Sirach 14
Good News Translation
14 If a person never says anything carelessly, he is to be congratulated; he doesn't need to feel guilty. 2 If a person has a clear conscience and never gives up hope, he is certainly to be congratulated!
Responsible Use of Wealth
3 It isn't right for someone who is selfish to be rich. What use is money to a stingy person? 4 If you deny yourself in order to accumulate wealth, you are only accumulating it for someone else. Others will use your riches to live in luxury. 5 How can you be generous with others if you are stingy with yourself, if you are not willing to enjoy your own wealth? 6 No one is worse off than someone who is stingy with himself; it is a sin that brings its own punishment. 7 When such a person does something good, it is only by accident; his selfishness will sooner or later be evident. 8 A selfish person is evil; he turns his back on people's needs 9 and is never satisfied with what he has. Greed[a] will shrivel up a person's soul. 10 Some people are too stingy to put bread on their own table.
11 My child, treat yourself as well as you can, and bring worthy offerings to the Lord. 12 Remember that death is coming for you some day, and you haven't been told when that will be. 13 Before that day comes, be kind to your friends; be as generous as you can. 14 Don't deny yourself a single day's happiness. If there is something you want to do and it is lawful, go ahead! 15 Some day all that you have worked for will be divided up and given to others. 16 So be generous; but also be willing to receive from others. Enjoy yourself, for you will not find any pleasures in the world of the dead. 17 The human body wears out like a piece of clothing. The ancient law decrees that we must die. 18 Human beings are like leaves on a spreading tree. New growth takes the place of the fallen leaves; while some of us die, others are being born. 19 Everything made by human hands will decay and perish, along with the person who made it.
The Happiness of Having Wisdom
20 (A)It is a happy person who is concerned with Wisdom and who uses good sense. 21 Anyone who studies the ways of Wisdom will also learn her secrets. 22 Go after Wisdom like a hunter looking for game. 23 Look into her windows and listen at her doors. 24 Camp as close to her house as you can get, 25 and you will have a fine place to live. 26-27 Build your home there, safe beneath her protecting branches, and shaded from the heat.[b]
Footnotes
- Sirach 14:9 Probable text Greed; Greek Wicked injustice.
- Sirach 14:26 Hebrew Build...heat; Greek Let her protect your children. Live safe beneath her branches, shaded from the heat, surrounded by her glory.
Sirach 14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
14 Happy are those who do not blunder with their lips
and are not stricken with grief for sin.(A)
2 Happy are those whose hearts do not condemn them
and who have not given up their hope.(B)
Responsible Use of Wealth
3 Riches are inappropriate for the small-minded,
and of what use is wealth to misers?(C)
4 What they deny themselves they collect for others,
and others will live in luxury on their goods.(D)
5 If they are mean to themselves, to whom will they be generous?
They will not enjoy their own riches.
6 No one is worse than those who are grudging to themselves;
this is the repayment for their meanness.
7 If ever they do good, it is by mistake,[a]
and in the end they reveal their meanness.
8 Misers are evil people;
they turn away and disregard people.(E)
9 The eyes of the greedy are not satisfied with their share;
greedy injustice withers the soul.(F)
10 Misers begrudge bread,
and it is lacking at their tables.(G)
11 My child, treat yourself well, according to your means,
and present worthy offerings to the Lord.(H)
12 Remember that death does not tarry,
and the decree[b] of Hades has not been shown to you.
13 Do good to friends before you die,
and reach out and give to them as much as you can.
14 Do not deprive yourself of a day’s enjoyment;
do not let your share of desired good pass by you.(I)
15 Will you not leave the fruit of your labors to another,
and what you acquired by toil to be divided by lot?(J)
16 Give and take and indulge yourself,
because in Hades one cannot look for luxury.
17 All living beings become old like a garment,
for the decree[c] from of old is, “You must die!”(K)
18 Like abundant leaves on a spreading tree
that sheds some and puts forth others,
so are the generations of flesh and blood:
one dies, and another is born.(L)
19 Every work decays and ceases to exist,
and the one who made it will pass away with it.
The Happiness of Seeking Wisdom
20 Happy are those who meditate on[d] wisdom
and who reason intelligently,(M)
21 who reflect in their hearts on her ways
and ponder her secrets,(N)
22 pursuing her like a hunter
and lying in wait on her paths;
23 who peer through her windows
and listen at her doors;(O)
24 who camp near her house
and fasten their tent pegs to her walls;
25 who pitch their tents near her
and so occupy an excellent lodging place;
26 who place their children under her shelter
and lodge under her boughs;
27 who are sheltered by her from the heat
and dwell in the midst of her glory.(P)
Sirach 14
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
14 Blessed is the man that hath not slipped by a word out of his mouth, and is not pricked with the remorse of sin.
2 Happy is he that hath had no sadness of his mind, and who is not fallen from his hope.
3 Riches are not comely for a covetous man and a niggard, and what should an envious man do with gold?
4 He that gathereth together by wronging his own soul, gathereth for others, and another will squander away his goods in rioting.
5 He that is evil to himself, to whom will he be good? and he shall not take pleasure in his goods.
6 There is none worse than he that envieth himself, and this is the reward of his wickedness:
7 And if he do good, he doth it ignorantly, and unwillingly: and at the last he discovereth his wickedness.
8 The eye of the envious is wicked: and he turneth away his face, and despiseth his own soul.
9 The eye of the covetous man is insatiable in his portion of iniquity: he will not be satisfied till he consume his own soul, drying it up.
