The fruit discloses the cultivation of a tree: Good News Translation uses a lot of words to say this, but it says it clearly. We may also say “The fruit that a tree bears shows how much care the owner has given to the tree” or “… how carefully the owner has looked after the tree.”

So the expression of a thought discloses the cultivation of a man’s mind: Expression of a thought renders the same Greek word translated “thoughts” in verse 4, and once again, it is better translated “talk” or “speech” (New Revised Standard Version). The word cultivation appears twice in Revised Standard Version in this verse, but two different words are used in Greek. Good News Translation expresses the meaning of the verse clearly.

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.