Sirach · Catholic Public Domain Version
Sirach 22 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 lazy man is pelted with a dirty stone, and all will speak about his rejection.
1 A slothful man is compared to a stone that is defiled. Everyone will hiss at him in his disgrace.
2 The lazy man is pelted with the dung of oxen, and all who touch him will brush off their hands.
2 A slothful man is compared to the filth of a dunghill. Anyone who picks it up will shake it out of his hand.
3 An undisciplined son is the shame of his father, but an undisciplined daughter will be to his degradation.
3 An undisciplined child is a disgrace to his father, and a foolish daughter is born to his loss.
4 A prudent daughter brings an inheritance to her husband. But she who causes shame will be a disgrace to him who conceived her.
4 A prudent daughter will inherit a husband of her own. She who brings shame is the grief of her father.
5 She who is bold shames her father and her husband, and she will not be less offensive to the impious. For she will be held in dishonor by both.
5 She who is arrogant brings shame on father and husband. She will be despised by both of them.
6 An untimely explanation is like music in a time of mourning. But the sharp correction and doctrine of wisdom are ever timely.
6 Ill-timed conversation is like music in mourning, but stripes and correction are wisdom in every season.
7 Whoever teaches the foolish is like someone who glues together a broken pot.
7 He who teaches a fool is like one who glues potsherds together, even like one who wakes a sleeper out of a deep sleep.
8 Whoever explains a word to one who is not listening is like someone who suddenly awakens a sleeping person from a deep sleep.
8 He who teaches a fool is as one who teaches a man who slumbers. In the end he will say, “What is it?”
9 Whoever explains wisdom to the senseless is like one speaking to a sleeping person. And at the end of the explanation, he says: “Who is this?”
9 Not in this translation
10 Weep over the dead, for his light has failed. And weep over the foolish, for his understanding has failed.
10 Not in this translation
11 Weep only a little over the dead, for he is at rest.
11 Weep for the dead, for he lacks light. Weep for a fool, for he lacks understanding. Weep more sweetly for the dead, because he has found rest, but the life of the fool is worse than death.
12 But the wicked life of a wicked fool is worse than death.
12 Mourning for the dead lasts seven days, but for a fool and an ungodly man, it lasts all the days of his life.
13 The mourning for the dead is seven days; but for the foolish and the impious, it is all the days of their life.
13 Don’t talk much with a foolish man, and don’t go to one who has no understanding. Beware of him, lest you have trouble and be defiled in his onslaught. Turn away from him, and you will find rest, and you won’t be wearied in his madness.
14 You should not talk at length with the foolish, and you should not go with the senseless.
14 What would be heavier than lead? What is its name, but “Fool”?
15 Keep yourself from him, so that you may not have problems, and so that you will not be polluted by his sin.
15 Sand, salt, and a mass of iron is easier to bear than a man without understanding.
16 Turn away from him, and you will find rest, and you will not be discouraged by his foolishness.
16 Timber girded and bound into a building will not be released with shaking. So a heart established in due season on well advised counsel will not be afraid.
17 What is heavier than lead? And what else can he be called but foolish?
17 A heart settled upon a thoughtful understanding is as an ornament of plaster on a polished wall.
18 Sand, and salt, and an iron weight are each easier to bear than an imprudent man, who is both foolish and impious.
18 Fences set on a high place will not stand against the wind; so a fearful heart in the imagination of a fool will not stand against any fear.
19 A bundle of wood strapped together in the foundation of a building will not be loosened. And similar is the heart that has been strengthened by thoughtful counsel.
19 He who pricks the eye will make tears fall. He who pricks the heart makes it show feeling.
20 The thoughts of one who is understanding will not be corrupted by fear in any situation.
20 Whoever casts a stone at birds scares them away. He who insults a friend will dissolve friendship.
21 Just as chaff in a high place, or a wall made of mortar without stones set within, will not continue against the face of the wind,
21 If you have drawn a sword against a friend, don’t despair, for there may be a way back.
22 so also a timid heart, and the thoughts of the senseless, will not withstand the forcefulness of fear.
22 If you have opened your mouth against a friend, don’t be afraid, for there may be reconciliation, unless it is for insulting, arrogance, disclosing of a secret, or a treacherous blow— for these things any friend will flee.
23 Despite a cowardly heart, the thoughts of the foolish will not fear any situation; yet neither will one who continues always in the precepts of God.
23 Gain trust with your neighbor in his poverty, that in his prosperity you may have gladness. Stay steadfast to him in the time of his affliction, that you may be heir with him in his inheritance.
24 He who jabs an eye produces tears. And he who jabs the heart produces understanding.
24 Before fire is the vapor and smoke of a furnace, so insults precede bloodshed.
25 He who throws a stone at birds will drive them away. So also, he who accuses his friend dissolves the friendship.
25 I won’t be ashamed to shelter a friend. I won’t hide myself from his face.
26 But if you have drawn a sword against a friend, you should not despair; for there may be a way back.
26 If any evil happens to me because of him, everyone who hears it will beware of him.
27 If you have opened a harsh mouth against a friend, you should not fear; for there may be a reconciliation. However, if there are accusations, or abuse, or arrogance, or the revealing of secrets, or a wound from deceitfulness, in all these cases, a friend will flee away.
27 Who will set a watch over my mouth, and a seal of shrewdness upon my lips, that I may not fall from it, and that my tongue may not destroy me?
28 Hold to faithfulness with a friend in his poverty, so that you may also rejoice in his prosperity.
28 Not in this translation
29 In the time of his tribulation, remain faithful to him, so that you may also be an heir with him in his inheritance.
29 Not in this translation
30 Just as the steam from an oven, or the smoke from a fire, rises up before a flame, so also do curses and insults and threats rise up before bloodshed.
30 Not in this translation
31 I shall not be ashamed to greet a friend, nor shall I hide myself from his face. And if misfortunes befall me because of him, I will endure.
31 Not in this translation
32 Anyone who hears of this will be wary around him.
32 Not in this translation
33 Who will provide a keeper for my mouth, and a reliable seal over my lips, so that I may not fall because of them, and so that my tongue does not destroy me?
33 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).
It is written, "The mourning for the dead is seven days; for a fool and an ungodly man all the days of his life." What!
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)