Translators presenting this section as poetry would do well to put a space between verses 7 and 8, to indicate the development of a new thought. Those translating it as prose should put a paragraph break here.

Then the Creator of all things gave me a commandment: Wisdom walked over all the creation (verse 5) and claimed it as her own (verse 7), but God was the Creator of all things, and God can tell Wisdom what to do. The commandment does not refer to anything in Scripture; it is simply a reference to God telling Wisdom where she should settle down.

And the one who created me assigned a place for my tent: According to Pro 8.22-23, God created Wisdom before beginning work on the universe. My tent refers to Wisdom’s home. In cultures where people normally live in tents, translators may use Revised Standard Version as a model for this line, or they may say “my Creator told me where to set up my tent.”

Good News Translation restructures these first two lines of this verse so that the two references to creation are in the first line, and the two references to God’s direction are in the second line. This works well, although the order of the first line could be “Then the Creator of the universe, who also created me.” Good News Translation‘s second line, “told me where I was to live,” combines gave me a commandment and assigned a place for my tent.

And he said, ‘Make your dwelling in Jacob, and in Israel receive your inheritance’: Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation put single quotation marks around God’s speech here to indicate that it is a quotation within the larger quotation of Wisdom’s speech (verses 3-22).

Good News Translation has done well with the last two lines of this verse. Placing “he said” at the end of the third line is good English style, but in a number of languages this clause will be placed at the beginning of the line, as in the Greek text. Translators should use whatever word order is the preferred style or even required by the grammar in their language. Good News Translation has reversed Jacob and Israel in order to put the better known, Israel, first; they refer to the same group of people. Since most readers of the Bible will identify Israel as a country, but Jacob as a person, Good News Translation refers to “The descendants of Jacob.” “Will be your people” is a good way to express receive your inheritance. Another model for these two lines keeping the original order is “He said, ‘Make your home among the descendants of Jacob in the country [or, land] of Israel.’ ”

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.