In great or small matters do not act amiss: Do not act amiss is literally “do not be ignorant.” This is widely thought to be a mistranslation of the Hebrew “do not do harm.” Good News Translation reads the Hebrew (also New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible) and we recommend that translators go this way. There are technical reasons for preferring it, and it fits the context better. Good News Translation has a good rendering for the whole line: “Do nothing destructive, whether it seems insignificant or not.” Another possibility is “Do nothing that would hurt anyone, no matter how small a matter it might seem.” It is probably not going too far to translate “Say nothing….” The Hebrew text is not that specific, but in this context it would not be going too far.

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.