The reeds by any water or river bank will be plucked up before any grass: The meaning of this verse is not clear, but we interpret it to mean that the tall, obvious reeds that grow along the riverbank will be the first to be uprooted when the water gets high and violent. Meanwhile, the grass stays in place. This follows from verse 12; the reeds represent sinners that are uprooted and washed away, the faithful stay in place. We could say:

• They are like tall reeds on the riverbank that are uprooted by the violent water while the grass stays in place [like the righteous].

We do not recommend following Good News Translation‘s translation of the Hebrew here.

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.