Sirach · Catholic Public Domain Version
Sirach 29 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.
Sirach is not in RV1909.
1 He shows mercy who lends to his neighbor, for he keeps the commandments by strengthening him.
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2 Lend to your neighbor in his time of need, and receive it again from your neighbor in his time.
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3 Keep your word, and act faithfully with him, and then you will find whatever you need in every time.
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4 Many have treated a loan like found money, and they offered trouble to those who helped them.
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5 Until they receive, they kiss the hands of the giver, and they humble their voice in promises.
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6 But at the time of repayment, they will ask for more time, and they will speak annoying and complaining words, and they will make excuses for the time.
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7 Then, if he is able to repay, he will turn away. He will pay barely one half, and he will consider it as if he had found it.
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8 But if not, then he will defraud him of his money, and he will have him as an enemy without cause.
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9 And he will repay him with accusations and curses, and he will repay him with contempt, instead of with honor and kindness.
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10 Many have refused to lend, not because of wickedness, but because they were afraid to be defrauded without cause.
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11 Yet truly, be more steadfast toward the humble, and you should not delay in acts of mercy toward them.
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12 Assist the poor because of the commandment. And you should not send him away empty because of his dire need.
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13 Lose your money to your brother and your friend. For you should not hide it under a stone to be lost.
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14 Let your treasure be in the precepts of the Most High, and it will benefit you more than gold.
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15 Store your alms in the hearts of the poor, and it will obtain help for you against all evil.
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16 Better than the shield or the lance of a powerful man,
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17 it will fight for you against your enemy.
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18 A good man offers credit for the sake of his neighbor. But one who abandons him to himself will perish in shame.
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19 You should not forget the kindness of your benefactor. For he has offered his life on your behalf.
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20 The sinner and the unclean flee from such promises.
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21 A sinner attributes to himself the goods of his loan. And an ungrateful mind will abandon the one who has freed him.
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22 A man offers credit to his neighbor. But when he will have lost respect, he will abandon him.
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23 A wicked promise has destroyed many who had good intentions, and has tossed them like a wave on the ocean.
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24 It has caused powerful men to travel around, and they have wandered amid foreign nations.
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25 A sinner transgressing the commandment of the Lord will fall into a wicked promise. And he who undertakes many things will fall into judgment.
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26 Help your neighbor to recover according to your ability, but attend to yourself, lest you also fall.
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27 The primary need in a man’s life is water and bread, and clothing, and a house to protect modesty.
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28 A pauper’s food under a roof of boards is better than a splendid feast on a sojourn away from home.
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29 Let yourself be pleased with little instead of much, and you will not hear the reproach of being away from home.
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30 It is a wicked life to go from house to house as a guest. For wherever he is a guest, he will not act confidently, nor open his mouth.
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31 He will entertain, and feed, and give drink to the ungrateful, and beyond this, he will listen to bitter words:
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32 “Go, my guest, and set the table, and let others eat from what you have in your hand.”
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33 “Depart from the honored face of my friends. For it has become necessary for my house to host my brother instead.”
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34 These things are grievous to a man having understanding: to take advantage of a household, and to reproach a lender.
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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).
Shut up alms in the heart of a poor man, and it shall intercede for thee unto the Lord."
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
It is written, "As water quencheth fire, so alms quencheth sin." Again it is written, "Shut up alms in the heart of a poor man, and it shall make supplication for thee before the Lord." Again it is written, "Hear, O king, my counsel, and redeem thy sins by alms." And many other testimonies of the Divine oracles are there, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
… of the life of this world, in which all men are passing along as strangers, and no one abides here as possessor; but to every man it is said, "Thou hast been refreshed, pass on, go on thy way, give place to the next comer." Or perhaps from an evil "way," that is, from an evil life, some friend of …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)