Possible meanings are 1) a person's importance within the community is spoken of as if the person were small or great. Alternate translation: "whether the person was important or not" or 2) a young person is spoken of as if he were small and an old person is spoken of as if he were great. Alternate translation: "whether the person was young or old" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor]])