Sirach 29

Wycliffe Bible

29 He that doeth mercy, lendeth to his neighbour; and he that is full mighty in hand, keepeth the commandments.

² Lend thou to thy neighbour in the time of his need; and again yield thou to a neighbour in his time. [Lend to thy neighbour in time of his need; and again yield to a neighbour in his time.]

³ Confirm thou a word, and do thou faithfully with him; and in all time thou shalt find that, that is needful to thee.

⁴ Many men guessed borrowing as finding, and gave dis-ease to those men that helped them. [Many as finding esteemed usury, and gave grief to them that helped them.]

⁵ Till they take (or receive), they kiss the hands of the giver; and in promises they make meek their voice. And in (or at) the time of yielding, he shall ask (for more) time, and he shall speak words of annoy(ance), (or of hurt), and of grudgings, (or of grumblings), and he shall challenge falsely the time, to tarry the paying of (the) debt. [To the time that they take, they kiss the hands of the giver; and in promises they meek their voice. And in time of yielding he shall ask delaying, and he shall speak words of annoy(ance), (or hurt), and of grudgings, and the time he shall plead (for) or complain (about).]

⁶ Forsooth if he may yield, he shall be adversary; of a shilling scarcely he shall yield the half, and he shall reckon that as (re)funding. Else he shall defraud him in (or of) his money, and the lender shall have him (as) an enemy without cause. And he shall yield to him, that is, to the lender, wrongs and cursings; and for honour and benefice, he shall yield to him despising. [If forsooth he shall be able to yield, he shall be enemy; scarcely of the whole he shall yield the half, and he shall count it as (re)funding. Else forsooth he shall beguile him his money, and shall have him enemy willfully. And reproofs and curses he shall yield to him; and for worship (or honour) and benefit he shall yield to him wrong.]

⁷ Many men lend not, not for cause of wickedness, but they dreaded to be defrauded without cause. [Many, not because of shrewdness (or depravity), lend not, but to be beguiled willfully, they dreaded.]

⁸ Nevertheless on (or for) a meek man in soul, that is, a full poor debtor, be thou stronger; and for alms[-deed(s)] draw thou not him (along).

⁹ For the commandment of God take (or receive) thou a poor man; and for his neediness leave thou not him void (or do not let him go away empty-handed). [Many, not because of shrewdness (or depravity), lend not, but to be beguiled willfully, they dreaded.]

¹⁰ Lose thou money for a brother and friend, and hide thou not it under a stone, into perdition.

¹¹ Put thy treasure in the commandments of the Highest; and it shall profit to thee more than gold.

¹² Close thou alms in the bosom of a poor man; and this alms shall pray for thee to be delivered of (or by) God from all evil. The alms of a man is as a bag [or as a little sack] with him; and it shall keep the grace of [a] man, that is, God’s grace, given to man, as the apple of the eye. And afterward it shall rise again, and shall yield to them a yielding, to each man into (or onto) the head of them.

¹³ Above, [or Over, (or Better than)] the shield of a mighty man, and above, [or over, (or better than)] a spear it shall fight against thine enemy.

¹⁴ A good man maketh faith to (or for) his neighbour in becoming (a) borrow(er), (or a guarantor), for him in need; and he that loseth, shall leave shame to him.

¹⁵ Forget thou not the grace of the borrower (or of the guarantor); for he gave his life for thee.

¹⁶ A sinful man [or The sinner] and unclean fleeth the promiser. A sinner areckoneth to himself the good words of the borrower (or of the guarantor);

¹⁷ and the unkind man in wit forsaketh a man delivering him.

¹⁸ A man promiseth for his neighbour; and when he hath lost reverence, that is, shamefastness before God and man, the borrower shall be forsaken of (or by) him. Worst promise, by which the neighbour promised falsely to deliver his borrow, hath lost many loving men, and hath moved them as the waves of the sea. It going in compass made mighty men to pass over; and (then) they wandered about among alien folks. [A man again-promiseth of his neighbour; and when he hath lost reverence, he shall be forsaken of him. Most shrewd (or depraved) again-promising spoiled many loving men, and (al)together stirred them as the floods, or waves, of the sea. Compassing it made mighty men to go out; and wandered in alien folks.]

¹⁹ A sinner breaking [or over-passing] the commandment of the Lord shall fall into a wicked promise; and he that enforceth (or endeavoureth) to do many things, shall fall into doom.

²⁰ Recover thy neighbour by thy virtue (or according to thy power); and take heed to thyself, lest thou fall (in the same manner). [Recover thy neighbour after thy virtue; and take heed to thee, that thou in-fall not.]

²¹ The beginning of (the) life of a man is water, and bread, and clothing, and (a) house covering filth[hood] (or nakedness).

²² Better is the lifelode (or the livelihood) of a poor man under the covering of spars, than [plenteous] shining feasts in pilgrimage without (a) house,

²³ The least thing pleaseth thee for a great thing, and thou shalt not hear the shame of pilgrimage. [The least thing for great please to thee; the reproof of pilgrimaging thou shalt not hear.]

²⁴ It is (a) wicked life to seek harbour from house into house; and where he shall be harboured, he shall not do trustily, neither he shall open the mouth. [A shrewd (or depraved) life, of harbouring from house into house; and where he shall be harboured, he shall not faithfully do, nor open the mouth.]

²⁵ He shall be harboured, and he shall feed, and give drink to unkind men; and yet he shall hear bitter things.

²⁶ Pass, thou that art harboured, and array a table; and give thou meats to other men, (of) those things that thou hast in the hand. [Go, guest, and adorn the board; and (of) those things that in thine hand thou hast, feed others.]

²⁷ Go thou out from the face of the honour of my friends, for the friendship, either affinity, of mine house [or for (the) need of mine house]; by harbouring thou art made a brother to me.

²⁸ These things be grievous to a man having wit; the reproving of house, and the despising of the usurer. [Grievous these things to a man having wit; reproving of the house, and reproof of the lender.]