HH: Here is another unreliable statement by Jones:
3. The third witness [to the early existence of
the Septuagint] most often referred to is that of
the prologue of the Apocryphal non-canonical
book "Jesus, the Son of Sirach." Purportedly
written 130 B.C., this work, is often cited as
referring to a Greek version that existed in his
day. However, Jesus – "Son of Sirach" – was
merely translating his grandfather's work, and
this work was not written in Greek but
Hebrew.4 What he said was "... the same things
expressed in Hebrew have not an equal force
when translated into another language. Not only
so, but even the Law and the prophecies and
the rest of the books differ not a little as to
the things said in them."5
It can be seen that the first statement made no
reference whatsoever to the Greek language.
Furthermore, the second statement says nothing
about a translation but refers only to what the
Hebrew books said. Jesus, the Son of Sirach, said
nothing whatever in the preceding quote about
the Law and the Prophecies existing in a Greek Old
Testament. Having undertaken to translate his
grandfather's work from Hebrew to Greek, he was
merely speaking of his own difficulties in
translating. Thus Jesus' (the Son of Sirach)
citation to the "Law and the Prophecies" had no
relation to any Greek Bible.
HH: Despite Mr. Jones' claim, H. St. J. Thackeray,
an eminent septuagintalist and Greek scholar,
understood well that Sirach here referred to a
Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. And so
should any intelligent reader. Here is the excerpt
from the Prologue to Sirach:
http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=3978863
15-26] You are urged therefore to read with good
will and attention, and to be indulgent in cases
where, despite our diligent labor in translating,
we may seem to have rendered some phrases
imperfectly. For what was originally expressed in
Hebrew does not have exactly the same sense when
translated into another language. Not only this
work, but even the law itself, the prophecies, and
the rest of the books differ not a little as
originally expressed.
HH: It seems clear that Ben Sira's grandson
excuses the difficulties of his Greek translation
of the Hebrew by saying that even the Greek
translation of the Hebrew Law, prophets, and other
books shows similar differences from the original.
The context of his comment is the rendering of
Hebrew into Greek