Sirach · Revised Version with Apocrypha
Sirach 11 Revised Version with Apocrypha
Sirach is not in RV1909.
1 The wisdom of the lowly shall lift up his head, And make him to sit in the midst of great men.
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2 Commend not a man for his beauty; And abhor not a man for his outward appearance.
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3 The bee is little among such as fly; And her fruit is the chief of sweetmeats.
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4 Glory not in the putting on of raiment, And exalt not thyself in the day of honour; For the works of the Lord are wonderful, And his works are hidden among men.
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5 Many kings have sat down upon the ground; And one that was never thought of hath worn a diadem.
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6 Many mighty men have been greatly disgraced; And men of renown have been delivered into other men’s hands.
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7 Blame not before thou hast examined: Understand first, and then rebuke.
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8 Answer not before thou hast heard; And interrupt not in the midst of speech.
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9 Strive not in a matter that concerneth thee not; And where sinners judge, sit not thou with them.
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10 My son, be not busy about many matters: For if thou meddle much, thou shalt not be unpunished; And if thou pursue, thou shalt not overtake; And thou shalt not escape by fleeing.
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11 There is one that toileth, and laboureth, and maketh haste, And is so much the more behind.
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12 There is one that is sluggish, and hath need of help, Lacking in strength, and that aboundeth in poverty; And the eyes of the Lord looked upon him for good, And he set him up from his low estate,
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13 And lifted up his head; And many marvelled at him.
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14 Good things and evil, life and death, Poverty and riches, are from the Lord.
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15 Not in this translation
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17 The gift of the Lord remaineth with the godly, And his good pleasure shall prosper for ever.
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18 There is that waxeth rich by his wariness and pinching, And this is the portion of his reward:
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19 When he saith, I have found rest, And now will I eat of my goods; Yet he knoweth not what time shall pass, And he shall leave them to others, and die.
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20 Be stedfast in thy covenant, and be conversant therein, And wax old in thy work.
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21 Marvel not at the works of a sinner; But trust the Lord, and abide in thy labour: For it is an easy thing in the sight of the Lord swiftly on the sudden to make a poor man rich.
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22 The blessing of the Lord is in the reward of the godly; And in an hour that cometh swiftly he maketh his blessing to flourish.
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23 Say not, What use is there of me? And what from henceforth shall my good things be?
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24 Say not, I have sufficient, And from henceforth what harm shall happen unto me?
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25 In the day of good things there is a forgetfulness of evil things; And in the day of evil things a man will not remember things that are good.
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26 For it is an easy thing in the sight of the Lord To reward a man in the day of death according to his ways.
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27 The affliction of an hour causeth forgetfulness of delight; And in the last end of a man is the revelation of his deeds.
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28 Call no man blessed before his death; And a man shall be known in his children.
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29 Bring not every man into thine house; For many are the plots of the deceitful man.
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30 [As ] a decoy partridge in a cage, so is the heart of a proud man; And as one that is a spy, he looketh upon [thy ] falling.
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31 For he lieth in wait to turn things that are good into evil; And in things that are praiseworthy he will lay blame.
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32 From a spark of fire a heap of many coals is kindled; And a sinful man lieth in wait for blood.
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33 Take heed of an evil-doer, for he contriveth wicked things; Lest haply he bring upon thee blame for ever.
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34 Receive a stranger into thine house, and he will distract thee with brawls, And estrange thee from thine own.
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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).
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)