For from garments comes the moth, and from a woman comes woman’s wickedness: This means that women learn wickedness from other women. The connector for shows a logical relationship with the previous verse, so it may be rendered “because.” This verse is part of the previous sentence. It may be difficult to work in the comparison with the moth because it is not a well-chosen comparison. A moth is a flying insect that destroys cloth. The writer may believe that clothing actually produces moths. Nevertheless, his point is that just as moths feed on clothing, so women learn from the evil of other women. Possible renderings for this verse are:

• because women learn wickedness from other women just as surely as moths live off of clothing.

• because evil comes from women as fast as moths fly from clothing.

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.