Crush the heads of the rulers of the enemy, who say, “There is no one but ourselves”: Compare Isa 47.10. Crush the heads of the rulers of the enemy is intended metaphorically, but it is an unfamiliar idiom for English, where it could be taken literally. Good News Translation therefore simply says “Crush all those enemy rulers.” This would not be taken literally. Crush the heads may also be expressed as “Completely destroy.” For the quotation Good News Translation shifts to indirect discourse, but many languages will require direct discourse. An alternative model for this verse is:

• Completely destroy those enemy rulers who say, “We are the only important people in the world.”

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.