Sirach 20
Good News Translation
Knowing When to Talk
20 A person can be rebuked in the wrong way; it may be wiser to keep quiet than to speak. 2 But it is much better to rebuke the person than to keep your anger bottled up. 3 Admit when you are wrong, and you will avoid embarrassment. 4 Using force to get a point across is like a castrated man trying to rape a young woman. 5 Some people are thought to be wise because they don't talk much; others are disliked because they talk too much. 6 Some people keep quiet because they don't have anything to say; others keep quiet because they know the right time to speak. 7 A wise person will not speak until the right moment, but a bragging fool doesn't know when that time is. 8 No one can stand a person who talks too long and will not give others a chance to speak.
Sudden Changes of Fortune
9 Bad luck can sometimes lead to success, and a stroke of good luck can sometimes lead to loss.
10 Generosity will sometimes do you no good, but at other times it will repay you double.
11 Honor can be followed by disgrace, but there are people who have risen from obscurity to places of honor.
12 Sometimes what seems like a real bargain can turn out to be a very expensive mistake.
13 When a person with good judgment speaks, he wins friends. A stupid person, though, can shower compliments on everybody, and it won't help him a bit. 14 If such a person gives you something, it won't do any good; it won't be as valuable as he thinks it is.[a] 15 He isn't generous with anything but criticism, which he will shout for all the world to hear. If he lends you something today, he'll want it back tomorrow. (Don't you hate people like that?) 16 Then that fool will say,
Nobody likes me. Nobody appreciates what I do for them. They'll take what I give them, but then talk about me behind my back. 17 And he's right—he's a constant joke to everyone.
Inappropriate Talk
18 A slip of the tongue is worse than a slip on the pavement; the wicked will go to ruin just as suddenly as a person slips and falls.
19 An impolite person is like one of those off-color stories that ignorant people are always telling.
20 Nobody takes a proverb seriously when some fool quotes it at the wrong time.
21 If a person is too poor to afford sin, he can rest without a guilty conscience.
22 You can lose all your self-respect by being reluctant to speak up in the presence of stupidity.
23 If you promise a friend something because you are too bashful to say no, you're needlessly making an enemy.
24 Lying is an ugly blot on a person's character, but ignorant people do it all the time. 25 A thief is better than a habitual liar, but both are headed for ruin. 26 A liar has no honor. He lives in constant disgrace.
Stewardship of Wisdom
27 Speak wisely, and you will get ahead in the world. Influential people appreciate good sense. 28 They will excuse your errors if they like you, so cultivate the soil and reap the harvest!
29 Gifts and bribes make even the wise blind to the truth, and prevent them from being honest in their criticism.
30 Wisdom that is not expressed is like a treasure that has been hidden—both are useless. 31 But a person who covers up his foolishness is better than one who keeps his wisdom to himself.
Footnotes
- Sirach 20:14 it won't be...it is; or he only expects to be repaid.
Sirach 20
Common English Bible
On speech
20 There is a bad time
to rebuke someone.
Those who keep silent
are the prudent ones.
2 How much better to investigate
than to be angry!
3 And those who confess openly
will be kept from loss.
4 Like eunuchs desiring to violate a girl,
so are those who make decisions
by force.
5 There are people who are silent
and are found to be wise,
and there are those who are hated
because they talk a lot.
6 There are those who keep silent
because they have nothing to say
in response,
and there are those who keep silent
because they know the right time.
7 Wise people keep silent
until the proper moment,
but those who swagger and are senseless will miss the right moment.
8 Those who talk excessively will be loathed,
and those who pretend
to have authority will be hated.[a]
9 Some people have success
in bad circumstances,
and there’s a windfall that results
in loss.
10 There’s a gift that won’t profit you,
and there’s a gift that will bring
twice the return.
11 There are losses suffered
for the sake of one’s reputation,
and there are people who have raised
their heads from humiliation.
12 There are those who buy a lot for a little,
and they pay for it seven times over.
13 Wise people make themselves
dearly loved by means of words,[b]
but fools pour out gifts.
14 Gifts from senseless people
won’t profit you,[c]
because they look for a lot
rather than a little in return.[d]
15 They will give a little and reproach a lot,
and they will open their mouths
like a town crier.
Today they will lend
and tomorrow ask for it back;
such people are hateful.
16 Fools say, “I don’t have a friend,
and there’s no gratitude
for my good deeds.”
Those who eat the bread of such people
have mean tongues.
17 How many will ridicule them,
and how often?[e]
18 A slip on the pavement is preferable
to a slip of the tongue;
so the downfall of evil people
will come quickly.
19 A disagreeable person, an untimely story—
it will always be
in the mouth of the uneducated.
20 Proverbs told by fools will be rejected,
because they’ll never tell them
at their proper time.
21 Some are prevented from sinning
because of poverty,
and their conscience won’t be pained
when they rest.
22 Some destroy their life through shame,
and they destroy it
because of foolish appearances.
