All wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and in all wisdom there is the fulfilment of the law: If All wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and if in all wisdom there is the fulfilment of the law, then it follows that fearing the Lord is equivalent to keeping the Law. Good News Translation restructures this verse to make the logic clear: “Fear the Lord and keep his Law; that is what Wisdom is all about.” However, Good News Translation should not capitalize “Wisdom.” Ben Sira does not personify it here. Contemporary English Version‘s restructuring is also good:

• Fearing the Lord
and obeying his Law
are really the same
as having wisdom.

Note that Good News Translation turns the nouns fear and fulfilment into imperative verbs, which simplifies the thought. Other models keeping a little closer to the Greek are:

• Reverence for the Lord is what wisdom is about. Wherever people keep the Lord’s Law, there is always wisdom.

• You must revere [or, obey] the Lord in order to be wise. If you do not keep the Lord’s Law, you cannot be wise.

Some manuscripts add verses 20b-21. They should be included in a footnote at the end of verse 20 (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation).

And the knowledge of his omnipotence: This phrase is parallel to “the fulfilment of the law” in verse 20, so that “in all wisdom” there are two things: “the fulfilment of the law” and the knowledge of his omnipotence. How we translate this phrase for the footnote depends on the translation of verse 20. Good News Translation‘s translation is wordy, but necessary to fit its translation of verse 20. (Another option involves placing a separate footnote marker after the word “Law” in Good News Translation with the following note: “Fear the Lord and keep his Law; some manuscripts add and recognize his omnipotence.”) Following the second model at the end of the discussion on verse 20, we could translate this added phrase “where people do not recognize his omnipotence [or, unlimited power].” It is also possible to combine the second line of verse 20 and this phrase as follows:

• If you do not keep the Lord’s Law or recognize that he is all-powerful, you cannot be wise.

When a servant says to his master, “I will not act as you wish”: In a number of languages the direct speech here will be natural style. Good News Translation, however, restructures this as indirect discourse, saying “If a servant refuses to obey his master.”

Even if later he does it, he angers the one who supports him: The one who supports the servant is the master. Good News Translation provides a good model here. Compare Matt 21.28-32.

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.