The leader of his brethren and the pride of his people was Simon the high priest, son of Onias: The first line is the line the Greek apparently misplaced in 49.15. We recommend placing it at this point, according to the Hebrew. A footnote may say “Hebrew places this line here; Greek places it in 49.15.” Three things are said of Simon in these lines: he is The leader, the pride, and the high priest. Brethren here probably refers to Simon’s fellow priests. The Greek word translated pride refers to a support or prop, a device that holds something upright, and may be translated by such a term, although pride is a good interpretation. In 49.15 New Jerusalem Bible translates the pride of his people as “the prop of his people,” and New English Bible has “the strength of his people.” These two lines could be translated “The people could always rely on the High Priest Simon, son of Onias, and the other priests regarded him as their leader” or “The High Priest Simon son of Onias was the greatest of the priests and all the people honored him.”

Who in his life repaired the house, and in his time fortified the temple: The phrase in his life is obviously unnecessary. The house refers to the temple. Fortified means that the walls of the building were strengthened, not that it was armed for military defense. Good News Translation combines these two lines into “who repaired the Temple,” but it is also possible to keep both verbs and translate “He repaired the Temple and made its walls stronger.”

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.