Whoever forsakes his father is like a blasphemer, and whoever angers his mother is cursed by the Lord: Again, there are two parallel lines. What is said of the father applies as well to the mother; what is said of the mother applies to the father. The author is not making a different point in the second line; he is reinforcing what he has said in the first line. Good News Translation combines father and mother into “parents.” A translator does not have to follow Good News Translation in this, but it makes good sense and may avoid misunderstandings. A blasphemer is someone who talks about God in a profane manner. The author says that a person who abandons his parents in time of need is in effect holding God in contempt (this is what Good News Translation means by “may as well be cursing the Lord”), since God laid down the specific commandment that we are to honor our parents. According to the second line of this verse, God returns the attitude of contempt (cursed by the Lord). A person who gives his parents reason to be angry is held in contempt by God (Good News Translation “already under the Lord’s curse”). Good News Translation‘s rendering of this verse is effective. It serves as a forceful conclusion to this section. However, we may keep both father and mother, but reorder the clauses of the verse:

• But abandoning your father or making your mother angry is as bad as cursing the Lord, and the Lord will put you under a curse if you do it.

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.