1 Set not thy heart upon thy goods; And say not, I have enough for my life. 2 Follow not thine own mind and thy strength, To walk in the ways of thy heart: 3 And say not, Who shall control me for my works? For the Lord will surely revenge thy pride. 4 Say not, I have sinned, and what harm hath happened unto me? For the Lord is long-suffering, he will in nowise let thee go. 5 Concerning propitiation, be not without fear To add sin unto sin: 6 And say not, His mercy is great; He will be pacified for the multitude of my sins: For mercy and wrath come from him, And his indignation resteth upon sinners. 7 Make no tarrying to turn to the Lord, And put not off from day to day: For suddenly shall the wrath of the Lord come forth, And in thy security thou shalt be destroyed, And perish in the day of vengeance. 8 Set not thy heart upon goods unjustly gotten; For they shall not profit thee in the day of calamity. 9 Winnow not with every wind, And go not into every way: For so doth the sinner that hath a double tongue. 10 Be steadfast in thy understanding; And let thy word be the same. 11 Be swift to hear; and let thy life be sincere; And with patience give answer. 12 If thou hast understanding, answer thy neighbor; If not, lay thy hand upon thy mouth. 13 Honor and shame is in talk: And the tongue of man is his fall. 14 Be not called a whisperer, and lie not in wait with thy tongue: For a foul shame is upon the thief, And an evil condemnation upon the double tongue. 15 Be not ignorant of anything in a great matter or a small.
Sirach · Updated Brenton English Septuagint
Sirach 5 Updated Brenton English Septuagint
Notes on this text (1)
- Same Septuagint text as Brenton, with modernised spelling.
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… despaired wrongly, and were lost in their despair, and called them back to hope; so doth He go forth to these also who would perish through an evil hope; and by another book He saith to them, "Make no tarrying to turn to the Lord." As He had said to the others, "In whatsoever day a man shall turn from …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)