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Ben Sira 13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Ben Sira 13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 13
Caution Regarding Associates[a]
1 Touch pitch and you blacken your hand;
associate with scoundrels and you learn their ways.
2 Do not lift a weight too heavy for you,
or associate with anyone wealthier than you.
How can the clay pot go with the metal cauldron?
When they knock together, the pot will be smashed:
3 The rich do wrong and boast of it,
while the poor are wronged and beg forgiveness.
4 As long as the rich can use you they will enslave you,
but when you are down and out they will abandon you.
5 As long as you have anything they will live with you,
but they will drain you dry without remorse.
6 When they need you they will deceive you
and smile at you and raise your hopes;
they will speak kindly to you and say, “What do you need?”
7 They will embarrass you at their dinner parties,
and finally laugh at you.
Afterwards, when they see you, they will pass you by,
and shake their heads at you.
8 Be on guard: do not act too boldly;
do not be like those who lack sense.
9 When the influential draw near, keep your distance;
then they will urge you all the more.
10 Do not draw too close, lest you be rebuffed,
but do not keep too far away lest you be regarded as an enemy.
11 Do not venture to be free with them,
do not trust their many words;
For by prolonged talk they will test you,
and though smiling they will probe you.
12 Mercilessly they will make you a laughingstock,
and will not refrain from injury or chains.
13 Be on your guard and take care
never to accompany lawless people.[b]
15 Every living thing loves its own kind,
and we all love someone like ourselves.
16 Every living being keeps close to its own kind;
and people associate with their own kind.
17 Is a wolf ever allied with a lamb?
So the sinner with the righteous.(A)
18 Can there be peace between the hyena and the dog?
Or peace between the rich and the poor?[c]
19 Wild donkeys of the desert are lion’s prey;
likewise the poor are feeding grounds for the rich.
20 Humility is an abomination to the proud;
and the poor are an abomination to the rich.
21 When the rich stumble they are supported by friends;
when the poor trip they are pushed down by friends.
22 When the rich speak they have many supporters;
though what they say is repugnant, it wins approval.
When the poor speak people say, “Come, come, speak up!”
though they are talking sense, they get no hearing.
23 When the rich speak all are silent,
their wisdom people extol to the clouds.
When the poor speak people say: “Who is that?”
If they stumble, people knock them down.(B)
24 Wealth is good where there is no sin;[d]
but poverty is evil by the standards of the proud.
25 The heart changes one’s face,
either for good or for evil.(C)
26 The sign of a good heart is a radiant face;
withdrawn and perplexed is the toiling schemer.
Footnotes
- 13:1–14:2 By means of various images, most of them unfavorable to the rich, Ben Sira indicates the practical impossibility of genuine and sincere companionship between the poor and the rich. He lays down a principle of associating with equals (13:6–19).
- 13:13
Other ancient texts read as v. 14:
If you hear these things in your sleep, wake up!
With your whole life, love the Lord
and call on him for your salvation.
- 13:18 The hostility between the dogs which guard the flocks (Jb 30:1) and the rapacious hyenas (Jer 12:9) is proverbial in Palestine.
- 13:24 Ben Sira allows that the rich can be virtuous—but with difficulty; cf. 31:1–11.
Sirach 13
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Sirach 13
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Caution Regarding Associates
13 Whoever touches pitch gets dirty,
and whoever associates with a proud person becomes like him.
2 Do not lift a weight too heavy for you,
or associate with one mightier and richer than you.
How can the clay pot associate with the iron kettle?
The pot will strike against it and be smashed.
3 A rich person does wrong, and even adds insults;
a poor person suffers wrong, and must add apologies.
4 A rich person[a] will exploit you if you can be of use to him,
but if you are in need he will abandon you.
5 If you own something, he will live with you;
he will drain your resources without a qualm.
6 When he needs you he will deceive you,
and will smile at you and encourage you;
he will speak to you kindly and say, “What do you need?”
7 He will embarrass you with his delicacies,
until he has drained you two or three times,
and finally he will laugh at you.
Should he see you afterwards, he will pass you by
and shake his head at you.
