For he lies in wait, turning good into evil: Translators may omit the connector for. This verse simply continues the discussion on what a proud person does. Good News Translation omits the clause he lies in wait, which is a serious error. This clause describes the proud person as waiting in ambush, setting traps, actively working to bring about a person’s downfall by tricking the person into a false and fatal move. Turning good into evil is correctly interpreted by Good News Translation “make good appear evil.” An alternative model for this whole line is “The proud person waits for a chance to make your good deeds seem evil.”

And to worthy actions he will attach blame: This is how the schemer makes good appear evil; he finds a way to interpret good deeds as selfishly motivated. An alternative model here is “He will say that when you do good deeds you actually have selfish purposes.”

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.