Sirach · Brenton's Greek Septuagint
Sirach 33 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.
1 Ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς, δέσποτα ὁ Θεὸς πάντων, καὶ ἐπίβλεψον·
1 No evil will happen to him who fears the Lord, but in trials once and again he will deliver him.
2 καὶ ἐπίβαλε τὸν φόβον σου ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη.
2 A wise man will not hate the law, but he who is a hypocrite about it is like a boat in a storm.
3 Ἔπαρον τὴν χεῖρά σου ἐπὶ ἔθνη ἀλλότρια, καὶ ἰδέτωσαν τὴν δυναστείαν σου.
3 A man of understanding will put his trust in the law. And the law is faithful to him, as when one asks a divine oracle.
4 Ὥσπερ ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν ἡγιάσθης ἐν ἡμῖν, οὕτως ἐνώπιον ἡμῶν μεγαλυνθείης ἐν αὐτοῖς·
4 Prepare your speech, and so you will be heard. Bind up instruction, and make your answer.
5 Καὶ ἐπιγνώτωσάν σε καθάπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐπέγνωμεν, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι Θεὸς πλήν σου Κύριε.
5 The heart of a fool is like a cartwheel. His thoughts are like a rolling axle.
6 Ἐγκαίνισον σημεῖα, καὶ ἀλλοίωσον θαυμάσια·
6 A stallion horse is like a mocking friend. He neighs under every one who sits upon him.
7 δόξασον χεῖρα καὶ βραχίονα δεξιόν· ἔγειρον θυμὸν, καὶ ἔκχεον ὀργήν· ἔξαρον ἀντίδικον, καὶ ἔκτριψον ἐχθρόν.
7 Why does one day excel another, when all the light of every day in the year is from the sun?
8 Σπεῦσον καιρὸν, καὶ μνήσθητι ὁρκισμοῦ, καὶ ἐκδιηγησάσθωσαν τὰ μεγαλεῖά σου.
8 They were distinguished by the Lord’s knowledge, and he varied seasons and feasts.
9 Ἐν ὀργῇ πυρὸς καταβρωθήτω ὁ σωζόμενος, καὶ οἱ κακοῦντες τὸν λαόν σου εὕροισαν ἀπώλειαν.
9 Some of them he exalted and hallowed, and some of them he has made ordinary days.
10 Σύντριψον κεφαλὰς ἀρχόντων ἐχθρῶν λεγόντων, οὐκ ἔστι πλὴν ἡμῶν.
10 And all men are from the ground. Adam was created from dust.
11 Σύναγε πάσας φυλὰς Ἰακώβ.
11 In the abundance of his knowledge the Lord distinguished them, and made their ways different.
12 Λαμπρὰ καρδία καὶ ἀγαθὴ ἐπὶ ἐδέσμασιν τῶν βρωμάτων αὐτῆς ἐπιμελήσεται.
12 Some of them he blessed and exalted, and some of them he made holy and brought near to himself. Some of them he cursed and brought low, and overthrew them from their place. 13 As the clay of the potter in his hand, all his ways are according to his good pleasure, so men are in the hand of him who made them, to give to them according to his judgment. 14 Good is the opposite of evil, and life is the opposite of death; so the sinner is the opposite of the godly. 15 Look upon all the works of the Most High like this, they come in pairs, one against another. 16 I was the last on watch, like one who gleans after the grape gatherers. 17 By the Lord’s blessing I arrived before them, and filled my winepress like one who gathers grapes. 18 Consider that I labored not for myself alone, but for all those who seek instruction. 19 Hear me, you great men of the people, and listen with your ears, you rulers of the congregation. 20 To son and wife, to brother and friend, don’t give power over yourself while you live, and don’t give your goods to another, lest you regret it and must ask for them. 21 While you still live and breath is in you, don’t give yourself over to anybody. 22 For it is better that your children should ask from you than that you should look to the hand of your children. 23 Excel in all your works. Don’t bring a stain on your honor. 24 In the day that you end the days of your life, in the time of death, distribute your inheritance. 25 Fodder, a stick, and burdens are for a donkey. Bread, discipline, and work are for a servant. 26 Set your slave to work, and you will find rest. Leave his hands idle, and he will seek liberty. 27 Yoke and whip will bow the neck. For an evil slave there are racks and tortures. 28 Send him to labor, that he not be idle, for idleness teaches much mischief. 29 Set him to work, as is fit for him. If he doesn’t obey, make his fetters heavy. 30 Don’t be excessive toward any. Do nothing unjust. 31 If you have a slave, treat him like yourself, because you have bought him with blood. 32 If you have a slave, treat him like yourself. For like your own soul, you will need him. If you treat him ill, and he departs and runs away, 33 which way will you go to seek him?
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).
So look upon all the works of the Most High, and these are two and two, one against another."
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)