Remember that a greedy eye is a bad thing: Greedy eye is literally “evil eye.” Greedy eye gives the proper interpretation for this context. Ordinarily a translator could simply render this as “greed” or “gluttony” (New American Bible), but the problem is that the eye is discussed in the next two lines. If greedy eye is not a natural expression in your language, you could perhaps say “eyes that show greed.” It is also possible to avoid the reference to eye and render the whole line as “It is impolite [or, wrong] to want everything you see.” The word “impolite” (Good News Translation) works well in the context, but bad may actually be better.

What has been created more greedy than the eye?: This question is rhetorical, so Good News Translation has a statement here. If Good News Translation will not work as a model, another possibility is “Nothing in creation [or, the world] causes more greed than the eyes.” Compare 14.9.

Therefore it sheds tears from every face: Good News Translation “so often” can probably be regarded as a translational matter, making its footnote unnecessary. It would probably suffice to say “that is why people shed tears.” What the author means here is not clear. Perhaps he is thinking that tears are punishment for sin, or a sign of remorse for sin; perhaps the tears result from realizing that you cannot have all you want. It may be possible to ease the problem by combining the second and third lines in such a way that the answer to the question in the second line is left implied as follows:

• It is impolite [or, wrong] to want everything you see. Sooner or later greed causes everyone to weep in sorrow.

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.