23 Some promise a favor to a friend
out of shame,
and they create an enemy for no reason.
24 A lie is a bad blemish on a person;
ignorant people tell them incessantly.
25 A thief is preferable to someone
who continuously lies,
but both will inherit destruction.
26 The character of liars is dishonorable;
their shame is continuously
with them.
Proverbial sayingsl[f]
27 Wise people distinguish themselves
by their words,
and prudent people will please
the powerful.
28 Those who work the soil
will pile up their harvest,
and those who please the powerful
will secure reconciliation for injuries.
29 Friendly relationships and gifts
will blind the eyes of the wise;
like a muzzle on a mouth,
they turn away reproof.
30 Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure—
of what benefit is either?
31 Better are those who hide
their foolishness
than those who hide their wisdom.[g]
Footnotes
- Sirach 20:8 LXXb How good it is when someone who is reproved shows a changed heart and mind! In this way, you will escape sinning voluntarily.
- Sirach 20:13 Heb a few things
- Sirach 20:14 LXXb adds and neither will the gift of a grudging person who’s forced to give.
- Sirach 20:14 LXX for their eyes are many rather than one
- Sirach 20:17 LXXb adds They haven’t received what they have with real feeling, and what they don’t have is similarly indifferent to them.
- Sirach 20:27 The title appears in Gk manuscripts.
- Sirach 20:31 LXXb adds 20:32 Better is unmovable endurance when seeking the Lord than a charioteer of one’s life that has no master.
Sirach 20
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Silence and Speech
20 There is a rebuke that is untimely,
and there is the person who is wise enough to keep silent.
2 How much better it is to rebuke than to fume!
3 And the one who admits his fault will be kept from failure.
4 Like a eunuch lusting to violate a girl
is the person who does right under compulsion.
5 Some people keep silent and are thought to be wise,
while others are detested for being talkative.
6 Some people keep silent because they have nothing to say,
while others keep silent because they know when to speak.
7 The wise remain silent until the right moment,
but a boasting fool misses the right moment.
8 Whoever talks too much is detested,
and whoever pretends to authority is hated.[a]
Paradoxes
9 There may be good fortune for a person in adversity,
and a windfall may result in a loss.
10 There is the gift that profits you nothing,
and the gift to be paid back double.
11 There are losses for the sake of glory,
and there are some who have raised their heads from humble circumstances.
12 Some buy much for little,
but pay for it seven times over.
13 The wise make themselves beloved by only few words,[b]
but the courtesies of fools are wasted.
14 A fool’s gift will profit you nothing,[c]
for he looks for recompense sevenfold.[d]
15 He gives little and upbraids much;
he opens his mouth like a town crier.
Today he lends and tomorrow he asks it back;
such a one is hateful to God and humans.[e]
16 The fool says, “I have no friends,
and I get no thanks for my good deeds.
Those who eat my bread are evil-tongued.”
17 How many will ridicule him, and how often![f]
Inappropriate Speech
18 A slip on the pavement is better than a slip of the tongue;
the downfall of the wicked will occur just as speedily.
19 A coarse person is like an inappropriate story,
continually on the lips of the ignorant.
20 A proverb from a fool’s lips will be rejected,
for he does not tell it at the proper time.
21 One may be prevented from sinning by poverty;
so when he rests he feels no remorse.
22 One may lose his life through shame,
or lose it because of human respect.[g]
23 Another out of shame makes promises to a friend,
and so makes an enemy for nothing.
Lying
24 A lie is an ugly blot on a person;
it is continually on the lips of the ignorant.
25 A thief is preferable to a habitual liar,
but the lot of both is ruin.
26 A liar’s way leads to disgrace,
and his shame is ever with him.
Proverbial Sayings[h]
27 The wise person advances himself by his words,
and one who is sensible pleases the great.
28 Those who cultivate the soil heap up their harvest,
and those who please the great atone for injustice.
29 Favors and gifts blind the eyes of the wise;
like a muzzle on the mouth they stop reproofs.
30 Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure,
of what value is either?
31 Better are those who hide their folly
than those who hide their wisdom.[i]
Footnotes
- Sirach 20:8 Other ancient authorities add How good it is to show repentance when you are reproved, for so you will escape deliberate sin!
- Sirach 20:13 Heb: Gk by words
- Sirach 20:14 Other ancient authorities add so it is with the envious who give under compulsion
- Sirach 20:14 Syr: Gk he has many eyes instead of one
- Sirach 20:15 Other ancient authorities lack to God and humans
- Sirach 20:17 Other ancient authorities add for he has not honestly received what he has, and what he does not have is unimportant to him
- Sirach 20:22 Other ancient authorities read his foolish look
- Sirach 20:27 This heading is included in the Gk text.
- Sirach 20:31 Other ancient authorities add 32 Unwearied endurance in seeking the Lord is better than a masterless charioteer of one’s own life.
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New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.