A woman’s beauty gladdens the countenance, and surpasses every human desire: Since this is obviously spoken from a man’s point of view, New Revised Standard Version and New English Bible do well to focus on “a man” rather than humans in general, as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. For example, New English Bible says “A woman’s beauty makes a man happy, and there is nothing he desires more.” If we tie this verse in with verse 21, it seems to be talking about a man’s reasons for choosing one woman over another. A man looks for beauty above all else, but he may be wrong to do so. If we join this verse to the next one, as a description of the reasons a man might have for choosing one woman over another, this gives it a slightly different meaning. See the model below after the discussion on the next verse.

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.