Sirach 29

Revised Standard Version

29 He that shows mercy will lend to his neighbor,
    and he that strengthens him with his hand keeps the commandments.
² Lend to your neighbor in the time of his need;
    and in turn, repay your neighbor promptly.
³ Confirm your word and keep faith with him,
    and on every occasion you will find what you need.
⁴ Many persons regard a loan as a windfall,
    and cause trouble to those who help them.
⁵ A man will kiss another’s hands until he gets a loan,
    and will lower his voice in speaking of his neighbor’s money;
but at the time for repayment he will delay,
    and will pay in words of unconcern,
    and will find fault with the time.
⁶ If the lender^[a] exert pressure, he will hardly get back half,
    and will regard that as a windfall.
If he does not, the borrower^[b] has robbed him of his money,
    and he has needlessly made him his enemy;
he will repay him with curses and reproaches,
    and instead of glory will repay him with dishonor.
⁷ Because of such wickedness, therefore,^[c] many have refused to lend;
    they have been afraid of being defrauded needlessly.

¹⁴ A good man will be surety for his neighbor,
    but a man who has lost his sense of shame will fail him.
¹⁵ Do not forget all the kindness of your surety,
    for he has given his life for you.
¹⁶ A sinner will overthrow the prosperity of his surety,
¹⁷     and one who does not feel grateful will abandon his rescuer.
¹⁸ Being surety has ruined many men who were prosperous,
    and has shaken them like a wave of the sea;
it has driven men of power into exile,
    and they have wandered among foreign nations.
¹⁹ The sinner who has fallen into suretyship
    and pursues gain will fall into lawsuits.
²⁰ Assist your neighbor according to your ability,
    but take heed to yourself lest you fall.

²¹ The essentials for life are water and bread
    and clothing and a house to cover one’s nakedness.
²² Better is the life of a poor man under the shelter of his roof
    than sumptuous food in another man’s house.
²³ Be content with little or much.^[d]
24 It is a miserable life to go from house to house,
    and where you are a stranger you may not open your mouth;
²⁵ you will play the host and provide drink without being thanked,
    and besides this you will hear bitter words:
²⁶ “Come here, stranger, prepare the table,
    and if you have anything at hand, let me have it to eat.”
²⁷ “Give place, stranger, to an honored person;
    my brother has come to stay with me; I need my house.”
²⁸ These things are hard to bear for a man who has feeling:
    scolding about lodging^[e] and the reproach of the moneylender.