Are you seated at the table of a great man?: This question introduces a section dealing with proper behavior at a banquet. Revised Standard Version is reading the Hebrew here. We recommend that translators follow the Greek, which is literally “Are you seated at a great table?” Good News Translation represents the Greek and rewords the question as a “When” clause, leading into the instruction given in the next line. “Great table” or “fancy banquet” (Good News Translation) may be rendered by any word or phrase describing an occasion where a group of people, on a special occasion, enjoy a lavish meal. Good News Translation may be expanded to “When you sit down to eat at a fancy banquet [or, dinner party].”

Do not be greedy at it is literally “Do not open your throat at it.” This refers to showing a greedy impatience to get at the food. Good News Translation “don’t let your mouth hang open” represents this well while being fairly literal. New English Bible “do not lick your lips” and Revised English Bible “do not smack your lips” use different images to express the idea. Translators should find an expression that describes this greedy impatience to eat; for example, “Don’t drool [or, salivate] over the food.”

And do not say, “There is certainly much upon it!”: Suppose you are invited to a dinner. You come into the room where a table is spread with all kinds of delicious-looking food and you can hardly wait to start eating. You turn and whisper in a friend’s ear a comment about the food. What do you say? That is probably a good translation of There is certainly much upon it! Good News Translation is good with “Look at all that food!” New English Bible is also good: “What a spread!”

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.