A daughter keeps her father secretly wakeful, and worry over her robs him of sleep: This means that the daughter does not know that the father lies awake at night worrying about her. The word secretly is expressed by Good News Translation with the clause “Although he will not let … know it,” but Contemporary English Version‘s translation of these two lines is simpler: “I know that secretly you fathers worry about your daughters and lose sleep, while questions trouble your minds.”

When she is young, lest she do not marry, or if married, lest she be hated: Good News Translation offers a good approach to these lines, but we may revise the model slightly by saying “If she is young, he worries that she might not get married [or, find a husband]. If she is already married, he worries about whether her husband will love her or not.”

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.