1 Do no evil, so shall no evil overtake thee. 2 Depart from wrong, and it shall turn aside from thee. 3 My son, sow not upon the furrows of unrighteousness, And thou shalt not reap them sevenfold. 4 Seek not of the Lord preeminence, Neither of the king the seat of honour. 5 Justify not thyself in the presence of the Lord; And display not thy wisdom before the king. 6 Seek not to be a judge, Lest thou be not able to take away iniquities; Lest haply thou fear the person of a mighty man, And lay a stumblingblock in the way of thy uprightness. 7 Sin not against the multitude of the city, And cast not thyself down in the crowd. 8 Bind not up sin twice; For in one [sin ] thou shalt not be unpunished. 9 Say not, He will look upon the multitude of my gifts, And when I offer to the Most High God, he will accept it. 10 Be not fainthearted in thy prayer; And neglect not to give alms. 11 Laugh not a man to scorn when he is in the bitterness of his soul; For there is one who humbleth and exalteth. 12 Devise not a lie against thy brother; Neither do the like to a friend. 13 Love not to make any manner of lie; For the custom thereof is not for good. 14 Prate not in the multitude of elders; And repeat not thy words in thy prayer. 15 Hate not laborious work; Neither husbandry, which the Most High hath ordained. 16 Number not thyself among the multitude of sinners: Remember that wrath will not tarry. 17 Humble thy soul greatly; For the punishment of the ungodly man is fire and the worm. 18 Change not a friend for a thing indifferent; Neither a true brother for the gold of Ophir. 19 Forgo not a wise and good wife; For her grace is above gold. 20 Entreat not evil a servant that worketh truly, Nor a hireling that giveth [thee ] his life. 21 Let thy soul love a wise servant; Defraud him not of liberty. 22 Hast thou cattle? have an eye to them; And if they are profitable to thee, let them stay by thee. 23 Hast thou children? correct them, And bow down their neck from their youth. 24 Hast thou daughters? give heed to their body, And make not thy face cheerful toward them. 25 Give thy daughter in marriage, and thou shalt have accomplished a great matter: And give her to a man of understanding. 26 Hast thou a wife after thy mind? cast her not out: But trust not thyself to one that is hateful. 27 Give glory to thy father with thy whole heart; And forget not the pangs of thy mother. 28 Remember that of them thou wast born: And what wilt thou recompense them for the things that they have done for thee? 29 Fear the Lord with all thy soul; And reverence his priests. 30 With all thy strength love him that made thee; And forsake not his ministers. 31 Fear the Lord, and glorify the priest; And give him his portion, even as it is commanded thee; The firstfruits, and the trespass offering, and the gift of the shoulders, And the sacrifice of sanctification, and the firstfruits of holy things. 32 Also to the poor man stretch out thy hand, That thy blessing may be perfected. 33 A gift hath grace in the sight of every man living; And for a dead man keep not back grace. 34 Be not wanting to them that weep; And mourn with them that mourn. 35 Be not slow to visit a sick man; For by such things thou shalt gain love. 36 In all thy matters remember thy last end, And thou shalt never do amiss.
Sirach · Revised Version with Apocrypha
Sirach 7 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).
But ordinary phraseology would not have allowed the saying, "Be unwilling to make any manner of lie," had there not been also an evil will, whose wickedness separates if from that which the angels celebrated, "Peace on earth, of good will to men." For "good" is superfluous if there is no other kind of will but good will.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
For we read in the ancient Scriptures, "The vengeance of the flesh of the ungodly is fire and worms." It might have been more briefly said, "The vengeance of the ungodly." Why, then, was it said, "The flesh of the ungodly," unless because both the fire and the worm are to be the punishment of the flesh?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)