Sirach 30:18-25

Common English Bible

Concerning foods.^[a]

¹⁸Good things that are poured out
on a closed mouth
    are the same as food offerings
    placed on a grave.
¹⁹Of what use is an offering of fruit
to an idol?
    It can’t eat or smell.
    The person whom the Lord punishes
    is like this,
²⁰    looking with the eyes and groaning
    like a eunuch who embraces
    a young woman and groans.^[b]

²¹Don’t let grief take you over,
    and don’t distress yourself on purpose.
²²A joyful heart means life
for a human being,
    and a person’s rejoicing
    provides long life.
²³Distract yourself, cheer yourself up,
    and keep grief far away from you
        because grief has destroyed many,
        and there’s no benefit in it.
²⁴Jealousy and anger
shorten a person’s life,
    and anxiety brings old age
    before its time.
²⁵Those who are cheerful
and contented at meals
    will attend well to their food.^[c]