A mist quickly heals all things: This speaks of plants showing signs of life again with the return of moisture after a drought, when the weather turns foggy. For mist we could speak of “fog,” “cloudy weather” (New English Bible), or even “early morning mist” (Contemporary English Version). For comments on mist, see 24.3.

When the dew appears, it refreshes from the heat: Refreshes is literally “brings joy.” For this line New English Bible has “and dew brings welcome relief after heat.” This is at best only implied in Good News Translation. For dew see 18.16.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• But soon a cloudy mist restores the grass to life,
and dew brings welcome relief after the heat.

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.