Sirach · Catholic Public Domain Version
Sirach 11 Catholic Public Domain Version
Notes on this text (3)
- Esther and Daniel are the Vulgate books (Esther 1–16 with the Greek additions as chapters 10:4–16; Daniel 1–14 with the Song of the Three, Susanna and Bel). Baruch 6 is the Letter of Jeremiah.
- The translator's footnotes, cross-references, chapter summaries and book introductions in the CrossWire module are not shown.
- No imprimatur; single translator.
1 The wisdom of one who is humble will exalt his head, and will cause him to sit down in the midst of great men.
1 The wisdom of the lowly will lift up his head, and make him sit in the midst of great men.
2 You should not praise a man for his beauty, and you should not despise a man for his appearances.
2 Don’t commend a man for his good looks. Don’t abhor a man for his outward appearance.
3 The bee is small among flying things, but its fruit holds the summit of sweetness.
3 The bee is little among flying creatures, but what it produces is the best of confections.
4 You should not glory in clothing at any time, and you should not let yourself be extolled in the day of your honor. For the works of the Most High alone are wondrous; and glorious and hidden and unseen are his works.
4 Don’t boast about the clothes you wear, and don’t exalt yourself in the day of honor; for the Lord’s works are wonderful, and his works are hidden among men.
5 Many tyrants have sat upon a throne, and one whom no one would admire has worn a diadem.
5 Many kings have sat down upon the ground, but one who was never thought of has worn a crown.
6 Many powerful men have been powerfully cast down, and the illustrious have been handed over into the hands of others.
6 Many mighty men have been greatly disgraced. Men of renown have been delivered into other men’s hands.
7 Before you inquire, you should not place blame on anyone; and when you have inquired, reprove justly.
7 Don’t blame before you investigate. Understand first, and then rebuke.
8 Before you listen, you should not respond a word; and you should not interrupt in the middle of a discourse.
8 Don’t answer before you have heard. Don’t interrupt while someone else is speaking.
9 You should not contend in a matter which does not concern you, and you should not sit in judgment together with sinners.
9 Don’t argue about a matter that doesn’t concern you. Don’t sit with sinners when they judge.
10 Son, you should not be involved in many matters. And if you become rich, you will not be free from transgression. For if you pursue, you will not apprehend; and if you run ahead, you will not escape.
10 My son, don’t be busy about many matters; for if you meddle much, you will not be unpunished. If you pursue, you will not overtake, and you will not escape by fleeing.
11 There is an impious man who labors and hurries and grieves, but all the more will he be without abundance.
11 There is one who toils, labors, and hurries, and is even more behind.
12 There is a debilitated man in need of recovery, who is lacking in strength and abundant in poverty.
12 There is one who is sluggish, and needs help, lacking in strength, and who abounds in poverty, but the Lord’s eyes looked upon him for good, and he raised him up from his low condition,
13 Yet the eye of God has looked with favor upon him for his benefit, and he has lifted him up from his humiliation, and he has exalted his head. And many have wondered at him, and they have honored God.
13 and lifted up his head so that many marveled at him.
14 Good things and misfortune, life and death, poverty and wealth, are from God.
14 Good things and bad, life and death, poverty and riches, are from the Lord.
15 Wisdom, and discipline, and knowledge of the law are with God. Love and the ways of good things are with him.
15 Not in this translation
16 Error and darkness have been created by sinners. And those who exult in evil, grow old in evil.
16 Not in this translation
17 The gift of God remains with the just man, and his advancement will have success unto eternity.
17 The Lord’s gift remains with the godly. His good pleasure will prosper forever.
18 There is one who is enriched by spending sparingly, and this is the extent of his reward.
18 One grows rich by his diligence and self-denial, and this is the portion of his reward:
19 About this, he says: “I have found rest for myself, and now I alone will eat from my goods.”
19 when he says, “I have found rest, and now I will eat of my goods!” he doesn’t know how much time will pass until he leaves them to others and dies.
20 But he does not know how much time will pass before death approaches, and then he must leave everything behind to others and die.
20 Be steadfast in your covenant and be doing it, and grow old in your work.
21 Stand fast in your covenant, and become familiar with it, and grow old in the work of your commandments.
21 Don’t marvel at the works of a sinner, but trust the Lord and stay in your labor; for it is an easy thing in the sight of the Lord to swiftly and suddenly make a poor man rich.
22 You should not spend time in the works of sinners. Instead, trust in God and remain in your own place.
22 The Lord’s blessing is in the reward of the godly. He makes his blessing flourish in an hour that comes swiftly.
23 For it is easy, in the eyes of God, to make a pauper suddenly rich.
23 Don’t say, “What use is there of me? What further good things can be mine?”
24 The blessing of God hurries to reward the just man, and in a fleeting hour his advancement bears fruit.
24 Don’t say, “I have enough. What harm could happen to me now?”
25 You should not say: “What do I need?” or, “What good will there be for me in this?”
25 In the day of good things, bad things are forgotten. In the day of bad things, a man will not remember things that are good.
26 You should not say: “I have enough for myself,” or, “What could be worse than this?”
26 For it is an easy thing in the sight of the Lord to reward a man in the day of death according to his ways.
27 In a day of good things, you should not be forgetful of misfortunes. And in a day of misfortunes, you should not be forgetful of good things.
27 The affliction of an hour causes delights to be forgotten. In the end, a man’s deeds are revealed.
28 For it is easy, in the sight of God, on the day of one’s passing, to repay each one according to his ways.
28 Call no man happy before his death. A man will be known in his children.
29 The affliction of an hour causes one to forget great delights, and in the end of a man is the uncovering of his works.
29 Don’t bring every man into your house, for many are the tricks of a deceitful man.
30 You should not praise any man before death. For a man is known by his children.
30 Like a decoy partridge in a cage, so is the heart of a proud man. Like a spy, he looks for your weakness.
31 You should not bring every man into your house. For many are the snares of the deceitful.
31 For he lies in wait to turn things that are good into evil, and assigns blame in things that are praiseworthy.
32 For as a stomach with a bad smell vomits, and as a partridge is led into a cage, and like a deer led into a snare, so also is the heart of the arrogant. And it is like a bystander watching his neighbor fall.
32 From a spark of fire, a heap of many coals is kindled, and a sinful man lies in wait to shed blood.
33 For it lies in ambush, and then turns good into evil, and it will place the blame on the elect.
33 Take heed of an evil-doer, for he plans wicked things, lest perhaps he ruin your reputation forever.
34 From one spark, a great fire grows; and from one deceitful man, much blood flows. But a very sinful man lies in ambush for blood.
34 Receive a stranger into your house, and he will distract you with arguments and estrange you from your own family.
35 Pay close attention to yourself before a harmful man, for he fabricates evils. Otherwise, he may lead over you a whispered reproach unceasingly.
35 Not in this translation
36 Receive a stranger to yourself, and he will overthrow you with a whirlwind, and he will alienate you from what is your very own.
36 Not in this translation
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).
Only do not thou feel secure in praising any sort of life: "judge no man blessed before his death."
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)