There is a cleverness which is scrupulous but unjust: The two lines of this verse are closely parallel to the two lines of verse 23. A cleverness which is scrupulous describes a high degree of cleverness; a scrupulous person is precise, meticulous, careful. It is ordinarily a good quality to be scrupulous, especially when joined to cleverness or skill. But ben Sira warns us that it does not guarantee honesty. Good News Translation shifts from the abstract notion of cleverness to talk of a “clever” person. Good News Translation “marvelously clever” (Contemporary English Version “highly skilled”) translates a cleverness which is scrupulous. A “marvelously clever” person can still be unjust or “dishonest” (Good News Translation). This whole line may also be rendered “Some people are highly skilled at being dishonest,” “You may be a highly skilled [or, marvelously clever] person, but still dishonest,” “You can be a dishonest person even if you are very clever,” or “A person can be dishonest and clever at the same time.”

And there are people who distort kindness to gain a verdict: There is an ambiguity in the Greek grammar here which results in translations following two different directions. The Greek word charin in this line may be interpreted as a noun, the direct object of the verb distort. If so, it means kindness, “favor,” or something similar. It is possible, however, for this same word to be translated “for the sake of,” “in order to.” If this is done, the verb translated distort has no direct object, and means “act in a perverse or deceptive way.” Authorities are about equally divided on the matter. We favor the first possibility (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation); the solution lies in seeing how this line parallels the first one. Kindness, like cleverness, is a good thing, but both can be misused to get what we want dishonestly. It is not a question of misusing someone else’s kindness to us, but of our showing “kindness” to others for deceptive means. Good News Translation sees the misuse of kindness as “being absurdly polite.” While this is possible, something more general would be better; for example, “deceiving people with kindness.” To gain a verdict may refer to an actual decision by a judge, but not necessarily. The verdict or “judgment” may simply refer to getting another person to decide something in your favor, that is, “to get what you want” (Good News Translation).

An alternative model for this verse is:

• You may be a marvelously clever person, but still be dishonest. Or you may use kindness to deceive people and get what you want.

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.