Good News Translation paints a striking picture with its translation from the Hebrew of the first two lines, but the Hebrew is not clear, and we recommend the conservative course of following Revised Standard Version and the Greek.

A man tending a furnace works in burning heat: As the Revised Standard Version footnote indicates, some manuscripts read “blowing” rather than tending, but this difference can be explained on translational grounds. The Good News Translation footnote offers a good approach for this line with “A man at a furnace works with scorching heat,” or we may say “A man working at [or, near/by] a furnace must put up with scorching heat.” For furnace see 38.28.

But the sun burns the mountains three times as much may be rendered “but the sun on the mountains is three times as hot.” Compare Revised English Bible: “but three times as hot is the hill-scorching sun.”

It breathes out fiery vapors: We do not think of the sun as breathing out vapors, although this may simply be a continuation of the image of the furnace. Good News Translation rewords this line as “It sends out fiery rays.”

And with bright beams it blinds the eyes: Good News Translation has “blinding the eyes with its brightness.”

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.