An impudent daughter disgraces father and husband, and will be despised by both: Good News Translation says “girl” rather than daughter, since in this verse we are talking not only of the father but of the husband also; in this context the word “woman” is also possible. The girl is described here as impudent, which means she is insolent, bold, someone who doesn’t act properly. For the second line of this verse, Good News Translation has “neither will have any respect for her,” which expresses the meaning of the Greek well; it is better than will be despised by both.

New Jerusalem Bible surprisingly abandons the Greek text here, reading “A brazen daughter puts father and mother to shame, and will be disowned by both.” This fits the context much better, but has slim support. It is found in the Syriac and one Latin manuscript. We recommend staying with the Greek text.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• An insolent woman disgraces both her father and her husband; neither will have any respect for her.

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.