Every product decays and ceases to exist: Every product refers to anything people make, “Everything made by human hands” (Good News Translation). Not all such things actually “decay” (Good News Translation), of course. Some rust, some wear away, but all lose their usefulness through age and use. There is no one word in English to cover all the possibilities, but if translators can find one, they should use it. Ceases to exist is a better rendering than “perish” (Good News Translation), since in English the word “perish” is usually used of organic matter that loses its usefulness rather quickly. An American Translation translates “disappear,” which is good if it does not suggest something suddenly vanishing.

And the man who made it will pass away with it: This line says that the human producer is no more permanent than his products. Good News Translation translates it “along with the person who made it.” Another possible rendering is “and so will the person who made it.”

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.