The talk of men given to swearing makes one’s hair stand on end: The talk of men given to swearing is literally “The talk of the many-oathed man.” Good News Translation misses part of the meaning here; it is not just that these people curse, but that they do a lot of it. New Revised Standard Version is very good with “Their cursing and swearing.” An alternative model is “Their continual cursing and swearing.” In this context “cursing and swearing” refers to vile or disgusting language rather than “oaths” (calling on a god). The hair that stands on end is, of course, the hair of the arm, not the head; it describes an instinctive reaction to something terribly embarrassing or alarming. All humans react this way, but other languages may have different idioms for this automatic, involuntary response to something disgusting.

And their quarrels make a man stop his ears: Under ordinary circumstances, the cursing of these people is bad enough, but when they get angry, it’s even worse. Good News Translation is good here. We could also say “When they start arguing among themselves, you want to stop up your ears” or “… you want to put your hands over your ears.”

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.