My son, do not lead the life of a beggar: My son addresses the reader as a teacher addressing students; see the comments on 2.1. The rest of this line says a bit more than “don’t be a beggar.” It assumes that being a beggar means living life at a low level, and it is a life of disgrace and embarrassment that people wish to avoid; so we may say “don’t disgrace yourself by being a beggar.”

It is better to die than to beg: This is an overstatement used to make a point.

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.