Ben Sira 22:1-5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 22
On Laziness and Foolishness
1 [a]The sluggard is like a filthy stone;[b]
everyone hisses at his disgrace.
2 The sluggard is like a lump of dung;
whoever touches it shakes it off the hands.
3 An undisciplined child is a disgrace to its father;
if it be a daughter, she brings him to poverty.(A)
4 A thoughtful daughter obtains a husband of her own;
a shameless one is her father’s grief.
5 A hussy shames her father and her husband;
she is despised by both.
Footnotes
- 22:1–15 To Ben Sira, a lazy person and an unruly child are a cause of shame and disgrace; everyone wishes to be rid of them (vv. 1–5). Speaking with a wicked fool is as senseless as talking with someone who is asleep or dead (v. 10). The fool is an intolerable burden that merits a lifetime of mourning (v. 12). Seven days was the usual mourning period. Cf. Gn 50:10; Jdt 16:24.
- 22:1 Stone: used then and even today for wiping oneself after a bowel movement.
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