10 An evil eye is towards evil things: and he shall not have his fill of bread, but shall be needy and pensive at his own table.
11 My son, if thou have any thing, do good to thyself, and offer to God worthy offerings.
12 Remember that death is not slow, and that the covenant of hell hath been shewn to thee: for the covenant of this world shall surely die.
13 Do good to thy friend before thou die, and according to thy ability, stretching out thy hand give to the poor.
14 Defraud not thyself of the good day, and let not the part of a good gift overpass thee.
15 Shalt thou not leave to others to divide by lot thy sorrows and labours?
16 Give and take, and justify thy soul.
17 Before thy death work justice: for in hell there is no finding food.
18 All flesh shall fade as grass, and as the leaf that springeth out on a green tree.
19 Some grow, and some fall off: so is the generation of flesh and blood, one cometh to an end, and another is born.
20 Every work that is corruptible shall fail in the end: and the worker thereof shall go with it.
21 And every excellent work shall be justified: and the worker thereof shall be honoured therein.
22 Blessed is the man that shall continue in wisdom, and that shall meditate in his justice, and in his mind shall think of the all seeing eye of God.
23 He that considereth her ways in his heart, and hath understanding in her secrets, who goeth after her as one that traceth, and stayeth in her ways:
24 He who looketh in at her windows, and hearkeneth at her door:
25 He that lodgeth near her house, and fastening a pin in her walls shall set up his tent nigh unto her, where good things shall rest in his lodging for ever.
26 He shall set his children under her shelter, and shall lodge under her branches:
27 He shall be protected under her covering from the heat, and shall rest in her glory.
Ben Sira 14
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 14
1 [a]Happy those whose mouth causes them no grief,
those who are not stung by remorse for sin.(A)
2 Happy are those whose conscience does not reproach them,
those who have not lost hope.
The Use of Wealth
3 Wealth is not appropriate for the mean-spirited;[b]
to misers, what use is gold?
4 What they deny themselves they collect for someone else,
and strangers will live sumptuously on their possessions.(B)
5 To whom will they be generous that are stingy with themselves
and do not enjoy what is their own?
6 None are worse than those who are stingy with themselves;
they punish their own avarice.
7 If ever they do good, it is by mistake;
in the end they reveal their meanness.
8 Misers are evil people,
they turn away and disregard others.
9 The greedy see their share as not enough;
greedy injustice dries up the soul.
10 The eye of the miserly is rapacious for food,
but there is none of it on their own table.
11 [c]My son, if you have the means, treat yourself well,
and enjoy life as best you can.(C)
12 Remember that death does not delay,
and you have not been told the grave’s appointed time.
13 Before you die, be good to your friends;
give them a share in what you possess.(D)
14 Do not deprive yourself of good things now
or let a choice portion escape you.
15 Will you not leave your riches to others,
and your earnings to be divided by lot?
16 Give and take, treat yourself well,
for in Sheol there are no joys to seek.
17 All flesh grows old like a garment;
the age-old law is: everyone must die.(E)
18 As with the leaves growing on a luxuriant tree—
one falls off and another sprouts—
So with the generations of flesh and blood:
one dies and another flourishes.(F)
19 All human deeds surely perish;
the works they do follow after them.
The Search for Wisdom and Her Blessings[d]
20 Happy those who meditate on Wisdom,
and fix their gaze on knowledge;(G)
21 Who ponder her ways in their heart,
and understand her paths;
22 Who pursue her like a scout,
and watch at her entry way;
23 Who peep through her windows,
and listen at her doors;
24 Who encamp near her house
and fasten their tent pegs next to her walls;
25 Who pitch their tent beside her,
and dwell in a good place;[e]
26 [f]Who build their nest in her leaves,
and lodge in her branches;
27 Who take refuge from the heat in her shade
and dwell in her home.
Footnotes
- 14:1–2 A clear conscience, the result of honoring personal commitments and responsibilities, brings contentment and peace.
- 14:3–10 Ben Sira offers a case study about the miserable life of the “small-hearted” (Heb. leb qaṭan) to verify vv. 1–2. They are evil because they do not use their wealth properly to benefit themselves or others. While they are never satisfied that they have enough, they ignore their own needs and hospitality itself, feeding on the generosity of others, in order to protect their own resources. Ironically, after their death, strangers, with no obligation to keep their memory alive, enjoy their wealth.
- 14:11–19 Three realities govern Ben Sira’s attitude toward a proper use of wealth: the inevitability and uncertainty of death, the ephemeral nature of human accomplishments, the lack of reward or punishment after death. He advises generous enjoyment of God’s gift of wealth before death.
- 14:20–15:10 This poem charts the growing intimacy between those seeking Wisdom and Wisdom herself. They move from static reflection to playful pursuit, from camping outside the walls of her house to nesting inside her leafy shade. Ben Sira portrays Wisdom as both mother and bride, a feminine figure who is the fullness of womanhood according to his androcentric society.
- 14:25 In a good place: i.e., where Wisdom dwells.
- 14:26–27 The shift in imagery creates a more intimate relationship. Those seeking Wisdom dwell within her as a bird nests within a leafy tree.
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. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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