And no man like Joseph has been born: The line after this one in Greek appears to be misplaced. Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation place it at the beginning of 50.1, and we recommend that translators do the same. The footnote in Good News Translation may be used as a model, but a shorter way to express it is “At this point a line appears in Greek which Hebrew places in 50.1.”

And his bones are cared for is better rendered “even his bones were cared for” (New Revised Standard Version). Exactly what the author means here is hard to say. This is clearly a reference to Gen 50.25; both Greek and Hebrew echo that verse. There Joseph, just before he dies, makes his family promise that when God comes to their aid (Revised Standard Version “God will visit you”; the verb used there is the verb used here), they will take his bones with them back to the Promised Land. New English Bible reads here “and the Lord kept watch over his body.” A footnote in Good News Translation gives a similar reading as a possibility. The Handbook believes this is more likely to be the meaning than saying that the Israelites honored Joseph’s body. If the Lord is the implied agent here, a parallel can be seen between Enoch and Joseph, and thus a reason for mentioning Joseph here. God took care of Enoch—by transporting him directly into heaven. God also took care of Joseph—by seeing that his bones were transported to the Promised Land. To bring this out, a translator might consider rendering verses 14-15 as follows:

• No one like Enoch has ever walked the face of the earth, for the Lord took him up from the earth to heaven. No one like Joseph has ever been born, for the Lord watched over his body.

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.