Why do you say you are lacking in these things: These things refers to knowledge. For this line we could say, following on the suggestion above for verse 23, “If you admit that you are ignorant.”

There is a textual problem in this line. Ziegler omits you say (thus reading “Why do you go on lacking these things”), but most manuscripts have it, and we are retaining it.

And why are your souls very thirsty?: This refers to wanting the things that are lacking. Good News Translation expresses the meaning. We could also say “why go on without getting the wisdom [or, knowledge] you want?”

The whole verse may be expressed as:

• If you admit that you are ignorant, why go on without getting the wisdom [or, knowledge] you want?

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.

I opened my mouth and said: What follows from here to verse 28 is ben Sira’s advice to the person who lacks wisdom and yet wants to learn. For this line Good News Translation is good, but it could also be translated “Here is my advice” (Contemporary English Version).

Get these things for yourselves without money: Revised Standard Version‘s footnote explains that these things is added for translational reasons. Good News Translation expresses the meaning of this line well. A more specific rendering is “It costs no money to become wise.” Another slightly different approach is “You can become wise without spending money.”

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.

Put your neck under the yoke, and let your souls receive instruction: Compare 6.30 and Matt 11.29. To take on a teacher’s yoke meant to learn from that person. Here ben Sira may mean “learn from me” or “learn from Wisdom” (in Hebrew it means the latter). These two lines are synonymous; the second line explains clearly what the figure of speech in the first line means. Good News Translation has used the figure, expecting that the reader will have it explained by the second line. Translators for whom the figure is difficult may combine the two lines by saying “Just be willing to learn.”

It is to be found close by: The idea here is that in any situation, there is an opportunity to learn something. New English Bible says “You need not go far to find it.” We could even go so far as to say “You can learn a lesson from everything.”

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.

See with your eyes that I have labored little and found for myself much rest: Compare verse 16. See with your eyes means “For example, look at me.” What follows is a modest understatement, after the author has told us how he has worked to gain wisdom (verses 19-20). Rest is nicely translated as “contentment” by Good News Translation. Other possibilities are “peace” (New English Bible), “satisfaction,” and “happiness.”

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.

Get instruction with a large sum of silver, and you will gain by it much gold: At first this seems to contradict verse 26, but it is really only a restatement of verse 27, using a figure of speech. Silver, though valuable, is worth less than gold. Ben Sira is saying you will get much more out of your search for Wisdom than you put into it. A better model than Good News Translation would be “Whatever you spend in acquiring Wisdom will be small in comparison with what you will receive,” or even “You too will get far more out of studying Wisdom than you ever put in.”

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.

May your soul rejoice in his mercy: In this verse ben Sira expresses his wishes for his readers. Good News Translation expresses them as commands to fit with the command in the next verse. The second person references in these verses are plural. For this line we could say “Be happy, because the Lord is merciful.”

And may you not be put to shame when you praise him: Good News Translation puts this very simply with “and never be ashamed to praise him.” Another approach is “Take pride in praising him” or “Don’t be ashamed to tell others how great he is” (Contemporary English Version).

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.

Do your work before the appointed time, and in God’s time he will give you your reward: God’s time is literally “his time,” but Revised Standard Version spells out the pronoun for clarity. It would be better to say “the Lord’s time” since ben Sira prefers “the Lord” rather than “God”. Good News Translation offers a possible, and appealing, interpretation of this verse. The Handbook, however, prefers to interpret this verse in light of 18.20. It means “Do what you must do [to get wisdom] before the time comes when the Lord judges you, and the Lord, at that time, will reward you.” This is not speaking of a final judgment in the life to come, but of God passing judgment on our actions here and now. Perhaps we could translate:

• Work to get wisdom while there is still time, and you will get your reward at the right time. The Lord will make sure that you do.

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.