8 Take care not to be led astray
and humiliated when you are enjoying yourself.[b]
9 When an influential person invites you, be reserved,
and he will invite you more insistently.
10 Do not be forward, or you may be rebuffed;
do not stand aloof, or you will be forgotten.
11 Do not try to treat him as an equal,
or trust his lengthy conversations;
for he will test you by prolonged talk,
and while he smiles he will be examining you.
12 Cruel are those who do not keep your secrets;
they will not spare you harm or imprisonment.
13 Be on your guard and very careful,
for you are walking about with your own downfall.[c]
15 Every creature loves its like,
and every person the neighbor.
16 All living beings associate with their own kind,
and people stick close to those like themselves.
17 What does a wolf have in common with a lamb?
No more has a sinner with the devout.
18 What peace is there between a hyena and a dog?
And what peace between the rich and the poor?
19 Wild asses in the wilderness are the prey of lions;
likewise the poor are feeding grounds for the rich.
20 Humility is an abomination to the proud;
likewise the poor are an abomination to the rich.
21 When the rich person totters, he is supported by friends,
but when the humble[d] falls, he is pushed away even by friends.
22 If the rich person slips, many come to the rescue;
he speaks unseemly words, but they justify him.
If the humble person slips, they even criticize him;
he talks sense, but is not given a hearing.
23 The rich person speaks and all are silent;
they extol to the clouds what he says.
The poor person speaks and they say, “Who is this fellow?”
And should he stumble, they even push him down.
24 Riches are good if they are free from sin;
poverty is evil only in the opinion of the ungodly.
25 The heart changes the countenance,
either for good or for evil.[e]
26 The sign of a happy heart is a cheerful face,
but to devise proverbs requires painful thinking.
Footnotes
- Sirach 13:4 Gk He
- Sirach 13:8 Other ancient authorities read in your folly
- Sirach 13:13 Other ancient authorities add as verse 14, When you hear these things in your sleep, wake up! During all your life love the Lord, and call on him for your salvation.
- Sirach 13:21 Other ancient authorities read poor
- Sirach 13:25 Other ancient authorities add and a glad heart makes a cheerful countenance
Sirach 13
Good News Translation
Sirach 13
Good News Translation
13 If you touch tar, it will stick to you, and if you keep company with arrogant people, you will come to be just like them. 2 Don't try to lift something too heavy for you, and don't keep company with people who are richer and more powerful than you. You cannot keep a clay pot next to an iron kettle; the pot will break if it hits the kettle. 3 If a rich person wrongs someone, he can afford to add insult to injury; but if a poor person is wronged, he is forced to apologize for himself. 4 A rich person will use you as long as he can profit from it, but when you need him, he will leave you helpless. 5 He will live with you as long as you have anything and will gladly drain you dry. 6 If he needs you, he will trick you with his smiles and cheerful, kindly words.
Do you need anything? he will ask. 7 He will feed you until you are embarrassed. Finally, when he has drained you two or three times over, he will laugh at you. If you see him later, he will pretend he doesn't know you, and will pass you by.
8 Be careful not to be misled; you can be enjoying yourself and suddenly find yourself humiliated. 9 If you are invited to the home of someone influential, be reserved in your behavior. Then he will invite you more often. 10 If you push yourself on him, he will put you in your place. On the other hand, if you keep your distance from him, he will forget about you. 11 Don't pretend to be his equal or trust everything he says. In spite of all of his long and polite conversation, he is testing you.
12 If a person does not keep confidences, he is cruel; he will not hesitate to hurt you or have you put in jail. 13 Keep your secrets to yourself and be very careful, for you are always walking on dangerous ground.[a] 14 As long as you live, love the Lord and call on him to rescue you.
