Sirach · Revised Version with Apocrypha
Sirach 16 Revised Version with Apocrypha
Sirach is not in RV1909.
1 Desire not a multitude of unprofitable children, Neither delight in ungodly sons.
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2 If they multiply, delight not in them, Except the fear of the Lord be with them.
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3 Trust not thou in their life, Neither rely on their condition: For one is better than a thousand; And to die childless than to have ungodly children.
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4 For from one that hath understanding shall a city be peopled; But a race of wicked men shall be made desolate.
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5 Many such things have I seen with mine eyes; And mine ear hath heard mightier things than these.
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6 In the congregation of sinners shall a fire be kindled; And in a disobedient nation wrath is kindled.
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7 He was not pacified toward the giants of old time, Who revolted in their strength.
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8 He spared not those with whom Lot sojourned, Whom he abhorred for their pride.
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9 He pitied not the people of perdition, Who were taken away in their sins.
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10 And in like manner the six hundred thousand footmen, Who were gathered together in the hardness of their hearts.
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11 Even if there be one stiffnecked person, It is marvel if he shall be unpunished: For mercy and wrath are with him; He is mighty to forgive, and he poureth out wrath.
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12 As his mercy is great, so is his correction also: He judgeth a man according to his works.
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13 The sinner shall not escape with [his ] plunder; And the patience of the godly shall not be frustrate.
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14 He will make room for every work of mercy; Each man shall find according to his works.
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15 Not in this translation
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17 Say not thou, I shall be hidden from the Lord; And who shall remember me from on high? I shall not be known among so many people; For what is my soul in a boundless creation?
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18 Behold, the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, The deep, and the earth, shall be moved when he shall visit.
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19 The mountains and the foundations of the earth together Are shaken with trembling, when he looketh upon them.
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20 And no heart shall think upon these things: And who shall conceive his ways?
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21 And [there is ] a tempest which no man shall see; Yea, the more part of his works are hid.
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22 Who shall declare the works of [his ] righteousness? Or who shall endure them? For his covenant is afar off.
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23 He that is wanting in understanding thinketh upon these things; And an unwise and erring man thinketh follies.
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24 My son, hearken unto me, and learn knowledge, And give heed to my words with thy heart.
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25 I will shew forth instruction by weight, And declare knowledge exactly.
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26 In the judgement of the Lord are his works from the beginning; And from the making of them he disposed the parts thereof.
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27 He garnished his works for ever, And the beginnings of them unto their generations: They neither hunger, nor are weary, And they cease not from their works.
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28 No one thrusteth aside his neighbour; And they shall never disobey his word.
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29 After this also the Lord looked upon the earth, And filled it with his blessings.
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30 All manner of living things covered the face thereof; And into it is their return.
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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).
"For," as it is written, "God filled the earth with His good things." What is "His"?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)