Sirach · Revised Version with Apocrypha
Sirach 22 Revised Version with Apocrypha
1 A slothful man is compared to a stone that is defiled; And every one will hiss him out in his disgrace.
1 A slothful man is compared to a stone that is defiled. Everyone will hiss at him in his disgrace.
2 A slothful man is compared to the filth of a dunghill: Every man that taketh it up will shake out his hand.
2 A slothful man is compared to the filth of a dunghill. Anyone who picks it up will shake it out of his hand.
3 A father hath shame in having begotten an uninstructed [son; ] And a [foolish ] daughter is born to his loss.
3 An undisciplined child is a disgrace to his father, and a foolish daughter is born to his loss.
4 A prudent daughter shall inherit a husband of her own; And she that bringeth shame is the grief of him that begat her.
4 A prudent daughter will inherit a husband of her own. She who brings shame is the grief of her father.
5 She that is bold bringeth shame upon father and husband; And she shall be despised of them both.
5 She who is arrogant brings shame on father and husband. She will be despised by both of them.
6 Unseasonable discourse is [as ] music in mourning; But stripes and correction are wisdom at every season.
6 Ill-timed conversation is like music in mourning, but stripes and correction are wisdom in every season.
7 He that teacheth a fool is [as ] one that glueth a potsherd together; [Even as ] one that waketh a sleeper out of a deep sleep.
7 He who teaches a fool is like one who glues potsherds together, even like one who wakes a sleeper out of a deep sleep.
8 He that discourseth to a fool is [as ] one discoursing to a man that slumbereth; And at the end he will say, What is it?
8 He who teaches a fool is as one who teaches a man who slumbers. In the end he will say, “What is it?”
9 Not in this translation
9 Not in this translation
11 Weep for the dead, for light hath failed [him; ] And weep for a fool, for understanding hath failed [him: ] Weep more sweetly for the dead, because he hath found rest; But the life of the fool is worse than death.
11 Weep for the dead, for he lacks light. Weep for a fool, for he lacks understanding. Weep more sweetly for the dead, because he has found rest, but the life of the fool is worse than death.
12 Seven days are [the days of ] mourning for the dead; But for a fool and an ungodly man, all the days of his life.
12 Mourning for the dead lasts seven days, but for a fool and an ungodly man, it lasts all the days of his life.
13 Talk not much with a foolish man, And go not to one that hath no understanding: Beware of him, lest thou have trouble; And [so ] thou shalt not be defiled in his onslaught: Turn aside from him, and thou shalt find rest; And [so ] thou shalt not be wearied in his madness.
13 Don’t talk much with a foolish man, and don’t go to one who has no understanding. Beware of him, lest you have trouble and be defiled in his onslaught. Turn away from him, and you will find rest, and you won’t be wearied in his madness.
14 What shall be heavier than lead? And what is the name thereof, but a fool?
14 What would be heavier than lead? What is its name, but “Fool”?
15 Sand, and salt, and a mass of iron, is easier to bear, Than a man without understanding.
15 Sand, salt, and a mass of iron is easier to bear than a man without understanding.
16 Timber girt and bound into a building shall not be loosed with shaking: So a heart established in due season on well advised counsel shall not be afraid.
16 Timber girded and bound into a building will not be released with shaking. So a heart established in due season on well advised counsel will not be afraid.
17 A heart settled upon a thoughtful understanding Is as an ornament of plaister on a polished wall.
17 A heart settled upon a thoughtful understanding is as an ornament of plaster on a polished wall.
18 Pales set on a high place will not stand against the wind: So a fearful heart in the imagination of a fool will not stand against any fear.
18 Fences set on a high place will not stand against the wind; so a fearful heart in the imagination of a fool will not stand against any fear.
19 He that pricketh the eye will make tears to fall; And he that pricketh the heart maketh it to shew feeling.
19 He who pricks the eye will make tears fall. He who pricks the heart makes it show feeling.
20 Whoso casteth a stone at birds frayeth them away; And he that upbraideth a friend will dissolve friendship.
20 Whoever casts a stone at birds scares them away. He who insults a friend will dissolve friendship.
21 If thou hast drawn a sword against a friend, despair not; For there may be a returning.
21 If you have drawn a sword against a friend, don’t despair, for there may be a way back.
22 If thou hast opened thy mouth against a friend, fear not; For there may be a reconciling; Except it be for upbraiding, and arrogance, and disclosing of a secret, and a treacherous blow: For these things every friend will flee.
22 If you have opened your mouth against a friend, don’t be afraid, for there may be reconciliation, unless it is for insulting, arrogance, disclosing of a secret, or a treacherous blow— for these things any friend will flee.
23 Gain trust with thy neighbour in his poverty, That in his prosperity thou mayest have gladness: Abide stedfast unto him in the time of his affliction, That thou mayest be heir with him in his inheritance.
23 Gain trust with your neighbor in his poverty, that in his prosperity you may have gladness. Stay steadfast to him in the time of his affliction, that you may be heir with him in his inheritance.
24 Before fire is the vapour and smoke of a furnace; So revilings before bloodshed.
24 Before fire is the vapor and smoke of a furnace, so insults precede bloodshed.
25 I will not be ashamed to shelter a friend; And I will not hide myself from his face:
25 I won’t be ashamed to shelter a friend. I won’t hide myself from his face.
26 And if any evil happen unto me because of him, Every one that heareth it will beware of him.
26 If any evil happens to me because of him, everyone who hears it will beware of him.
27 Who shall set a watch over my mouth, And a seal of shrewdness upon my lips, That I fall not from it, and that my tongue destroy me not?
27 Who will set a watch over my mouth, and a seal of shrewdness upon my lips, that I may not fall from it, and that my tongue may not destroy me?
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).
It is written, "The mourning for the dead is seven days; for a fool and an ungodly man all the days of his life." What!
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)