Like cassia and camel’s thorn I gave forth the aroma of spices, and like choice myrrh I spread a pleasant odor: Ziegler’s Greek text does not contain the clause I gave forth the aroma of spices; it is not found in some Greek manuscripts. It is very similar to, and certainly means the same, as I spread a pleasant odor in the second line. We suggest that this clause not be included, and that it be treated as a translational matter rather than a textual one. English does not have an easy way for a person, such as the figure of Wisdom here, to talk about giving off an odor, pleasant or otherwise. That is why Good News Translation translates “My breath was the spicy smell of….” Another possible approach is “Like cassia … I perfumed the air,” “I filled the air with the sweet smell of…,” or “The spicy smell of cassia … surrounded me.” Other languages may find one of these alternatives easier to deal with. A model will be presented below.

Cassia is a spice made from the bark of a tree. It is much like cinnamon, and may be used as a substitute. Good News Translation translates “cinnamon.” It is found also at Exo 30.24; Psa 45.8; and Ezek 27.19. In cultures where this spice is unknown, we may say “a sweet-smelling substance named ‘cassia.’ ” Camel’s thorn is a kind of low thorn bush. A fragrant oil was produced from its roots, and New American Bible renders it “fragrant balm.” Good News Translation translates “sweet perfume.” It is found nowhere else in Scripture, unless the “aromatic cane” in Exo 30.23 refers to the product of the same plant. Shekan translates “fragrant cane.” Aromatic cane may be in view here, since it is also mentioned along with cassia, cinnamon, and myrrh in Exo 30.23-25. According to the passage in Exodus, these spices were mixed with olive oil to make the anointing oil used by Israel’s priests. If aromatic cane is indeed intended here in Sirach, the plant in question is likely lemon grass, which is aromatic and used as a source of perfumes and flavorings. Possible alternatives are “cane” (Contemporary English Version) and “lemon grass.” Myrrh is a sweet-smelling resin produced by a shrub that grew widely in Palestine. It was used in making incense. Choice myrrh refers to myrrh of the finest quality; Good News Translation says “finest myrrh.” This substance is referred to numerous times in the Bible, and translators will no doubt have encountered it earlier. See, for example, Exo 30.23; Psa 45.8; Pro 7.17; Matt 2.11; Rev 18.13.

Like galbanum, onycha, and stacte, and like the fragrance of frankincense in the tabernacle: Galbanum, stacte, and frankincense are gums or resins derived from certain plants; onycha is probably derived from a sea animal. The important thing about them is that they were the ingredients used for making the incense to be burned as part of Israelite worship in the Tabernacle; see Exo 30.34-35. For tabernacle see the comments on verse 10 above.

The substances in this verse fall into two groups. The first group, in the first two lines, are the ingredients for the holy anointing oil. The second group, in the last two lines, are the ingredients for the holy incense. Translators will find the first group easier to deal with, since cinnamon and possibly lemon grass are widely enough known to be recognized. Only myrrh is a problem. The four ingredients of the incense are more difficult since all four are unfamiliar. One way of dealing with them is simply to name them as foreign words; this may have the effect of creating a mysterious, exotic atmosphere that is consistent with what the author is trying to do. This is the only purpose they serve in English versions. Another way is give up any attempt to render them individually, and combine them into the incense that they were used for. This will probably be more satisfactory. An alternative model that does this is:

• My perfume had the smell of cinnamon,
the fragrance of lemon grass and finest myrrh,
the sweet smoke of the incense
burning in the Sacred Tent.

But for translators who wish to keep all the names, we may translate:

• My perfume had the smell of cinnamon;
the fragrance of lemon grass and finest myrrh,
the sweet-smelling smoke in the Sacred Tent
coming from galbanum, onycha, stacte, and frankincense.

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.