Sirach 5
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Precepts for Everyday Living
5 Do not rely on your wealth,
or say, “I have enough.”
2 Do not follow your inclination and strength
in pursuing the desires of your heart.
3 Do not say, “Who can have power over me?”
for the Lord will surely punish you.
4 Do not say, “I sinned, yet what has happened to me?”
for the Lord is slow to anger.
5 Do not be so confident of forgiveness[a]
that you add sin to sin.
6 Do not say, “His mercy is great,
he will forgive[b] the multitude of my sins,”
for both mercy and wrath are with him,
and his anger will rest on sinners.
7 Do not delay to turn back to the Lord,
and do not postpone it from day to day;
for suddenly the wrath of the Lord will come upon you,
and at the time of punishment you will perish.
8 Do not depend on dishonest wealth,
for it will not benefit you on the day of calamity.
9 Do not winnow in every wind,
or follow every path.[c]
10 Stand firm for what you know,
and let your speech be consistent.
11 Be quick to hear,
but deliberate in answering.
12 If you know what to say, answer your neighbor;
but if not, put your hand over your mouth.
13 Honor and dishonor come from speaking,
and the tongue of mortals may be their downfall.
14 Do not be called double-tongued[d]
and do not lay traps with your tongue;
for shame comes to the thief,
and severe condemnation to the double-tongued.
15 In great and small matters cause no harm,[e]
Footnotes
- Sirach 5:5 Heb: Gk atonement
- Sirach 5:6 Heb: Gk he (or it) will atone for
- Sirach 5:9 Gk adds so it is with the double-tongued sinner (see 6.1)
- Sirach 5:14 Heb: Gk a slanderer
- Sirach 5:15 Heb Syr: Gk be ignorant
Sirach 5
Good News Translation
Don't Be Presumptuous
5 Don't rely on money to make you independent. 2 Don't think you have to have everything you want, and then spend your energy trying to get it. 3 Don't think that no one can exercise authority over you; if you do, the Lord is certain to punish you. 4 (A)Don't think that you can sin and get away with it; the Lord does not mind waiting to punish you. 5 Don't be so certain of the Lord's forgiveness that you go on committing one sin after another. 6 Don't think that his mercy is so great that he will forgive your sins no matter how many they are. He does show mercy, but he also shows his furious anger with sinners. 7 Come back to the Lord quickly. Don't think that you can keep putting it off. His anger can come upon you suddenly, and you will die under his punishment. 8 Don't rely on dishonest wealth; it will do you no good on that day of disaster.
Sincerity and Self-control
9-10 Be certain about what you believe and consistent in what you say. Don't try to please everyone or agree with everything people say.[a] 11 Always be ready to listen, but take your time in answering. 12 Answer only if you know what to say, and if you don't know what to say, keep quiet. 13 Speaking can bring you either honor or disgrace; what you say can ruin you.
14 Don't get a reputation for being a gossip, and don't tell tales that will hurt people. Just as robbers will suffer disgrace, so liars will suffer severe condemnation. 15 Do nothing destructive,[b] whether it seems insignificant or not,
Footnotes
- Sirach 5:9 Hebrew everything people say; Greek adds That is what double-tongued sinners do.
- Sirach 5:15 Hebrew Do nothing destructive; Greek Do not be ignorant in anything.
Sirach 5
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
5 Set not thy heart upon unjust possessions, and say not: I have enough to live on: for it shall be of no service in the time of vengeance and darkness.
2 Follow not in thy strength the desires of thy heart:
3 And say not: How mighty am I? and who shall bring me under for my deeds? for God will surely take revenge.
4 Say not: I have sinned, and what harm hath befallen me? for the most High is a patient rewarder.
5 Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin:
6 And say not: The mercy of the Lord is great, he will have mercy on the multitude of my sins.
7 For mercy and wrath quickly come from him, and his wrath looketh upon sinners.
8 Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day.
9 For his wrath shall come on a sudden, and in the time of vengeance he will destroy thee.
10 Be not anxious for goods unjustly gotten: for they shall not profit thee in the day of calamity and revenge.
11 Winnow not with every wind, and go not into every way: for so is every sinner proved by a double tongue.
12 Be steadfast in the way of the Lord, and in the truth of thy judgment, and in knowledge, and let the word of peace and justice keep with thee.
13 Be meek to hear the word, that thou mayst understand: and return a true answer with wisdom.
14 If thou have understanding, answer thy neighbour: but if not, let thy hand be upon thy mouth, lest thou be surprised in an unskillful word, and be confounded.
15 Honour and glory is in the word of the wise, but the tongue of the fool is his ruin.
16 Be not called a whisperer, and be not taken in thy tongue, and confounded.
17 For confusion and repentance is upon a thief, and an evil mark of disgrace upon the double tongued, but to the whisperer hatred, and enmity, and reproach.
18 Justify alike the small and the great.
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.
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