Sirach 13 Clementine Vulgate
1 [Qui tetigerit picem inquinabitur ab ea: et qui communicaverit superbo induet superbiam.
1 He who touches pitch will be defiled. He who has fellowship with a proud man will become like him.
2 Pondus super se tollat qui honestiori se communicat, et ditiori te ne socius fueris.
2 Don’t take up a burden above your strength. Have no fellowship with one who is mightier and richer than yourself. What fellowship would the earthen pot have with the kettle? The kettle will strike, and the pot will be dashed in pieces.
3 Quid communicabit cacabus ad ollam? quando enim se colliserint, confringetur.
3 The rich man does a wrong and threatens. The poor is wronged and apologizes.
4 Dives injuste egit, et fremet: pauper autem læsus tacebit.
4 If you are profitable, he will exploit you. If you are in need, he will forsake you.
5 Si largitus fueris, assumet te: et si non habueris, derelinquet te.
5 If you own something, he will live with you. He will drain your resources and will not be sorry.
6 Si habes, convivet tecum, et evacuabit te: et ipse non dolebit super te.
6 Does he need you? Then he will deceive you, smile at you, and give you hope. He will speak kindly to you and say, “What do you need?”
7 Si necessarius illi fueris, supplantabit te, et subridens spem dabit, narrans tibi bona, et dicet: Quid opus est tibi?
7 He will shame you by his delicacies until he has made you bare twice or thrice, and in the end he will laugh you to scorn. Afterward he will see you, will forsake you, and shake his head at you.
8 Et confundet te in cibis suis, donec te exinaniat bis et ter: et in novissimo deridebit te, et postea videns derelinquet te, et caput suum movebit ad te.
8 Beware that you are not deceived and brought low in your enjoyment.
9 Humiliare Deo, et exspecta manus ejus.
9 If a mighty man invites you, be reserved, and he will invite you more.
10 Attende ne seductus in stultitiam humilieris.
10 Don’t press him, lest you be thrust back. Don’t stand far off, lest you be forgotten.
11 Noli esse humilis in sapientia tua, ne humiliatus in stultitiam seducaris.
11 Don’t try to speak with him as an equal, and don’t believe his many words; for he will test you with much talk, and will examine you in a smiling manner.
12 Advocatus a potentiore, discede: ex hoc enim magis te advocabit.
12 He who doesn’t keep secrets to himself is unmerciful. He won’t hesitate to harm and to bind.
13 Ne improbus sis, ne impingaris: et ne longe sis ab eo, ne eas in oblivionem.
13 Keep them to yourself and be careful, for you walk in danger of falling.
14 Ne retineas ex æquo loqui cum illo, nec credas multis verbis illius: ex multa enim loquela tentabit te, et subridens interrogabit te de absconditis tuis.
14 Not in this translation
15 Immitis animus illius conservabit verba tua: et non parcet de malitia, et de vinculis.
15 Every living creature loves its own kind, and every man loves his neighbor.
16 Cave tibi, et attende diligenter auditui tuo, quoniam cum subversione tua ambulas:
16 All flesh associates with their own kind. A man will stick to people like himself.
17 audiens vero illa, quasi in somnis vide, et vigilabis.
17 What fellowship would the wolf have with the lamb? So is the sinner to the godly.
18 Omni vita tua dilige Deum, et invoca illum in salute tua.
18 What peace is there between a hyena and a dog? What peace is there between a rich man and the poor?
19 Omne animal diligit simile sibi, sic et omnis homo proximum sibi.
19 Wild donkeys are the prey of lions in the wilderness; likewise poor men are feeding grounds for the rich.
20 Omnis caro ad similem sibi conjungetur, et omnis homo simili sui sociabitur.
20 Lowliness is an abomination to a proud man; likewise a poor man is an abomination to the rich.
21 Si communicabit lupus agno aliquando, sic peccator justo.
21 When a rich man is shaken, he is supported by his friends, but when the humble is down, he is pushed away even by his friends.
22 Quæ communicatio sancto homini ad canem? aut quæ pars diviti ad pauperem?
22 When a rich man falls, there are many helpers. He speaks things not to be spoken, and men justify him. A humble man falls, and men rebuke him. He utters wisdom, and is not listened to.
23 Venatio leonis onager in eremo: sic et pascua divitum sunt pauperes.
23 A rich man speaks, and all keep silence. They extol what he says to the clouds. A poor man speaks, and they say, “Who is this?” If he stumbles, they will help to overthrow him.
24 Et sicut abominatio est superbo humilitas, sic et execratio divitis pauper.
24 Riches are good if they have no sin. Poverty is evil only in the opinion of the ungodly.
25 Dives commotus confirmatur ab amicis suis: humilis autem cum ceciderit, expelletur et a notis.
25 The heart of a man changes his countenance, whether it is for good or for evil.
26 Diviti decepto multi recuperatores: locutus est superbia, et justificaverunt illum.
26 A cheerful countenance is a sign of a prosperous heart. Devising proverbs takes strenuous thinking.
27 Humilis deceptus est, insuper et arguitur: locutus est sensate, et non est datus ei locus.
27 Not in this translation
28 Dives locutus est, et omnes tacuerunt, et verbum illius usque ad nubes perducent.
28 Not in this translation
29 Pauper locutus est, et dicunt: Quis est hic? et si offenderit, subvertent illum.]
29 Not in this translation
30 [Bona est substantia cui non est peccatum in conscientia: et nequissima paupertas in ore impii.
30 Not in this translation
31 Cor hominis immutat faciem illius, sive in bona, sive in mala.
31 Not in this translation
32 Vestigium cordis boni et faciem bonam difficile invenies, et cum labore.]
32 Not in this translation