Good News Translation‘s paragraph break here is good since this verse is a summary.

These things are hard to bear for a man who has feeling: These things refers to the things in the next line. The things said in verses 26-27 are also hard to bear, but the author is talking about verse 28b. New English Bible solves this problem by translating the verse as a single grammatical statement: “How hard it is for a sensible man to bear criticism….” Revised English Bible is better with “Two things a sensitive person finds hard to bear….” Good News Translation simply reverses the lines. Good News Translation‘s solution is simplest, but Revised English Bible is also a good model. “Sensitive” as in Good News Translation and Revised English Bible is a tempting choice of words for who has feeling, but New Revised Standard Version “sensible” is better. It is simply closer to the Greek. We are not talking about the modern concept of being sensitive, or of having your feelings hurt. Ben Sira is saying that a wise person, someone with good sense, someone who understands what is going on, will find it hard to hear such things as follow. They do not hurt the sensible person; they shame him.

Scolding about lodging: We have here the same textual problem as in verse 23: the texts read either “scolding about household” or “scolding about wandering.” In this case “household” is read by all the Greek manuscripts (and Rahlfs’ Greek text), while the Latin supports the emendation “wandering” adopted by Ziegler’s Greek text. “Wandering” is read by Revised Standard Version. The wandering in question refers to freeloading off people by going from house to house (verse 24) for lodging. As in verse 23, we choose to recommend “wandering,” which again means “freeloading.” To say that criticism from your family (the reading of the Greek manuscripts) is hard to bear is certainly true, but it has no relation to what ben Sira is talking about. On the other hand, to be accused of being a freeloader, a scrounger, fits in with the next phrase: being called a defaulter by someone who has lent you money. They are essentially the same charge. And it fits in with the previous verses. Good News Translation “Being denied hospitality” completely misses the point and is wrong.

And the reproach of the moneylender: It is not that moneylenders have a particularly bad way of reproaching people, though they well may have. The point is that a sensible person pays his debts, and when a lender criticizes a borrower for not paying back a loan, it is intensely embarrassing to the borrower, if he is a person with any sense.

To be called a freeloader or a defaulter amounts to the same thing. The wise man does not want to have a reputation as a parasite. Here are models for this verse, reversing the lines as in Good News Translation:

• To be accused of living off other people * and of not paying debts—these are hard things for anyone with good sense to endure.
* One ancient translation To be accused … people; Greek To be criticized by your family.

• Having rich people accuse you * of living off them [or, being a freeloader] and moneylenders demanding that you repay a loan—these are….
* One ancient translation Having rich people … them; Greek Having your family criticize you.

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.