Humility is an abomination to a proud man; likewise a poor man is an abomination to a rich one: The restructuring of this verse offered by Good News Translation is good, but the phrase “have … scorn for” is weak. The Greek word translated abomination is a strong term (see the comments at 1.25). This word refers to something one has scorn for, but it is much more. It is something one loathes because it is inherently and shockingly foul or “disgusting” (Contemporary English Version). An adequate noun is hard to find in English without using an obscenity (the Greek word is not obscene). For the whole verse we propose the following model:

• Arrogant people think that those who are humble are no better than dirt, and the rich think of the poor the same way.

Contemporary English Version maintains the poetic form with:

• The rich and proud
consider the poor and humble
to be disgusting.

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.