There is wrath and impudence and great disgrace when a wife supports her husband: This verse follows from verse 21, as interpreted by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. It is talking about financial support, when the couple lives off the wife’s earnings or (as the author must have in mind here) wealth. We could interpret this verse to mean that the couple will be mean to each other, but in the context the author is surely speaking only of the wife’s attitude to her husband. Compare New English Bible: “If a man is supported by his wife he must expect tantrums, shamelessness, and outrage.” Compare also Contemporary English Version: “When the wife’s possessions support the family, their home will be filled with anger, insults, and shame.” This is what a man is in for if he does not heed ben Sira’s advice in verse 21. Another possible rendering for this verse is:

• When a woman supports her husband, she is going to be angry and rude, and cause him great embarrassment.

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.