Sirach, Chapter 33
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1
No evil befalls him who fears the Lord,But in temptation he will deliver him.
2
He is not wise who hates the law,And is tossed about like a ship in a storm.
4
Prepare your speech, and so let yourself be heard,Bind up instruction, and [then] make your answer.
5
[Like] a cart wheel is the heart of a fool,And as a turning axle his [way of] thought.
6
Like a saddled horse is the love of a fool,He neighs under everyone who sits upon him.
7
Why is one day distinguished from another,When the light of every day in the year is from the sun?
8
By the knowledge of the Lord they were distinguished,And he varied seasons and feasts.
9
Some of them he exalted and hallowed,And some of them he made ordinary days.
10
And all men are from the ground,And Adam was created of earth.
11
In the abundance of his knowledge the Lord distinguished them,And made their ways various.
12
Some of them he blessed and exalted,And some of them he sanctified and brought near to himself;Some of them he cursed and humbled,And overthrew them from their place.
13
As the clay of the potter in his hand,All his ways are according to his good pleasure;So men are in the hand of him who made them,To render to them according to his judgement.
14
Opposite evil [is] good, and opposite death [is] life;Likewise opposite the godly [is] the sinner.
15
Even thus look upon all the works of the Most High,They are in pairs, one opposite the other.
16
And I came at the last,As one who gleans after the grape-gatherers.By the blessing of the Lord I made progress,And, as a grape-gatherer, filled my winepress.
17
Consider that I did not labor for myself alone,But for all those who seek instruction.
18
Hearken to me, you⁺ great ones of the people,And you⁺ rulers of the congregation, give ear to me.
19
To son or wife, to brother or friend,Do not give power over you while you live;And do not give your goods to another,Lest you repent, and ask for them [back].
20
While you yet live, and breath is in you,Do not give yourself to any.
21
For it is better that your children ask of you,Than you should look to the hand of your sons.
22
In all your works keep the upper hand,Let no stain come upon your honor.
23
In the day that you end your life,In the day of death, distribute your inheritance.
24
Fodder, and a stick, and burdens, for a donkey;Bread, and discipline, and work, for a servant.
25
Set your servant to work, and he will seek rest,Leave his hands idle, and he will seek liberty.
27
Put him to work that he may not be idle;For idleness teaches much mischief.
28
Set him to [such] works as are suited to him,And if he does not obey make his fetters heavy.
29
Do not be excessive toward any creature,And do nothing without judgement.
30
If you have but one servant, let him be as yourself,For with blood have you obtained him.
31
If you have but one servant, treat him as your brother,For as your own soul you have need of him;If you maltreat him, and he departs and runs away,Which way will you go to seek him?
Footnotes
3
The text of this verse is uncertain.
26
Literally, "the rack and torments" (Greek στρέβλαι, *streblai*, and βάσανοι, *basanoi*). This verse, absent from the Syriac Peshitta, is attested in the Greek critical text (Rahlfs/Ziegler), the Latin, and partially in Hebrew MS E. The grandson's Greco-Roman punishment vocabulary renders milder Hebrew corporal-punishment terms; MS E's fragmentary text reads חֹטֶר (*ḥōṭer*, "rod/staff"), and Segal emends the following word to מַכּוֹת (*makkôt*, "blows"). The pre-Jerome Latin has "continuous labors" (*operationes assiduae*) in the second colon — a different reading with a more Hebraic parallel structure.
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