The sinner who has fallen into suretyship and pursues gain will fall into lawsuits: Ben Sira sees two dangers in guaranteeing loans. One danger, discussed above, is that you will have to make good the other person’s debt, and never be repaid. Another danger is doing it for the wrong reasons; instead of helping a person in need, you use it as an opportunity to make a profit by extorting money from the debtor. Do this, the author says, and you will wind up in court. The Greek uses the same verb in both lines; this is reflected in Revised Standard Version‘s awkward translation has fallen … will fall. New Jerusalem Bible‘s clever approach is better: “A wicked man in a hurry to stand guarantor in the hope of profit, is hurrying to be sentenced.” In many languages it will not work to use the same verb in both lines. Good News Translation provides a good model for this verse. “Involved in lawsuits” (Good News Translation) could be translated “in trouble with the law” or “standing before a judge.”

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.