Your name reached to far-off islands: In ben Sira’s day, saying this was to say that his fame reached everywhere; far-off islands were about as far away as a person could go, given what was known of geography. Good News Translation is not very striking here, but it conveys the meaning. We could also translate “You were famous in faraway islands” or even “People knew about you even in faraway islands.”

And you were loved for your peace: This refers to the fact cited in verse 13 that Solomon ruled in peaceful times. New Revised Standard Version says “and you were loved for your peaceful reign.” Although the first line refers to people far away from Israel, this line obviously refers to Solomon’s own people, the Israelites. So another possible model is “Your people loved you because there was peace in the land.”

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.