Sirach 21-24
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Various Sins
21 Have you sinned, my son? Do so no more,
but pray about your former sins.
2 Flee from sin as from a snake;
for if you approach sin, it will bite you.
Its teeth are lion’s teeth,
and destroy the souls of men.
3 All lawlessness is like a two-edged sword;
there is no healing for its wound.
4 Terror and violence will lay waste riches;
thus the house of the proud will be laid waste.
5 The prayer of a poor man goes from his lips to the ears of God,[a]
and his judgment comes speedily.
6 Whoever hates reproof walks in the steps of the sinner,
but he that fears the Lord will repent in his heart.
7 He who is mighty in speech is known from afar;
but the sensible man, when he slips, is aware of it.
8 A man who builds his house with other people’s money
is like one who gathers stones for his burial mound.[b]
9 An assembly of the wicked is like tow gathered together,
and their end is a flame of fire.
10 The way of sinners is smoothly paved with stones,
but at its end is the pit of Hades.
Wisdom and Foolishness
11 Whoever keeps the law controls his thoughts,
and wisdom is the fulfilment of the fear of the Lord.
12 He who is not clever cannot be taught,
but there is a cleverness which increases bitterness.
13 The knowledge of a wise man will increase like a flood,
and his counsel like a flowing spring.
14 The mind of a fool is like a broken jar;
it will hold no knowledge.
15 When a man of understanding hears a wise saying,
he will praise it and add to it;
when a reveler hears it, he dislikes it
and casts it behind his back.
16 A fool’s narration is like a burden on a journey,
but delight will be found in the speech of the intelligent.
17 The utterance of a sensible man will be sought in the assembly,
and they will ponder his words in their minds.
18 Like a house that has vanished, so is wisdom to a fool;
and the knowledge of the ignorant is unexamined talk.
19 To a senseless man education is fetters on his feet,
and like manacles on his right hand.
20 A fool raises his voice when he laughs,
but a clever man smiles quietly.
21 To a sensible man education is like a golden ornament,
and like a bracelet on the right arm.
22 The foot of a fool rushes into a house,
but a man of experience stands respectfully before it.
23 A boor peers into the house from the door,
but a cultivated man remains outside.
24 It is ill-mannered for a man to listen at a door,
and a discreet man is grieved by the disgrace.
25 The lips of strangers will speak of these things,[c]
but the words of the prudent will be weighed in the balance.
26 The mind of fools is in their mouth,
but the mouth of wise men is in[d] their mind.
27 When an ungodly man curses his adversary,[e]
he curses his own soul.
28 A whisperer defiles his own soul
and is hated in his neighborhood.
The Idler
22 The indolent may be compared to a filthy stone,
and every one hisses at his disgrace.
2 The indolent may be compared to the filth of dunghills;
any one that picks it up will shake it off his hand.
Degenerate Children
3 It is a disgrace to be the father of an undisciplined son,
and the birth of a daughter is a loss.
4 A sensible daughter obtains her husband,
but one who acts shamefully brings grief to her father.
5 An impudent daughter disgraces father and husband,
and will be despised by both.
6 Like music in mourning is a tale told at the wrong time,
but chastising and discipline are wisdom at all times.
Wisdom and Folly
7 He who teaches a fool is like one who glues potsherds together,
or who rouses a sleeper from deep slumber.
8 He who tells a story to a fool tells it to a drowsy man;
and at the end he will say, “What is it?”[f]
11 Weep for the dead, for he lacks the light;
and weep for the fool, for he lacks intelligence;
weep less bitterly for the dead, for he has attained rest;
but the life of the fool is worse than death.
12 Mourning for the dead lasts seven days,
but for a fool or an ungodly man it lasts all his life.
13 Do not talk much with a foolish man,
and do not visit an unintelligent man;
guard yourself from him to escape trouble,
and you will not be soiled when he shakes himself off;
avoid him and you will find rest,
and you will never be wearied by his madness.
14 What is heavier than lead?
And what is its name except “Fool”?
15 Sand, salt, and a piece of iron
are easier to bear than a stupid man.
16 A wooden beam firmly bonded into a building
will not be torn loose by an earthquake;
so the mind firmly fixed on a reasonable counsel
will not be afraid in a crisis.
17 A mind settled on an intelligent thought
is like the stucco decoration on the wall of a colonnade.[g]
18 Fences set on a high place
will not stand firm against the wind;
so a timid heart with a fool’s purpose
will not stand firm against any fear.
