Sirach 31:12-24

Common English Bible

Behavior at meals

¹²Have you been seated
at a magnificent table?
    Don’t be greedy as you sit there,
    and don’t say,
    “Look how much food there is!”
¹³Remember, a greedy eye is a bad thing.
    What has been created more greedy
    than the eye?
    For this reason, every face sheds tears.
¹⁴Don’t reach out your hand
for whatever you see,
    and don’t crowd your dinner companion by reaching into the same bowl.
¹⁵Put yourself in your companion’s place,
    and be considerate in everything.
¹⁶Eat what’s put in front of you
like a normal human being,^[a]
    and don’t chew rudely,
    or you will be hated.
¹⁷Be the first to stop,
to show your good breeding,
    and don’t be gluttonous;
    otherwise, you will offend.
¹⁸If you have been seated
with a lot of people,
    don’t help yourself before they do.

¹⁹A little food is more than enough
for well-educated people!
    They won’t gasp for breath
    when they lie down to sleep.
²⁰Healthy sleep depends
on not stuffing yourself.
    Such people arise early and feel good.^[b]
    The gluttons suffer the pains of insomnia, nausea, and colic.
²¹If you’ve overstuffed yourself,
    get up, vomit far away,
    and you will feel better.
²²Listen to me, my child,
and don’t show me contempt,
        and in the end you will understand
        what I’m saying;
    be careful^[c] in everything you do,
    and you will never fall sick.
²³People will bless those
who are generous with bread;
    they give reliable testimony
    to the excellence of such people.
²⁴The city will murmur about those
who are stingy with bread,
    giving accurate witness
    to the wickedness of such people.