Ben Sira 9-11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 9
Advice Concerning Women[a]
1 Do not be jealous of the wife of your bosom,
lest you teach her to do evil against you.[b]
2 Do not give a woman power over you
to trample on your dignity.(A)
3 Do not go near a strange woman,
lest you fall into her snares.
4 Do not dally with a singer,
lest you be captivated by her charms.
5 Do not entertain any thoughts about a virgin,
lest you be enmeshed in damages for her.[c]
6 Do not give yourself to a prostitute
lest you lose your inheritance.(B)
7 Do not look around the streets of the city
or wander through its squares.
8 Avert your eyes from a shapely woman;
do not gaze upon beauty that is not yours;
Through woman’s beauty many have been ruined,
for love of it burns like fire.(C)
9 Never recline at table with a married woman,
or drink intoxicants with her,
Lest your heart be drawn to her
and you go down in blood[d] to the grave.
Choice of Friends[e]
10 Do not abandon old friends;
new ones cannot equal them.
A new friend is like new wine—
when it has aged, you drink it with pleasure.
11 Do not envy the wicked
for you do not know when their day will come.
12 Do not delight in the pleasures of the ungodly;
remember, they will not die unpunished.
13 Keep away from those who have power to kill,
and you will not be filled with the dread of death.
But if you come near them, do not offend them,
lest they take away your life.
Know that you are stepping among snares
and walking over a net.
14 As best you can, answer your neighbor,
and associate with the wise.
15 With the learned exchange ideas;
and let all your conversation be about the law of the Most High.
16 Take the righteous for your table companions;
and let your glory be in the fear of God.
Concerning Rulers[f]
17 Work by skilled hands will earn praise;
but the people’s leader is proved wise by his words.
18 Loud mouths are feared in their city,
and whoever is reckless in speech is hated.
Chapter 10
1 A wise magistrate gives stability to his people,
and government by the intelligent is well ordered.(D)
2 As the people’s judge, so the officials;(E)
as the head of a city, so the inhabitants.
3 A reckless king destroys his people,
but a city grows through the intelligence of its princes.(F)
4 Sovereignty over the earth is in the hand of God,
who appoints the right person for the right time.
5 Sovereignty over everyone is in the hand of God,
who imparts his majesty to the ruler.
The Sin of Pride
6 No matter what the wrong, never harm your neighbor
or go the way of arrogance.(G)
7 Odious to the Lord and to mortals is pride,
and for both oppression is a crime.
8 Sovereignty is transferred from one people to another
because of the lawlessness of the proud.
9 Why are dust and ashes proud?[g]
Even during life the body decays.
10 A slight illness—the doctor jests;
a king today—tomorrow he is dead.
11 When a people die,
they inherit corruption and worms, gnats and maggots.(H)
12 The beginning of pride is stubbornness
in withdrawing the heart from one’s Maker.
13 For sin is a reservoir of insolence,
a source which runs over with vice;
Because of it God sends unheard-of afflictions
and strikes people with utter ruin.(I)
14 God overturns the thrones of the proud
and enthrones the lowly in their place.
15 God plucks up the roots of the proud,
and plants the lowly in their place.
16 The Lord lays waste the lands of the nations,
and destroys them to the very foundations of the earth.
17 He removes them from the earth, destroying them,
erasing their memory from the world.
18 Insolence does not befit mortals,
nor impudent anger those born of women.
True Glory[h]
19 Whose offspring can be honorable? Human offspring.
Those who fear the Lord are honorable offspring.
Whose offspring can be disgraceful? Human offspring.
Those who transgress the commandment are disgraceful offspring.
20 Among relatives their leader is honored;
but whoever fears God is honored among God’s people.[i]
22 Resident alien, stranger, foreigner, pauper—
their glory is the fear of the Lord.
23 It is not right to despise anyone wise but poor,
nor proper to honor the lawless.(J)
24 The prince, the ruler, the judge are in honor;
but none is greater than the one who fears God.
25 When the free serve a wise slave,
the wise will not complain.(K)
26 Do not flaunt your wisdom in managing your affairs,
or boast in your time of need.
27 Better the worker who has goods in plenty
than the boaster who has no food.(L)
28 My son, with humility have self-esteem;
and give yourself the esteem you deserve.
29 Who will acquit those who condemn themselves?
Who will honor those who disgrace themselves?
30 The poor are honored for their wisdom;
the rich are honored for their wealth.
31 Honored in poverty, how much more so in wealth!
Disgraced in wealth, in poverty how much the more!
Chapter 11
1 The wisdom of the poor lifts their head high
and sets them among princes.
2 Do not praise anyone for good looks;
or despise anyone because of appearance.
3 The bee is least among winged creatures,
but it reaps the choicest of harvests.
4 Do not mock the one who wears only a loin-cloth,
or scoff at a person’s bitter day.
For strange are the deeds of the Lord,
hidden from mortals his work.[j]
5 Many are the oppressed who rise to the throne;
some that none would consider wear a crown.[k]
6 Many are the exalted who fall into utter disgrace,
many the honored who are given into the power of the few.
