Sirach 31:1-11

Common English Bible

On wealth

31 Sleeplessness over wealth
makes the body waste away,
    and anxiety about wealth
    keeps sleep away.
²Worrying will keep you awake,
    and serious illness
    will chase sleep away.
³Rich people have worked
to accumulate money,
    and when they rest,
    they fill themselves with their luxuries.
⁴Poor people have worked
to eke out a living,
    and when they rest,
    they become needy again.

⁵Whoever loves gold won’t be declared just,
    and whoever pursues profits
    will be led astray by them.
⁶Many have been ruined because of gold,
    and their destruction has met them head-on.^[a]
⁷It’s a stumbling block for those
who are possessed by it,
    and it will take
    every senseless person captive.
⁸Happy are the rich
who are without blame
    and who don’t follow after gold.
⁹Who are they,
so that we might praise them?
    They have done wonders
    among the people.
¹⁰Who has been tested by wealth^[b]
and been found perfect?
        For them it will be a reason to boast.
    Who had the power to sin and didn’t,
    and could do evil but didn’t?
¹¹The possessions of such people
will be secure,
    and the congregation will tell
    of their acts of charity.