If a man does evil, it will roll back upon him, and he will not know where it came from: Good News Translation misses a point here. Better models for this verse are:

• People who hurt others get hurt, and have no idea that they cause it themselves by their own actions.

• People do not seem to realize that when they hurt others they get hurt themselves.

Compare Pro 26.27b. In some languages there will also be suitable proverbs that will match the meaning of this verse perfectly.

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.