Then the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, and his word burned like a torch: The connector Then is literally “And.” It simply introduces Elijah as another great ancestor of the Israelites. It does not mean that Elijah suddenly appeared on the scene. It may be rendered “Also in those days.” For prophet see the comments on the first paragraph of the Prologue. Good News Translation “fiery prophet” is a good English idiom, but translators would do better to work with Revised Standard Version for the first line. The idea is that Elijah burst on the scene like a sudden leap of flame. An alternative model for this line is “Then, like a fire suddenly breaking out, the prophet Elijah appeared.” The point of his word burned like a torch is that what he said commanded attention and was threatening; hearing what he said might make someone so uncomfortable it hurt. Good News Translation is all right for the second line, but “whose words burned like fire” might be better, in spite of the repetition. Alternative models for this verse are:

• In those days like a fire suddenly breaking out, the prophet Elijah appeared. He spoke words that burned like fire.

• Also in those days the prophet Elijah appeared just like a fire suddenly breaking out. He spoke….

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.