Font Size
Sirach 31
Good News Translation
Sirach 31
Good News Translation
Problems Caused by Money
31 Worrying about money will make you lose weight and lose sleep. 2 Worrying about business[a] will keep you from sleeping just as surely as a serious illness does.
3 Rich people work hard to make a lot of money; then they can sit back and live in luxury. 4 Poor people work hard and have nothing to show for it, and when they rest, they are still poor.
5 No one who loves money can be judged innocent; his efforts to get rich have led him into sin.[b] 6 Many people have been ruined because of money, brought face-to-face with disaster. 7 Money is a trap for those who are fascinated by it, a trap that every fool falls into.
8 A person who gets rich without sinfully chasing after money is fortunate. 9 Do you know anyone like that? If so, we will congratulate him for performing a miracle that no one else has ever been able to do. 10 If anyone has ever passed this test, he can well be proud. Has anyone ever known that he could get away with cheating someone, and not taken advantage of it? 11 If so, he deserves his wealth, and everyone will praise him for his generosity.
Behavior at Dinner Parties
12 When you sit down at a fancy banquet, don't let your mouth hang open, and don't say,
Look at all that food! 13 It is impolite to have a greedy eye; remember that. Nothing in creation is greedier than the eye; that is why it sheds tears so often.[c] 14 Don't reach out for everything you see, and don't elbow people out of the way to get at the food. 15 Be considerate of the other people at the table and treat them the way you want to be treated. 16 When you get your food, eat it like a human being. Don't smack and slurp; nobody can stand that. 17 It's good manners to be the first to stop eating; stuffing yourself is offensive. 18 If there are many people present, don't try to be the first to be served. 19 A little bit is plenty for anyone with good manners. Besides, you won't be short of breath when you go to bed. 20 People who eat too much get stomach aches and cannot sleep. If you don't overeat, you can get a good night's sleep and wake up early the next morning feeling fine. 21 But if you do get a stomach ache from eating too much, go off and vomit[d] and you will feel better. 22 My child, if you listen to what I am saying and put it into practice, one of these days you will thank me for it. Be moderate[e] in everything you do, and you will never get sick.
23 People appreciate a generous host, and he deserves their praise. 24 But everybody in town will complain about a host who is stingy with food, and their complaints are justified.
25 Don't try to prove your manhood by how much you can drink. Wine has been the ruin of many. 26 An arrogant person's character shows through when he is in a drunken argument, in the same way that iron is tested when it is heated red-hot and then dipped in water. 27 Wine can put new life into you if you drink it in moderation. What would life be like without it? Wine was created to make us happy. 28 If you drink it in moderation and at the right time, it can lift your spirits and make you cheerful, 29 but if you drink when you are angry and upset, it leads to headaches, embarrassment, and disgrace.[f] 30 A drunken fool can lose his temper and hurt himself. His drinking makes him weak and an easy target for angry blows. 31 Never rebuke a person when you have both been drinking. Don't hurt his feelings while he is having a good time. It's not the time to criticize anyone, or to ask him to pay back a debt.
Footnotes
- Sirach 31:2 Hebrew Worrying about business; Greek Sleepless worry.
- Sirach 31:5 Hebrew have...sin; Greek will destroy him.
- Sirach 31:13 Hebrew so often; Greek on every face.
- Sirach 31:21 go off and vomit; some manuscripts have get up in the middle of the meal.
- Sirach 31:22 Hebrew moderate; Greek industrious.
- Sirach 31:29 Hebrew when you are...disgrace; Greek too much, it leads to bitterness, offense, and stumbling.
Sirach 31
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Sirach 31
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Right Attitude toward Riches
31 Wakefulness over wealth wastes away one’s flesh,
and anxiety about it drives away sleep.(A)
2 Wakeful anxiety prevents slumber,
and a severe illness carries off sleep.[a]
3 Rich people toil to amass possessions,
and when they rest, they fill themselves with their delicacies.(B)
4 Poor people toil to make a meager living,
and if ever they rest, they become needy.(C)
5 Those who love gold will not be justified;
those who pursue money will be led astray[b] by it.(D)
6 Many have come to ruin because of gold,
and their destruction has met them face to face.(E)
7 It is a stumbling block to those who are avid for it,
and every fool will be taken captive by it.
8 Blessed are the rich who are found blameless
and who do not go after gold.(F)
9 Who are they, that we may call them happy?
For they have done wonders among their people.
10 Who has been tested by it and been found perfect?
Let it be for them a ground for boasting.
Who has had the power to transgress and did not transgress
and to do evil and did not do it?
11 Their prosperity will be established,[c]
and the assembly will proclaim their acts of charity.(G)
Table Etiquette
12 [d]Are you seated at the table of the great?[e]
Do not be greedy at it,
and do not say, “How much food there is here!”(H)
13 Remember that a greedy eye is a bad thing.
What has been created more greedy than the eye?
Therefore it covers the face with tears.(I)
14 Do not reach out your hand for everything you see,
and do not crowd your neighbor[f] at the dish.(J)
15 Judge your neighbor’s feelings by your own,
and in every matter be thoughtful.(K)
16 Eat what is set before you like a well brought-up person,[g]
and do not chew greedily, or you will be despised.(L)
17 Be the first to stop, as befits good manners,
and do not be insatiable, or you will give offense.
18 If you are seated among many persons,
do not help yourself[h] before they do.(M)
19 How ample a little is for the well-disciplined!
They do not breathe heavily when in bed.
20 Healthy sleep depends on moderate eating;
they rise early and feel fit.
The distress of sleeplessness and of nausea
and colic are with the glutton.(N)
21 If you are overstuffed with food,
get up to vomit, and you will have relief.
22 Listen to me, my child, and do not disregard me,
and in the end you will appreciate my words.
In everything you do be moderate,[i]
and no sickness will overtake you.
23 People bless those who are liberal with food,
and the testimony to their generosity is trustworthy.(O)
24 The city complains of those who are stingy with food,
and the testimony to their stinginess is accurate.(P)
Temperance in Drinking Wine
25 Do not try to prove your strength by wine-drinking,
for wine has destroyed many.(Q)
26 As the furnace tests the work of the smith,[j]
so wine tests hearts when the insolent quarrel.(R)
27 Wine is very life to humans
if taken in moderation.
What is life to one who is without wine?
It has been created to make people happy.(S)
28 Wine drunk at the proper time and in moderation
is rejoicing of heart and gladness of soul.(T)
29 Wine drunk to excess leads to bitterness of spirit,
to quarrels and stumbling.(U)
30 Drunkenness increases the anger of fools to their own hurt,
reducing their strength and adding wounds.(V)
31 Do not reprove your neighbors at a banquet of wine,
and do not despise them in their merrymaking;
speak no word of reproach to them,
and do not distress them by making demands of them.(W)
Footnotes
- 31.2 Other ancient authorities read sleep carries off a severe illness
- 31.5 Heb Syr: Gk pursues destruction will be filled
- 31.11 Other ancient authorities add because of this
- 31.12 Some ancient authorities add the title Concerning Food
- 31.12 Heb Syr: Gk at a great table
- 31.14 Gk him
- 31.16 Heb: Gk like a human being
- 31.18 Gk reach out your hand
- 31.22 Heb Syr: Gk industrious
- 31.26 Heb: Gk tests the hardening of steel by dipping
Good News Translation (GNT) 
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 Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New International Version (NIV) 
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.