Store up almsgiving in your treasury: This is a striking image, but it may be difficult to translate. A treasury is a place for keeping money and other valuable objects. The author speaks of putting in this place not your money, but your giving away of money to the poor. In other words, he thinks of generous giving as itself a treasure. Good News Translation is good here, but another approach will be offered below.

And it will rescue you from all affliction: The idea here is that God rewards the generous giver by protecting him from troubles. See Tob 4.7-10.

Alternative models for this verse are:

• Be generous in your giving; such generosity is a treasure in itself, one that can save you from all kinds of trouble.

• Be generous in your giving to the poor; this [your generosity] will be like a treasure that you are storing up. It will rescue you when trouble comes.

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.