Question a friend, for often it is slander: Good News Translation translates slander as “a lie.” This is acceptable, although slander is more than a false account. It is a false account or charge that damages someone’s character and reputation. “It might be a lie” (Good News Translation) is acceptable, but misses the idea in often. We could say “What you hear is often slander [or, a lie].”

So do not believe everything you hear: It is hard to improve on this.

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.