1 My son, deprive not the poor of his living, And make not the needy eyes to wait long. 2 Make not a hungry soul sorrowful; Neither provoke a man in his distress. 3 To a heart that is provoked add not more trouble; And defer not to give to him that is in need. 4 Reject not a suppliant in his affliction; And turn not away thy face from a poor man. 5 Turn not away thine eye from one that asketh [of thee, ] And give none occasion to a man to curse thee: 6 For if he curse thee in the bitterness of his soul, He that made him will hear his supplication. 7 Get thyself the love of the congregation; And to a great man bow thy head. 8 Incline thine ear to a poor man, And answer him with peaceable words in meekness. 9 Deliver him that is wronged from the hand of him that wrongeth him; And be not fainthearted in giving judgement. 10 Be as a father unto the fatherless, And instead of a husband unto their mother: So shalt thou be as a son of the Most High, And he shall love thee more than thy mother doth. 11 Wisdom exalteth her sons, And taketh hold of them that seek her. 12 He that loveth her loveth life; And they that seek to her early shall be filled with gladness. 13 He that holdeth her fast shall inherit glory; And where he entereth, the Lord will bless. 14 They that do her service shall minister to the Holy One; And them that love her the Lord doth love. 15 He that giveth ear unto her shall judge the nations; And he that giveth heed unto her shall dwell securely. 16 If he trust her, he shall inherit her; And his generations shall have her in possession. 17 For at the first she will walk with him in crooked ways, And will bring fear and dread upon him, And torment him with her discipline, Until she may trust his soul, and try him by her judgements: 18 Then will she return again the straight way unto him, And will gladden him, and reveal to him her secrets. 19 If he go astray, she will forsake him, And give him over to his fall. 20 Observe the opportunity, and beware of evil; And be not ashamed concerning thy soul. 21 For there is a shame that bringeth sin; And there is a shame [that is ] glory and grace. 22 Accept not the person [of any ] against thy soul; And reverence no man unto thy falling. 23 Refrain not speech, when it tendeth to safety; And hide not thy wisdom for the sake of fair-seeming. 24 For by speech wisdom shall be known; And instruction by the word of the tongue. 25 Speak not against the truth; And be abashed for thine ignorance. 26 Be not ashamed to make confession of thy sins; And force not the current of the river. 27 Lay not thyself down for a fool to tread upon; And accept not the person of one that is mighty. 28 Strive for the truth unto death, and the Lord God shall fight for thee. 29 Be not hasty in thy tongue, And in thy deeds slack and remiss. 30 Be not as a lion in thy house, Nor fanciful among thy servants. 31 Let not thine hand be stretched out to receive, and closed when thou shouldest repay.
Sirach · Revised Version with Apocrypha
Sirach 4 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).
Now "all consummation" appeareth to me in this place to signify, the striving even unto death for the truth, and the endurance of every evil for the true and chief good: the end of which consummation is to excel in the kingdom of Christ, which hath no end; and there to have without death, without pain, and with great honour, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)
"For a word is a better thing than a gift," and "answer the poor man peaceably with meekness." And all the rest of thy time too adorn it with the rehearsing of the laws of God; "Yea, let all thy communication be in the law of the Most High." Having thus adorned ourselves, let us come to our King, and …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
Let not thine hand be only stretched out to receive, but let it be also ready to work.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)