Good News Translation‘s translation reorders the four lines of this verse as follows: d, c, a, b. The first sentence translates lines d and c; the second one renders lines a and b. This works well, but is not necessary. Translators may follow it or not, as they like.

Healthy sleep depends on moderate eating may be rendered “Moderate eating leads to a good night’s sleep,” or even “You will sleep well if you don’t overeat.”

He rises early, and feels fit: He refers to the “well-disciplined man” of verse 19, the person with good manners. The Revised Standard Version footnote here gives a literal translation of feels fit: “his soul is with him.” The second sentence of this verse in Good News Translation provides a good translation of the first two lines: “If you don’t overeat, you can get a good night’s sleep and wake up early the next morning feeling fine.” An alternative model is “You will sleep well if you don’t overeat, and will wake up early feeling good.”

The distress of sleeplessness and of nausea and colic are with the glutton: Good News Translation shortens the list of complaints a bit by combining nausea and colic into “stomach aches.” Actually, nausea refers to indigestion, or stomach ache. Colic refers to pains in the gut—gas. Otherwise, Good News Translation is good. Contemporary English Version includes indigestion as well as colic by saying “But overeating causes cramps, as well as an upset stomach and sleepless nights.”

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.