While a virgin, lest she be defiled or become pregnant in her father’s house: Good News Translation is good here. Another approach is “While she is young, he worries that she may lose her virginity and become pregnant while living in his house” or “… that some man will have sex with her [or, be with her/lie with her] before she leaves his [the father’s] house, and she will become pregnant.”

Or having a husband, lest she prove unfaithful, or, though married, lest she be barren: The two clauses having a husband and though married may easily be combined, as Good News Translation has done with “If she is married.” Lest she prove unfaithful means “[he worries] … that she might have sex with [or, sleep with] some other man beside her husband.” Barren means that because of some physical problem she is unable to conceive a child, but this word is not used much in modern English. However, it is likely that many languages have a specific word like barren for this condition. If such a word is not available, the last line may be rendered “or that she won’t be able to have children.”

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.