The poor man toils as his livelihood diminishes: The clause as his livelihood diminishes is better expressed as a result clause, as in Good News Translation: “[with the result that they] have nothing to show for it.” For the whole line we could say “Poor people work hard but get nowhere,” “But the poor work hard and barely earn a living” (Contemporary English Version), or even “… but still have very little money.”

And when he rests he becomes needy: The idea in this verse is that the poor man works, but does not get rich. When he rests from his work, he just falls behind, and gets poorer. So for this line Contemporary English Version says “and if they rest, they become even poorer.”

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.