The Preservation of Friendship
19 A man who pricks an eye will make tears fall,
and one who pricks the heart makes it show feeling.
20 One who throws a stone at birds scares them away,
and one who reviles a friend will break off the friendship.
21 Even if you have drawn your sword against a friend,
do not despair, for a renewal of friendship is possible.
22 If you have opened your mouth against your friend,
do not worry, for reconciliation is possible;
but as for reviling, arrogance, disclosure of secrets, or a treacherous blow—
in these cases any friend will flee.
23 Gain the trust of your neighbor in his poverty,
that you may rejoice with him in his prosperity;
stand by him in time of affliction,
that you may share with him in his inheritance.[h]
24 The vapor and smoke of the furnace precede the fire;
so insults precede bloodshed.
25 I will not be ashamed to protect a friend,
and I will not hide from him;
26 but if some harm should happen to me because of him,
whoever hears of it will beware of him.
A Prayer for Help against Sinning
27 O that a guard were set over my mouth,
and a seal of prudence upon my lips,
that it may keep me from falling,
so that my tongue may not destroy me![i]
23 O Lord, Father and Ruler of my life,
do not abandon me to their counsel,
and let me not fall because of them!
2 O that whips were set over my thoughts,
and the discipline of wisdom over my mind![j]
That they may not spare me in my errors,
and that it may not pass by my[k] sins;
3 in order that my mistakes may not be multiplied,
and my sins may not abound;
then I will not fall before my adversaries,
and my enemy will not rejoice over me.
4 O Lord, Father and God of my life,
do not give me haughty eyes,
5 and remove from me evil desire.
6 Let neither gluttony nor lust overcome me,
and do not surrender me to a shameless soul.
7 Listen, my children, to instruction concerning speech;
the one who observes it will never be caught.
8 The sinner is overtaken through his lips,
the reviler and the arrogant are tripped by them.
9 Do not accustom your mouth to oaths,
and do not habitually utter the name of the Holy One;
10 for as a servant who is continually examined under torture
will not lack bruises,
so also the man who always swears and utters the Name
will not be cleansed from sin.
11 A man who swears many oaths will be filled with iniquity,
and the scourge will not leave his house;
if he offends, his sin remains on him,
and if he disregards it, he sins doubly;
if he has sworn needlessly, he will not be justified,
for his house will be filled with calamities.
Foul Language
12 There is an utterance which is comparable to death;[l]
may it never be found in the inheritance of Jacob!
For all these errors will be far from the godly,
and they will not wallow in sins.
13 Do not accustom your mouth to lewd vulgarity,
for it involves sinful speech.
14 Remember your father and mother
when[m] you sit among great men;
lest you be forgetful in their presence,
and be deemed a fool on account of your habits;
then you will wish that you had never been born,
and you will curse the day of your birth.
15 A man accustomed to use insulting words
will never become disciplined all his days.
Concerning Sexual Sins
16 Two sorts of men multiply sins,
and a third incurs wrath.
The soul heated like a burning fire
will not be quenched until it is consumed;
a man who commits fornication with his near of kin[n]
will never cease until the fire burns him up.
17 To a fornicator all bread tastes sweet;
he will never cease until he dies.
18 A man who breaks his marriage vows
says to himself, “Who sees me?
Darkness surrounds me, and the walls hide me,
and no one sees me. Why should I fear?
The Most High will not take notice of my sins.”
19 His fear is confined to the eyes of men,
and he does not realize that the eyes of the Lord
are ten thousand times brighter than the sun;
they look upon all the ways of men,
and perceive even the hidden places.
20 Before the universe was created, it was known to him;
so it was also after it was finished.
21 This man will be punished in the streets of the city,
and where he least suspects it, he will be seized.
22 So it is with a woman who leaves her husband
and provides an heir by a stranger.
23 For first of all, she has disobeyed the law of the Most High;
second, she has committed an offense against her husband;
and third, she has committed adultery through harlotry
and brought forth children by another man.
24 She herself will be brought before the assembly,
and punishment will fall on her children.
25 Her children will not take root,
and her branches will not bear fruit.
26 She will leave her memory for a curse,
and her disgrace will not be blotted out.
27 Those who survive her will recognize
that nothing is better than the fear of the Lord,
and nothing sweeter than to heed the commandments of the Lord.[o]
24 Wisdom will praise herself,
and will glory in the midst of her people.[p]
2 In the assembly of the Most High she will open her mouth,
and in the presence of his host she will glory:
3 “I came forth from the mouth of the Most High,
and covered the earth like a mist.
