Sirach, Chapter 4
1
My son, do not mock at the life of the poor, And do not grieve the eyes of him who is in bitterness of soul.
2
Do not snort at the misery of the soul who lacks, And do not hide yourself from a contrite soul.[fn]
3
Do not trouble the insides of the oppressed, And do not withhold a gift from your indigent.
4
Do not despise the requests of the needy,
5
And you will not give him a place to curse you.
6
He who is bitter in spirit cries out in the pain of his soul, And his Rock will hear the voice of his cry.
7
Cause your soul to be loved by the congregation, And to a ruler, moreover, bow your head.
9
Save the oppressed from his oppressors, And do not let your spirit be weary with right judgment.
10
Be as a father to the fatherless, And in the place of a husband to widows. And God will call you son, And will be gracious to you.
11
Wisdom teaches her sons, And testifies to all who understand her.
12
Those who love her, love life. And those who seek her, will obtain favor from Yahweh.
13
And those who lay hold on her will find honor from Yahweh, And will encamp in the blessing of Yahweh.
15
He who hears me, will judge in truth; And he who listens to me, will be given a room in my house.[fn]
17
For in disguise, I will walk with him; And at first, he will choose trials.
18
Then at the time his heart is filled with me, I will lead him again, and reveal to him my secrets.
19
If he turns away, I will cast him off, And deliver him into the hands of the spoilers.
20
My son, observe the time and season, and be afraid of evil. And do not be ashamed to your soul.[fn]
21
For there is a shame that brings sin, And there is a shame that brings glory and grace.
22
Do not regard your soul, And do not stumble because of your shame.
23
Do not withhold a word in due season, And do not hide your wisdom.
24
For by speech wisdom is made known, And understanding by the answer of the tongue.
25
Do not speak against the truth, And concerning your ignorance be ashamed.
26
Do not be ashamed to turn from iniquity, And do not stand before a rushing stream.
27
Do not lay yourself down under a fool, And do not show favoritism before the mighty.
28
Until death strive for the truth, and Yahweh will fight for you.
29
Do not be boastful with your tongue, And slack and negligent with your work.
30
Do not be as a lion in your house, And reckless in your cultivating.
31
Do not let your hand be stretched out to receive, And drawn back to return.
Footnotes
2
The translation of the word 'misery' is somewhat uncertain due to the difficulty in determining the underlying Hebrew word.
8
Peace - In Hebrew, 'Shalom', a common word of greeting.
14
The translation of the last half of this verse is uncertain. It is reconstructed here based on transposing two letters in one Hebrew word (אהלו) and reading different word spacing in another (במאויה).
15
The Hebrew version does not contain verse 16.
20
your soul refers to 'yourself'.
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