Sirach 3:30-4:10
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Alms for the Poor
30 Water extinguishes a blazing fire:
so almsgiving atones for sin.
31 Whoever requites favors gives thought to the future;
at the moment of his falling he will find support.
Duties toward the Poor and the Oppressed
4 My son, deprive not the poor of his living,
and do not keep needy eyes waiting.
2 Do not grieve the one who is hungry,
nor anger a man in want.
3 Do not add to the troubles of an angry mind,
nor delay your gift to a beggar.
4 Do not reject an afflicted suppliant,
nor turn your face away from the poor.
5 Do not avert your eye from the needy,
nor give a man occasion to curse you;
6 for if in bitterness of soul he calls down a curse upon you,
his Creator will hear his prayer.
7 Make yourself beloved in the congregation;
bow your head low to a great man.
8 Incline your ear to the poor,
and answer him peaceably and gently.
9 Deliver him who is wronged from the hand of the wrongdoer;
and do not be fainthearted in judging a case.
10 Be like a father to orphans,
and instead of a husband to their mother;
you will then be like a son of the Most High,
and he will love you more than does your mother.
Sirach 3:30-4:10
Good News Translation
Giving to the Poor
30 Giving to the poor can make up for sin, just as water can put out a blazing fire. 31 Anyone who responds to others with acts of kindness is thinking of the future, because he will find help if he ever falls on hard times. 4 1 My child, don't prevent the poor from making a living, or keep them waiting in their need. 2 Never give a hungry person any cause for resentment or anger. 3 Don't add to the troubles of someone who is already desperate. If he is in need, don't put off giving to him. 4-5 Don't refuse to help a beggar who is in distress. Don't turn your back on a poor person or give him any reason to curse you. 6 If he becomes so bitter that he does curse you, his Creator will hear his prayer.
7 Make yourself popular in the synagogue. Bow your head to men of authority. 8 Listen to what the poor have to say, and answer them politely. 9 Protect people from those who want to wrong them, and be firm in your judgments. 10 Be like a father to orphans, and provide widows with the help their husbands can no longer give them. Then you will be like a child of the Most High, and he will love you more than your own mother does.
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.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.