4 I dwelt in high places,
and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.
5 Alone I have made the circuit of the vault of heaven
and have walked in the depths of the abyss.
6 In the waves of the sea, in the whole earth,
and in every people and nation I have gotten a possession.
7 Among all these I sought a resting place;
I sought in whose territory I might lodge.
8 “Then the Creator of all things gave me a commandment,
and the one who created me assigned a place for my tent.
And he said, ‘Make your dwelling in Jacob,
and in Israel receive your inheritance.’
9 From eternity, in the beginning, he created me,
and for eternity I shall not cease to exist.
10 In the holy tabernacle I ministered before him,
and so I was established in Zion.
11 In the beloved city likewise he gave me a resting place,
and in Jerusalem was my dominion.
12 So I took root in an honored people,
in the portion of the Lord, who is their inheritance.
13 “I grew tall like a cedar in Leb′anon,
and like a cypress on the heights of Hermon.
14 I grew tall like a palm tree in En-ged′i,[q]
and like rose plants in Jericho;
like a beautiful olive tree in the field,
and like a plane tree I grew tall.
15 Like cassia and camel’s thorn I gave forth the aroma of spices,
and like choice myrrh I spread a pleasant odor,
like gal′banum, on′ycha, and stacte,
and like the fragrance of frankincense in the tabernacle.
16 Like a terebinth I spread out my branches,
and my branches are glorious and graceful.
17 Like a vine I caused loveliness to bud,
and my blossoms became glorious and abundant fruit.[r]
19 “Come to me, you who desire me,
and eat your fill of my produce.
20 For the remembrance of me is sweeter than honey,
and my inheritance sweeter than the honeycomb.
21 Those who eat me will hunger for more,
and those who drink me will thirst for more.
22 Whoever obeys me will not be put to shame,
and those who work with my help will not sin.”
Wisdom and the Law
23 All this is the book of the covenant of the Most High God,
the law which Moses commanded us
as an inheritance for the congregations of Jacob.[s]
25 It fills men with wisdom, like the Pishon,
and like the Tigris at the time of the first fruits.
26 It makes them full of understanding, like the Euphrates,
and like the Jordan at harvest time.
27 It makes instruction shine forth like light,
like the Gihon at the time of vintage.
28 Just as the first man did not know her perfectly,
the last one has not fathomed her;
29 for her thought is more abundant than the sea,
and her counsel deeper than the great abyss.
30 I went forth like a canal from a river
and like a water channel into a garden.
31 I said, “I will water my orchard
and drench my garden plot”;
and lo, my canal became a river,
and my river became a sea.
32 I will again make instruction shine forth like the dawn,
and I will make it shine afar;
33 I will again pour out teaching like prophecy,
and leave it to all future generations.
34 Observe that I have not labored for myself alone,
but for all who seek instruction.[t]
Notas al pie
- Sirach 21:5 Gk his ears
- Sirach 21:8 Other authorities read for the winter
- Sirach 21:25 The Greek text of this line is uncertain
- Sirach 21:26 Other authorities omit in
- Sirach 21:27 Or curses Satan
- Sirach 22:8 Other authorities add 9 Children who are brought up in a good life, conceal the lowly birth of their parents. 10 Children who are disdainfully and boorishly haughty stain the nobility of their kindred.
- Sirach 22:17 Or on a smooth wall
- Sirach 22:23 Other authorities add For one should not always despise restricted circumstances, nor admire a rich man who is stupid.
- Sirach 22:27 Or Who will set a guard . . . destroy me?
- Sirach 23:2 Or Who will set whips . . . my mind?
- Sirach 23:2 Gk their
- Sirach 23:12 Other authorities read clothed about with death
- Sirach 23:14 Gk for
- Sirach 23:16 Gk in the body of his flesh
- Sirach 23:27 Other authorities add 28 It is a great honor to follow God, and to be received by him is long life.
- Sirach 24:1 Or will glorify herself in the midst of the people.
- Sirach 24:14 Other authorities read on the beaches
- Sirach 24:17 Other authorities add 18 I am the mother of beautiful love, of fear, of knowledge, and of holy hope; being eternal, I therefore am given to all my children, to those who are named by him.
- Sirach 24:23 Other authorities add 24 “Do not cease to be strong in the Lord, cleave to him so that he may strengthen you; the Lord Almighty alone is God, and besides him there is no savior.”
- Sirach 24:34 Gk it
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 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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