Listen to me, my son, and do not disregard me, and in the end you will appreciate my words: My son indicates that the writer is speaking to the reader as teacher to student; see the comments on 2.1. Good News Translation offers a good translation of these lines. The imperatives here has been reworded as a conditional clause. Do not disregard me is expressed as “put it [what I am saying] into practice.” In the end is rendered “one of these days,” which is an English idiom, but we could also say “later on” or even “some day.” “You will thank me for it” is again an English idiom, but it may work for others; it expresses the idea in you will appreciate my words by focusing on the person’s grateful reaction when he realizes that ben Sira’s advice was good. For these two lines an alternative model keeping the imperatives is “Listen to me, my students! Pay attention to what I am saying, and later on you will thank me [or, you will appreciate my advice].”

In all your work be industrious, and no sickness will overtake you: The Greek word translated industrious means “adroit, clever, resourceful.” It has taken on the meaning industrious here because of the word work. But the Greek word for work can simply refer to something a person does. Good News Translation correctly translates In all your work as “in everything you do.” With that translation, we can find a more appropriate word than industrious, rendering the third line of this verse as “Be smart in everything you do.” Good News Translation says “moderate,” reading the Hebrew. But the Hebrew says nothing about sickness. It says that if you are moderate or modest in all you do, no misfortune will come your way. As tempting as “moderate” is, it seems wiser to us to stay with the Greek. A good translation into colloquial English for the last two lines of this verse would be “Always play it smart, and you will never get sick.” A more useful model is “Always do what is smart [or, the intelligent thing], and you will never get sick.” “Never” may seem like an overstatement, but the Greek is emphatic. Another model is “In everything you do, use your intelligence [or, brain] and you will stay healthy.”

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.