Strive even to death for the truth may be rendered “Stand up for what is right, even if it costs you your life” (Good News Translation) or “Even if you risk dying, you should fight for the truth.” Truth, the author says, is a value worth dying for. Ben Sira may well have been looking at his own times. If we are correct in dating his writing to the early second century B.C., the time was soon coming, with the rebellion of the Maccabees, when many Jews would choose death rather than deny that God’s Law, the Torah, was truth. This verse is not idle speculation. It is practical advice about a literal life or death situation. But ben Sira has not hesitated to warn his reader that seeking wisdom is not the same thing as seeking serenity or peace of mind; compare 4.17-18.

And the Lord God will fight for you: This is a strong promise attached to the serious words of the previous line. The strength of this line can be seen in the fact that it is one of very few times in the book when the author (or at least the Greek translator) uses the word God. Lord God may be translated “the Ruler who is God,” “God who Rules over All,” or just “God.” Alternative models for will fight for you are “will be fighting on your side” (Good News Translation), “will be there, fighting by your side” (Contemporary English Version), and “will help you fight your enemies.”

The whole verse may be expressed as follows:

• You should fight for the truth even if it means that you must die; God will fight your enemies with you.

This verse makes such a dramatic statement that it seems best to end the section here. The next few verses of chapter 4 do not relate to the theme of verses 20-28, and can be more easily placed with the reflections in chapter 5 about a presumptuous attitude.

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.