1 Σοφία ταπεινοῦ ἀνύψωσε κεφαλὴν, καὶ ἐν μέσῳ μεγιστάνων καθίσει αὐτόν. 2 Μὴ αἰνέσεις ἄνδρα ἐν κάλλει αὐτοῦ, καὶ μὴ βδελύξῃ ἄνθρωπον ἐν ὁράσει αὐτοῦ. 3 Μικρὰ ἐν πετεινοῖς μέλισσα, καὶ ἀρχὴ γλυκασμάτων ὁ καρπὸς αὐτῆς. 4 Ἐν περιβολῇ ἱματίων μὴ καυχήσῃ, καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ δόξης μὴ ἐπαίρου, ὅτι θαυμαστὰ τὰ ἔργα Κυρίου, καὶ κρυπτὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ ἐν ἀνθρώποις. 5 Πολλοὶ τύραννοι ἐκάθισαν ἐπὶ ἐδάφους, ὁ δὲ ἀνυπονόητος ἐφόρεσε διάδημα. 6 Πολλοὶ δυνάσται ἠτιμάσθησαν σφόδρα, καὶ ἔνδοξοι παρεδόθησαν εἰς χεῖρας ἑτέρων. 7 Πρὶν ἐξετάσῃς μὴ μέμψῃ· νόησον πρῶτον καὶ τότε ἐπιτιμα. 8 Πρὶν ἢ ἀκοῦσαι μὴ ἀποκρίνου, καὶ ἐν μέσῳ λόγων μὴ παρεμβάλλου. 9 Περὶ πράγματος οὗ οὐκ ἔστι σοι χρεία, μὴ ἔριζε, καὶ ἐν κρίσει ἁμαρτωλῶν μὴ συνέδρευε. 10 Τέκνον, μὴ περὶ πολλὰ ἔστωσαν αἱ πράξεις σου· ἐὰν πληθυνῇς, οὐκ ἀθωωθήσῃ· καὶ ἐὰν διώκῃς, οὐ μὴ καταλάβῃς, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐκφύγῃς διαδράς. 11 Ἔστι κοπιῶν καὶ πονῶν καὶ σπεύδων, καὶ τόσῳ μᾶλλον ὑστερεῖται. 12 Ἔστι νωθρὸς καὶ προσδεόμενος ἀντιλήψεως, ὑστερῶν ἰσχύϊ, καὶ πτωχείᾳ περισσεύει, καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ Κυρίου ἐπέβλεψαν αὐτῷ εἰς ἀγαθὰ, καὶ ἀνώρθωσεν αὐτὸν ἐκ ταπεινώσεως αὐτοῦ· 13 Καὶ ἀνύψωσε κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀπεθαύμασαν ἐπʼ αὐτῷ πολλοί. 14 Ἀγαθὰ καὶ κακά, ζωὴ καὶ θάνατος, πτωχεία καὶ πλοῦτος παρὰ Κυρίου ἐστί. 17 Δόσις Κυρίου παραμένει εὐσεβέσι, καὶ ἡ εὐδοκία αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα εὐοδωθήσεται. 18 Ἔστι πλουτῶν ἀπὸ προσοχῆς καὶ σφιγγίας αὐτοῦ, καὶ αὕτη ἡ μερὶς τοῦ μισθοῦ αὐτοῦ. 19 Ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν αὐτὸν, εὗρον ἀνάπαυσιν, καὶ νῦν φάγωμαι ἐκ τῶν ἀγαθῶν μου, καὶ οὐκ οἶδε τίς καιρὸς παρελεύσεται, καὶ καταλείψει αὐτὰ ἑτέροις, καὶ ἀποθανεῖται. 20 Στῆθι ἐν διαθήκῃ σου καὶ ὁμίλει ἐν αὐτῇ, καὶ ἐν τῷ ἔργῳ σου παλαιώθητι. 21 Μὴ θαύμαζε ἐν ἔργοις ἁμαρτωλοῦ, πίστευε τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶ ἔμμενε τῷ πόνῳ σου· ὅτι κοῦφον ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς Κυρίου διὰ τάχους ἐξάπινα πλουτίσαι πένητα. 22 Εὐλογία Κυρίου ἐν μισθῷ εὐσεβοῦς, καὶ ἐν ὥρᾳ ταχινῇ ἀναθάλλει εὐλογίαν αὐτοῦ. 23 Μὴ εἴπῃς, τίς ἐστί μου χρεία; καὶ τίνα ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἔσται μου τὰ ἀγαθά; 24 Μὴ εἴπῃς, αὐτάρκη μοι ἐστὶ, καὶ τί ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν κακωθήσομαι; 25 Ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἀγαθῶν ἀμνησία κακῶν, καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κακῶν οὐ μνησθήσεται ἀγαθῶν· 26 ὅτι κοῦφον ἔναντι Κυρίου ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τελευτῆς ἀποδοῦναι ἀνθρώπῳ κατὰ τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ. 27 Κάκωσις ὥρας ἐπιλησμονὴν ποιεῖ τρυφῆς, καὶ ἐν συντελείᾳ ἀνθρώπου ἀποκάλυψις ἔργων αὐτοῦ. 28 Πρὸ τελευτῆς μὴ μακάριζε μηδένα, καὶ ἐν τέκνοις αὐτῶυ γνωσθήσεται ἀνήρ. 29 Μὴ πάντα ἄνθρωπον εἴσαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου, πολλὰ γὰρ τὰ ἔνεδρα τοῦ δολίου. 30 Πέρδιξ θηρευτὴς ἐν καρτάλλῳ, οὕτως καρδία ὑπερηφάνου, καὶ ὡς ὁ κατάσκοπος ἐπιβλέπει πτῶσιν. 31 Τὰ γὰρ ἀγαθὰ εἰς κακὰ μεταστρέφων ἐνεδρεύει, καὶ ἐν τοῖς αἱρετοῖς ἐπιθήσει μῶμον. 32 Ἀπὸ σπινθῆρος πυρὸς πληθύνεται ἀνθρακία, καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἁμαρτωλὸς εἰς αἷμα ἐνεδρεύει. 33 Πρόσεχε ἀπὸ κακούργου, πονηρὰ γὰρ τεκταίνει, μήποτε μῶμον εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα δῷ σοι. 34 Ἐνοίκισον ἀλλότριον, καὶ διαστρέψει σε ἐν ταραχαῖς, καὶ ἀπαλλοτριώσει σε τῶν ἰδίων σου.
Sirach · Brenton's Greek Septuagint
Sirach 11 Brenton's Greek Septuagint
Notes on this text (1)
- Ezra and Nehemiah form one book (2 Esdras) in this edition; the reader shows them as Ezra 1–10 and Nehemiah 1–13.
There are no verses 15–16 in this translation; the other verses keep their usual numbers.
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)