Verses 6-8 continue speaking of things we should not be ashamed of, but they are not part of the list in verses 2-5.

Where there is an evil wife, a seal is a good thing; and where there are many hands, lock things up: Here the wife is evil in the sense of being “untrustworthy” (New Revised Standard Version); Good News Translation says “if you cannot trust your wife.” The seal and lock can easily be combined, as in Good News Translation “lock things up” or Contemporary English Version “lock up everything of value.” The sense is exactly the same. Many hands refers simply to “many people” (Good News Translation). The more people are around, the more need there is to keep things locked up. Since this verse is directed at husbands, we may supply this word at the beginning of the verse, and it is possible to translate as follows, reordering the clauses of the verse:

• Husbands, if you cannot trust your wife or if there are too many people in the house, it will be wise [or, you must not be ashamed] to lock up all your valuables.

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.