Lift up thy hand against foreign nations and let them see thy might: Lift up thy hand means “Take action against” (Good News Translation), or even “attack.” Ben Sira probably does not mean exactly foreign nations in the sense of nations outside his own country. At the time he wrote, the land of Israel was occupied by Syrian troops, and governed from Damascus by the kings of the Seleucid dynasty. He is talking about the oppressive and resented presence of these foreigners within his own country. For the first line of this verse we could say “Take action against [or, Attack] these outsiders in our country.” Good News Translation translates see as “witness.” This is a good choice of words for English. See is something you can do in a moment, but to “witness” an event means you see it as it happens, in real time. Ben Sira wants the enemy to be around while God demonstrates his power, to be involved in that demonstration.

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.