made all things: The connector For may be omitted since it does not connect this verse with the previous one. Good News Translation “the universe” is a possible translation for all things. Compare 18.1. For this line we could also say “The Lord created everything that exists.”

And to the godly he has granted wisdom may be rendered “It is he that gave devout people [or, people that worship him] the gift of wisdom.” This mention of wise people prepares the reader for the next section, in which ben Sira turns from praising God as he is seen in nature to the praise of some of Israel’s great historical figures.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• The Lord created everything that exists.
It is he who gave [the gift of] wisdom to the people who worship him.

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.

With a holy garment, of gold and blue and purple, the work of an embroiderer: The text does not specify that the holy garment was a “robe” (Good News Translation; it does not render the same Greek word used in verse 8), and it was more likely the “ephod.” Embroidery is the art of sewing designs into cloth. Probably what is meant here is that the ephod or “vest” (Contemporary English Version) was embroidered with designs made with gold, blue, and purple threads as described in Exo 28.6-14. (Exo 28.31 and 39.22 state that the “robe” worn under the ephod was made of only blue cloth.) The ephod was also directly under the “breastpiece” (see the discussion below). Grammatically these two lines are a continuation of the sentence begun in verse 9 and continuing through verse 12. It is best to break the sentence into more manageable units. These two lines may be rendered “The ephod [or, sacred vest] that Aaron wore was decorated with designs sewn with gold, blue, and purple threads” or “They decorated the ephod that Aaron wore with designs that they sewed with gold….”

With the oracle of judgment, Urim and Thummim is literally “with the oracle of judgment, the decider of truth” (so An American Translation). This refers to the “breastpiece” of the priest’s garment, described in Exo 28.15-30. In Exo 28.15 it is referred to as “breastpiece of judgment,” translated in Good News Translation as “breastpiece for the High Priest to use in determining God’s will.” The “breastpiece” was made from a piece of square cloth and formed into a pouch in which were kept the Urim and Thummim. These were two objects, perhaps something like dice; in some way they were used to determine God’s will. See, for example, 1 Sam 14.41; Pro 16.33. There is no reason to use the terms Urim and Thummim here; they are in neither the Greek nor the Hebrew of this verse. For this line we could say “He wore the breastpiece used in determining the Lord’s will,” “… used for getting answers from the Lord,” or even “… used in learning what the Lord wanted the people to do.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• The ephod [or, sacred vest] that Aaron wore was decorated with designs sewn with gold, blue, and purple threads. He also wore the breastpiece used for determining the Lord’s will.

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 verses 16-18, see 1 Sam 7.7-11.

He called upon the Lord, the Mighty One: This is very similar to verse 5a. A possible rendering here is “He prayed to the Mighty Lord.”

When his enemies pressed him on every side: This is exactly the same as verse 5b. As in verse 5, Good News Translation reverses the order of the first two lines to good effect.

And he offered in sacrifice a sucking lamb: A sucking lamb is a lamb (or, baby sheep) that is still sucking its mother’s milk.

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.