Moderation and Patience[l]
7 Before investigating, do not find fault;
examine first, then criticize.
8 Before listening, do not say a word,
interrupt no one in the midst of speaking.(M)
9 Do not dispute about what is not your concern;
in the quarrels of the arrogant do not take part.
10 My son, why increase your anxiety,
since whoever is greedy for wealth will not be blameless?
Even if you chase after it, you will never overtake it;
and by fleeing you will not escape.
11 One may work and struggle and drive,
and fall short all the same.(N)
12 Others go their way broken-down drifters,
with little strength and great misery—
Yet the eye of the Lord looks favorably upon them,
shaking them free of the stinking mire.
13 He lifts up their heads and exalts them
to the amazement of the many.
14 [m]Good and evil, life and death,(O)
poverty and riches—all are from the Lord.[n]
17 The Lord’s gift remains with the devout;
his favor brings lasting success.
18 Some become rich through a miser’s life,
and this is their allotted reward:
19 When they say: “I have found rest,(P)
now I will feast on my goods,”
They do not know how long it will be
till they die and leave them to others.[o]
20 My child, stand by your agreement and attend to it,
grow old while doing your work.
21 Do not marvel at the works of a sinner,
but trust in the Lord and wait for his light;
For it is easy in the eyes of the Lord
suddenly, in an instant, to make the poor rich.
22 God’s blessing is the lot of the righteous,
and in due time their hope bears fruit.
23 Do not say: “What do I need?
What further benefits can be mine?”
24 Do not say: “I am self-sufficient.
What harm can come to me now?”
25 The day of prosperity makes one forget adversity;
the day of adversity makes one forget prosperity.(Q)
26 For it is easy for the Lord on the day of death[p]
to repay mortals according to their conduct.
27 A time of affliction brings forgetfulness of past delights;
at the end of life one’s deeds are revealed.
28 Call none happy before death,
for how they end, they are known.
Care in Choosing Friends
29 Not everyone should be brought into your house,
for many are the snares of the crafty.
30 Like a decoy partridge in a cage, so is the heart of the proud,
and like a spy they will pick out the weak spots.
31 For they lie in wait to turn good into evil,
and to praiseworthy deeds they attach blame.
32 One spark kindles many coals;
a sinner lies in wait for blood.
33 Beware of scoundrels, for they breed only evil,
and they may give you a lasting stain.
34 Admit strangers into your home, and they will stir up trouble
and make you a stranger to your own family.
Footnotes
- 9:1–9 Ben Sira writes about women only from the androcentric viewpoint of his culture. Cf. 25:13–26:27.
- 9:1 Jealousy may lead to suspicion and may prompt a wife to those actions her husband fears.
- 9:5 Cf. Ex 22:15–16; Dt 22:28–29; Jb 31:1. Cf. note on Ex 22:16.
- 9:9 In blood: perhaps refers to blood revenge; cf. Lv 20:10.
- 9:10–16 The second of Ben Sira’s poems on friendship; cf. note on 6:5–17. In choosing friends, adherence to the law of the Lord should serve as a guide (v. 15). Associate with true friends (v. 10), with the righteous and the learned (vv. 14–16); avoid the company of the mighty and of sinners (vv. 11–13). Cf. 8:1–19.
- 9:17–10:5 Public office as conducted justly or unjustly benefits or destroys the people, according to the axiom, “as the prince, so the people.” God, however, has sovereignty over both.
- 10:9–10 The general implication is that a slight illness today may be followed by death tomorrow. The uncertainty of life leaves no room for pride.
- 10:19–11:6 Genuine honor comes not from one’s place in society but from fear of the Lord and a true estimate of oneself. The Lord exalts the lowly and oppressed; transgressors of the commandment merit dishonor and disgrace.
- 10:20
Other ancient texts read as v. 21:
The beginning of acceptance is the fear of the Lord;
the beginning of rejection, effrontery and pride.
- 11:4 The implication is similar to Eccl 7:13; 8:17: the mysterious work of God.
- 11:5 Cf. 1 Sm 2:8; Ps 75:8; 105:17–22; Lk 1:52.
- 11:7–28 Discretion should regulate conduct toward others (vv. 7–9); as regards personal interests, one should avoid solicitude for the passing external benefits of life and property (vv. 10–14, 18–19, 21, 23–25) and cultivate the lasting inward gifts of wisdom, virtue (vv. 20, 22), and patience (vv. 25–28).
- 11:14 In mysterious ways God ultimately governs the lives of men and women.
- 11:14
Other ancient texts read as vv. 15–16:
15Wisdom and understanding and knowledge of the Law,
love and virtuous paths, are from the Lord.
16Error and darkness were formed with sinners from their birth,
and evil grows old with those who exult in evil.
- 11:19 Cf. the parable of the rich man, Lk 12:16–21.
- 11:26–28 Ben Sira thought that divine retribution took place only in the present life, and even at the end of life; cf. 9:12; 14:16–17.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.