15 Every creature prefers its own kind, and people are no different. 16 Just as animals of the same species flock together, so people keep company with people like themselves. 17 A sinner has no more in common with a devout person than a wolf has with a lamb. 18 Rich people have no more in common with poor people than hyenas have with dogs. 19 The rich hunt down the poor just as lions hunt down wild donkeys in the open country. 20 Arrogant people have nothing but scorn for the humble, and the rich think of the poor in the same way. 21 When a rich person stumbles, his friends will steady him, but if a poor person falls, his friends will have nothing to do with him. 22 When someone rich makes a mistake, there are many people to cover up for him and explain away all the things he never should have said. But let someone poor make a mistake, and he gets nothing but criticism. Even if what he says makes good sense, nobody will listen. 23 When a rich person speaks, everyone is silent, and they praise him to the skies for what he says. But let a poor person speak, and everybody says,
Who is that? They push him down if he so much as stumbles.
24 There is nothing wrong with being rich if you haven't sinned to get that way. But there is nothing sinful about being poor, either. Only the ungodly think so. 25 It's what is in your heart that makes the expression on your face happy or sad. 26 If you feel cheerful, you will look cheerful, although making up proverbs calls for some intense thought.
Footnotes
- Sirach 13:13 Some manuscripts add verses 13b-14: When you hear this in your sleep, wake up!
Sirach 13
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
Sirach 13
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
13 He that toucheth pitch, shall be defiled with it: and he that hath fellowship with the proud, shall put on pride.
2 He shall take a burden upon him that hath fellowship with one more honourable than himself. And have no fellowship with one that is richer than thyself.
3 What agreement shall the earthen pot have with the kettle? for if they knock one against the other, it shall be broken.
4 The rich man hath done wrong, and yet he will fume: but the poor is wronged and must hold his peace.
5 If thou give, he will make use of thee: and if thou have nothing, he will forsake thee.
6 If thou have any thing, he will live with thee, and will make thee bare, and he will not be sorry for thee.
7 If he have need of thee he will deceive thee, and smiling upon thee will put thee in hope; he will speak thee fair, and will say: What wantest thou?
8 And he will shame thee by his meats, till he have drawn thee dry twice or thrice, and at last he will laugh at thee: and afterward when he seeth thee, he will forsake thee, and shake his head at thee.
9 Humble thyself to God, and wait for his hands.
10 Beware that thou be not deceived Into folly, and be humbled.
11 Be not lowly in thy wisdom, lest being humbled thou be deceived into folly.
12 If thou be invited by one that is mightier, withdraw thyself: for so he will invite thee the more.
13 Be not troublesome to him, lest thou be put back: and keep not far from him, lest thou be forgotten.
14 Affect not to speak with him as an equal: and believe not his many words: for by much talk he will sift thee, and smiling will examine thee concerning thy secrets.
15 His cruel mind will lay up thy words: and he will not spare to do thee hurt, and to cast thee into prison.
16 Take heed to thyself, and attend diligently to what thou hearest: for thou walkest in danger of thy ruin.
17 When thou hearest those things, see as it were in sleep, and thou shalt awake.
18 Love God all thy life, and call upon him for thy salvation.
19 Every beast loveth its like: so also every man him that is nearest to himself.
20 All flesh shall consort with the like to itself, and every man shall associate himself to his like.
21 If the wolf shall at any time have fellowship with the lamb, so the sinner with the just.
22 What fellowship hath a holy man with a dog, or what part hath the rich with the poor?
23 The wild ass is the lion's prey in the desert: so also the poor are devoured by the rich.
24 And as humility is an abomination to the proud: so also the rich man abhorreth the poor.
25 When a rich man is shaken, he is kept up by his friends: but when a poor man is fallen down, he is thrust away even by his acquaintance.
26 When a rich man hath been deceived, he hath many helpers: he hath spoken proud things, and they have justified him.
27 The poor man was deceived, and he is rebuked also: he hath spoken wisely, and could have no place.
28 The rich man spoke, and all held their peace, and what he said they extol even to the clouds.
29 The poor man spoke, and they say: Who is this? and if he stumble, they will overthrow him.
30 Riches are good to him that hath no sin in his conscience: and poverty is very wicked in the mouth of the ungodly.
31 The heart of a man changeth his countenance, either for good, or for evil.
32 The token of a good heart, and a good countenance thou shalt hardly find, and with labour.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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Good News Translation (GNT) 
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