At first reading, verses 29-30 seem to be saying the precise opposite of verses 26-28. There ben Sira warned against people who put up false appearances, but here he seems to be saying that you can tell what people are really like by their outward appearance. But the author did think outward appearance is important, and that it reflects character; see 13.25-26. More than likely he inserts verses 29-30 not to contradict what he has just said, but to put what he has just said in context. Appearances do count, but you have to be able to read them properly. Understanding “body language” is wiser than being automatically distrustful of appearances or naively accepting them. Lying with words is much easier than lying with your laughter or your gestures. It would be like trying to speak with a fake accent. To people who are perceptive, you reveal yourself by your appearance.

A man is known by his appearance: This means that a person’s reputation is at least in part determined by the way the person looks. It is possible, ben Sira says in this line, to know a person’s character by his appearance, if you know what to look for. So we may translate “You can know a person’s character by his appearance.”

And a sensible man is known by his face, when you meet him is literally “and a sensible one is known from a meeting of a face.” This means that a person’s good sense and intelligence are obvious at first glance. Good News Translation says “The first time you look at them, you can tell [know] if they have good sense.” This rendering is not wrong, but it may be a bit weaker than some other approach. It would be better to say “You can recognize people of good sense the first time you see them.”

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.