A wooden beam firmly bonded into a building will not be torn loose by an earthquake: A wooden beam is a long piece of heavy timber, usually squared, that is stout enough to support heavy weight in a building. It gives a building strength and sturdiness. A well-constructed building, ben Sira says, will have the beams so tightly and snugly worked into the structure that it can withstand the shock of an earthquake. Contemporary English Version‘s model for these two lines is a helpful one:

• An earthquake cannot loosen
a wooden beam set firmly
in the walls of a building.

So the mind firmly fixed on a reasonable counsel will not be afraid in a crisis: Just as a house built with strong, firmly fixed beams will not fall in an earthquake, so a mind strengthened with reasonable counsel (Good News Translation “reason and good sense”) will not panic in an emergency. In a crisis is literally “in a time,” but it clearly means “in a time of crisis.” Good News Translation “trained to use” corresponds to firmly fixed on, but it is a radical shifting of focus. Perhaps a better model for these two lines is “A person whose judgment is supported by reason and good sense will not panic in an emergency.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Just as an earthquake cannot loosen a wooden beam set firmly in the walls of a building, so a person whose judgment is supported by reason and good sense will not panic in an emergency.

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.