No good will come to the man who persists in evil or to him who does not give alms: No good will come to a the man may also be rendered “You will not be successful [or, receive good things].” The word man here has the sense of “person.” Good News Translation‘s rendering of the Hebrew is misleading here. The Hebrew noun it renders as “righteous act” is frequently used for any charitable act, especially giving alms. So the Greek and Hebrew texts do not differ much here.

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.