All living beings associate by species, and a man clings to one like himself: This simply repeats the thought of the previous verse, and there will be little difference in translation. Living beings associate by species means animals gather in groups (Good News Translation “animals of the same species flock together”). Species is a technical term in modern biology, although it provides a good translation of the Greek noun. Languages with no special scientific vocabulary may use some word meaning “kind, sort,” as long as it is appropriate for use with animals. Good News Translation provides a good model.

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.