1 Through poverty many have sinned: and he that seeketh to be enriched, turneth away his eye. 2 As a stake sticketh fast in the midst of the joining of stones, so also in the midst of selling and buying, sin shall stick fast. 3 Sin shall be destroyed with the sinner. 4 Unless thou hold thyself diligently in the fear of the Lord, thy house shall quickly be overthrown. 5 As when one sifteth with a sieve, the dust will remain: so will the perplexity of a man in his thoughts. 6 The furnace trieth the potter’s vessels, and the trial of affliction just men. 7 Be the dressing of a tree sheweth the fruit thereof, so a word out of the thought of the heart of man. 8 Praise not a man before he speaketh, for this is the trial of men. 9 If thou followest justice, thou shalt obtain her: and shalt put her on as a long robe of honour, and thou shalt dwell with her: and she shall protect thee for ever, and in the day of acknowledgment thou shalt find a strong foundation. 10 Birds resort unto their like: so truth will return to them that practise her. 11 The lion always lieth in wait for prey: so do sins for them that work iniquities. 12 A holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun: but a fool is changed as the moon. 13 In the midst of the unwise keep in the word till its time: but be continually among men that think. 14 The discourse of sinners is hateful, and their laughter is at the pleasures of sin. 15 The speech that sweareth much shall make the hair of the head stand upright: and its irreverence shall make one stop his ears. 16 Is the quarrels of the proud is the shedding of blood: and their cursing is a grievous hearing. 17 He that discloseth the secret of a friend loseth his credit, and shall never find a friend to his mind. 18 Love thy neighbour, and be joined to him with fidelity. 19 But if thou discover his secrets, follow no more after him. 20 For as a man that destroyeth his friend, so also is he that destroyeth the friendship of his neighbour. 21 And as one that letteth a bird go out of his hand, so hast thou let thy neighbour go, and thou shalt not get him again. 22 Follow after him no more, for he is gone afar off, he is fled, as a roe escaped out of the snare: because his soul is wounded. 23 Thou canst no more bind him up. And of a curse there is reconciliation: 24 But to disclose the secrets of a friend, leaveth no hope to an unhappy soul. 25 He that winketh with the eye forgeth wicked things, and no man will cast him off: 26 In the sight of thy eyes he will sweeten his mouth, and will admire thy words: but at the last he will writhe his mouth, and on thy words he will lay a stumblingblock. 27 I have hated many things, but not like him, and the Lord will hate him. 28 If one cast a stone on high, it will fall upon his own head: and the deceitful stroke will wound the deceitful. 29 He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it: and he that setteth a stone for his neighbour, shall stumble upon it: and he that layeth a snare for another, shall perish in it. 30 A mischievous counsel shall be rolled back upon the author, and he shall not know from whence it cometh to him. 31 Mockery and reproach are of the proud, and vengeance as a lion shall lie in wait for him. 32 They shall perish in a snare that are delighted with the fall of the just: and sorrow shall consume them before they die. 33 Anger and fury are both of them abominable, and the sinful man shall be subject to them.
Sirach · Douay-Rheims (Challoner), American Edition 1899
Sirach 27 Douay-Rheims (Challoner), American Edition 1899
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).
… manifest: for the day shall declare it,"--the day, no doubt, of tribulation--"because," says he, "it shall be revealed by fire." He calls tribulation fire, just as it is elsewhere said, "The furnace proves the vessels of the potter, and the trial of affliction righteous men." And "The fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
What Scripture says is very true, "As for a fool he changeth as the moon." I believe also that the variations of the moon do not take place without exerting great influence upon the organization of animals and of all living things.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 8 (1895)
For "the furnace proveth the potter's vessels, and the trial of tribulation righteous men." Joseph therefore was tempted with the allurement of debauchery, but he was not brought into temptation.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)