How ample a little is for a well-disciplined man!: This is an exclamation in Greek, although Revised Standard Version‘s literal translation sounds a bit odd in English. We could try to build in the exclamatory emphasis some other way: for example, “A little bit is quite enough for a person with good manners.”

He does not breathe heavily upon his bed: The writers of this Handbook have no experience with this, of course, but we suppose this refers to the stuffed feeling a person has when going to bed after overeating. Good News Translation‘s introductory word “Besides” is helpful. It points out that ordinary politeness also has practical benefits. For “be short of breath” (Good News Translation), we could say “be panting,” and an alternative model for this line is “Besides, you won’t be panting when you go to bed” or “Later, when you are in bed, you won’t be so full of food that you start panting.”

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.