Sirach 11 Clementine Vulgate
1 [Sapientia humiliati exaltabit caput illius, et in medio magnatorum consedere illum faciet.
1 The wisdom of the lowly will lift up his head, and make him sit in the midst of great men.
2 Non laudes virum in specie sua, neque spernas hominem in visu suo.
2 Don’t commend a man for his good looks. Don’t abhor a man for his outward appearance.
3 Brevis in volatilibus est apis, et initium dulcoris habet fructus illius.
3 The bee is little among flying creatures, but what it produces is the best of confections.
4 In vestitu ne glorieris umquam, nec in die honoris tui extollaris: quoniam mirabilia opera Altissimi solius, et gloriosa, et absconsa, et invisa opera illius.
4 Don’t boast about the clothes you wear, and don’t exalt yourself in the day of honor; for the Lord’s works are wonderful, and his works are hidden among men.
5 Multi tyranni sederunt in throno: et insuspicabilis portavit diadema.
5 Many kings have sat down upon the ground, but one who was never thought of has worn a crown.
6 Multi potentes oppressi sunt valide, et gloriosi traditi sunt in manus alterorum.
6 Many mighty men have been greatly disgraced. Men of renown have been delivered into other men’s hands.
7 Priusquam interroges, ne vituperes quemquam: et cum interrogaveris, corripe juste.]
7 Don’t blame before you investigate. Understand first, and then rebuke.
8 [Priusquam audias, ne respondeas verbum: et in medio sermonum ne adjicias loqui.
8 Don’t answer before you have heard. Don’t interrupt while someone else is speaking.
9 De ea re quæ te non molestat, ne certeris: et in judicio peccantium ne consistas.
9 Don’t argue about a matter that doesn’t concern you. Don’t sit with sinners when they judge.
10 Fili, ne in multis sint actus tui: et si dives fueris, non eris immunis a delicto. Si enim secutus fueris, non apprehendes: et non effugies, si præcucurreris.
10 My son, don’t be busy about many matters; for if you meddle much, you will not be unpunished. If you pursue, you will not overtake, and you will not escape by fleeing.
11 Est homo laborans et festinans, et dolens: impius, et tanto magis non abundabit.
11 There is one who toils, labors, and hurries, and is even more behind.
12 Est homo marcidus egens recuperatione, plus deficiens virtute, et abundans paupertate:
12 There is one who is sluggish, and needs help, lacking in strength, and who abounds in poverty, but the Lord’s eyes looked upon him for good, and he raised him up from his low condition,
13 et oculus Dei respexit illum in bono, et erexit eum ab humilitate ipsius, et exaltavit caput ejus: et mirati sunt in illo multi, et honoraverunt Deum.]
13 and lifted up his head so that many marveled at him.
14 [Bona et mala, vita et mors, paupertas et honestas, a Deo sunt:
14 Good things and bad, life and death, poverty and riches, are from the Lord.
15 sapientia, et disciplina, et scientia legis, apud Deum: dilectio, et viæ bonorum, apud ipsum.
15 Not in this translation
16 Error et tenebræ peccatoribus concreata sunt: qui autem exsultant in malis consenescunt in malo.
16 Not in this translation
17 Datio Dei permanet justis, et profectus illius successus habebit in æternum.
17 The Lord’s gift remains with the godly. His good pleasure will prosper forever.
18 Est qui locupletatur parce agendo, et hæc est pars mercedis illius.
18 One grows rich by his diligence and self-denial, and this is the portion of his reward:
19 In eo quod dicit: Inveni requiem mihi, et nunc manducabo de bonis meis solus:
19 when he says, “I have found rest, and now I will eat of my goods!” he doesn’t know how much time will pass until he leaves them to others and dies.
20 et nescit quod tempus præteriet, et mors appropinquet, et relinquat omnia aliis, et morietur.
20 Be steadfast in your covenant and be doing it, and grow old in your work.
21 Sta in testamento tuo, et in illo colloquere, et in opere mandatorum tuorum veterasce.
21 Don’t marvel at the works of a sinner, but trust the Lord and stay in your labor; for it is an easy thing in the sight of the Lord to swiftly and suddenly make a poor man rich.
22 Ne manseris in operibus peccatorum: confide autem in Deo, et mane in loco tuo.
22 The Lord’s blessing is in the reward of the godly. He makes his blessing flourish in an hour that comes swiftly.
23 Facile est enim in oculis Dei subito honestare pauperem.
23 Don’t say, “What use is there of me? What further good things can be mine?”
24 Benedictio Dei in mercedem justi festinat, et in hora veloci processus illius fructificat.
24 Don’t say, “I have enough. What harm could happen to me now?”
25 Ne dicas: Quid est mihi opus? et quæ erunt mihi ex hoc bona?
25 In the day of good things, bad things are forgotten. In the day of bad things, a man will not remember things that are good.
26 Ne dicas: Sufficiens mihi sum: et quid ex hoc pessimabor?
26 For it is an easy thing in the sight of the Lord to reward a man in the day of death according to his ways.
27 In die bonorum ne immemor sis malorum, et in die malorum ne immemor sis bonorum:
27 The affliction of an hour causes delights to be forgotten. In the end, a man’s deeds are revealed.
28 quoniam facile est coram Deo in die obitus retribuere unicuique secundum vias suas.
28 Call no man happy before his death. A man will be known in his children.
29 Malitia horæ oblivionem facit luxuriæ magnæ, et in fine hominis denudatio operum illius.
29 Don’t bring every man into your house, for many are the tricks of a deceitful man.
30 Ante mortem ne laudes hominem quemquam: quoniam in filiis suis agnoscitur vir.]
30 Like a decoy partridge in a cage, so is the heart of a proud man. Like a spy, he looks for your weakness.
31 [Non omnem hominem inducas in domum tuam: multæ enim sunt insidiæ dolosi.
31 For he lies in wait to turn things that are good into evil, and assigns blame in things that are praiseworthy.
32 Sicut enim eructant præcordia fœtentium, et sicut perdix inducitur in caveam, et ut caprea in laqueum: sic et cor superborum, et sicut prospector videns casum proximi sui.
32 From a spark of fire, a heap of many coals is kindled, and a sinful man lies in wait to shed blood.
33 Bona enim in mala convertens insidiatur, et in electis imponet maculam.
33 Take heed of an evil-doer, for he plans wicked things, lest perhaps he ruin your reputation forever.
34 A scintilla una augetur ignis, et ab uno doloso augetur sanguis: homo vero peccator sanguini insidiatur.
34 Receive a stranger into your house, and he will distract you with arguments and estrange you from your own family.
35 Attende tibi a pestifero, fabricat enim mala, ne inducat super te subsannationem in perpetuum.
35 Not in this translation
36 Admitte ad te alienigenam: et subvertet te in turbine, et abalienabit te a tuis propriis.]
36 Not in this translation
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).
Only do not thou feel secure in praising any sort of life: "judge no man blessed before his death."
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)