Question a neighbor, perhaps he did not say it: Good News Translation follows through with the form it used in verse 13, saying “If you hear that a neighbor has said something he shouldn’t, ask him about it. Maybe he didn’t say it.” Even though the word neighbor does not have the exact same meaning as “friend” in the previous verse, ben Sira uses them as parallel terms in this poetic context. If translators cannot find two similar words like this, they may use the same word in both places. See also verses 15 and 17.

But if he said it, so that he may not say it again: See the comments on verse 13.

It is possible to combine verses 13 and 14 as follows:

• Talk to friends or neighbors if you hear that they have done something wrong or said something bad. If they have not, you will find out. But if they really have, they won’t do it again.

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.