1 He that taketh vengeance shall find vengeance from the Lord; And he will surely make firm his sins. 2 Forgive thy neighbour the hurt that he hath done [thee; ] And then thy sins shall be pardoned when thou prayest. 3 Man cherisheth anger against man; And doth he seek healing from the Lord? 4 Upon a man like himself he hath no mercy; And doth he make supplication for his own sins? 5 He being himself flesh nourisheth wrath: Who shall make atonement for his sins? 6 Remember thy last end, and cease from enmity: [Remember ] corruption and death, and abide in the commandments. 7 Remember the commandments, and be not wroth with thy neighbour; And [remember ] the covenant of the Highest, and wink at ignorance. 8 Abstain from strife, and thou shalt diminish thy sins: For a passionate man will kindle strife; 9 And a man that is a sinner will trouble friends, And will make debate among them that be at peace. 10 As is the fuel of the fire, so will it burn; And as the stoutness of the strife is, [so ] will it burn: As is the strength of the man, [so ] will be his wrath; And as is his wealth, [so ] will he exalt his anger. 11 A contention begun in haste kindleth a fire; And a hasty fighting sheddeth blood. 12 If thou blow a spark, it shall burn; And if thou spit upon it, it shall be quenched: And both these shall come out of thy mouth. 13 Curse the whisperer and double-tongued: For he hath destroyed many that were at peace. 14 A third person’s tongue hath shaken many, And dispersed them from nation to nation; And it hath pulled down strong cities, And overthrown the houses of great men. 15 A third person’s tongue hath cast out brave women, And deprived them of their labours. 16 He that hearkeneth unto it shall not find rest, Nor shall he dwell quietly. 17 The stroke of a whip maketh a mark in the flesh; But the stroke of a tongue will break bones. 18 Many have fallen by the edge of the sword: Yet not so many as they that have fallen because of the tongue. 19 Happy is he that is sheltered from it, That hath not passed through the wrath thereof; That hath not drawn its yoke, And hath not been bound with its bands. 20 For the yoke thereof is a yoke of iron, And the bands thereof are bands of brass. 21 The death thereof is an evil death; And Hades were better than it. 22 It shall not have rule over godly men; And they shall not be burned in its flame. 23 They that forsake the Lord shall fall into it; And it shall burn among them, and shall not be quenched: It shall be sent forth upon them as a lion; And as a leopard it shall destroy them. 24 Look that thou hedge thy possession about with thorns; Bind up thy silver and thy gold; 25 And make a balance and a weight for thy words; And make a door and a bar for thy mouth. 26 Take heed lest thou slip therein; Lest thou fall before one that lieth in wait.
Sirach · Revised Version with Apocrypha
Sirach 28 Revised Version with Apocrypha
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).
One man keepeth anger against another, and doth he seek healing of God?" "And yet He allowed, eye for eye,' and tooth for tooth,' how then doth He find fault?" Because He allowed even those things, not that we should do them one to another, but that through the fear of suffering, we might abstain from the commission of crime.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)