Sirach 21 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Various Sins

21 Have you sinned, my child? Do so no more,
but ask forgiveness for your past sins.(A)
2 Flee from sin as from a snake,
for if you approach sin it will bite you.
Its teeth are lion’s teeth
and can destroy human lives.(B)
3 All lawlessness is like a two-edged sword;
there is no healing for the wound it inflicts.

4 Panic and insolence will waste away riches;
thus the house of the proud will be uprooted.[a]
5 The prayer of the poor goes from their lips to the ears of God,[b]
and his judgment comes speedily.(C)
6 Those who hate reproof walk in the sinner’s steps,
but those who fear the Lord repent in their heart.(D)
7 The mighty in speech are widely known;
when they slip, the sensible person knows it.

8 Those who build their houses with other people’s money
are like those who gather stones for their own burial mounds.(E)
9 An assembly of the lawless is like a bundle of tinder,
and their end is a blazing fire.(F)
10 The way of sinners is paved with smooth stones,
but at its end is the pit of Hades.(G)

Wisdom and Foolishness

11 Those who keep the law control their thoughts,
and the fulfillment of the fear of the Lord is wisdom.(H)
12 Those who are not clever cannot be taught,
but there is a cleverness that increases bitterness.(I)
13 The knowledge of the wise will increase like a flood
and their counsel like a life-giving spring.(J)
14 The mind[c] of a fool is like a broken jar;
it can hold no knowledge.(K)

15 When intelligent people hear a wise saying,
they praise it and add to it;
when fools[d] hear it, they laugh at[e] it
and throw it behind their backs.(L)
16 The chatter[f] of fools is like a burden on a journey,
but delight is found in the speech of the intelligent.(M)
17 The utterance of sensible people is sought in the assembly,
and they ponder their words in their minds.

18 Like a house in ruins is wisdom to a fool,
and the knowledge of the ignorant is meaningless talk.(N)
19 To the senseless, education is fetters on their feet
and like manacles on their right hands.
20 Fools raise their voices when they laugh,
but the wise[g] smile quietly.(O)
21 To the sensible, education is like a golden ornament
and like a bracelet on the right arm.

22 The foot of a fool rushes into a house,
but an experienced person waits respectfully outside.(P)
23 A boor peers into the house from the door,
but a cultivated person remains outside.
24 It is ill-mannered for a person to listen at a door;
the discreet would be grieved by the disgrace.

25 The lips of babblers speak of what is not their concern,[h]
but the words of the prudent are weighed in the balance.(Q)
26 The mind of fools is in their mouth,
but the mouth of the wise is in[i] their mind.(R)
27 When ungodly people curse an adversary,
they curse themselves.(S)
28 Whisperers degrade themselves
and are hated in their neighborhoods.

Footnotes

  1. 21.4Other ancient authorities read laid waste
  2. 21.5Gk his ears
  3. 21.14Syr Lat: Gk entrails
  4. 21.15Syr: Gk revelers
  5. 21.15Syr: Gk dislike
  6. 21.16Syr: Gk explanation
  7. 21.20Syr Lat: Gk clever
  8. 21.25Other ancient authorities read The lips of strangers speak of these things
  9. 21.26Other ancient authorities omit in

Cross references

  1. 21.1 : Sir 5.5
  2. 21.2 : Prov 23.32
  3. 21.5 : Ex 3.9; Job 34.28; Ps 34.6
  4. 21.6 : Prov 12.1; 15.10
  5. 21.8 : Hab 2.6
  6. 21.9 : Isa 1.31; Sir 16.6
  7. 21.10 : Prov 7.27
  8. 21.11 : Sir 1.18, 26
  9. 21.12 : Sir 19.25
  10. 21.13 : Prov 13.14; 18.4; Sir 24.25, 26
  11. 21.14 : Jer 2.13; Sir 19.12
  12. 21.15 : Prov 1.5; 9.9
  13. 21.16 : Eccl 10.12; Sir 20.13; 22.15
  14. 21.18 : Prov 15.2
  15. 21.20 : Eccl 7.4, 6; Sir 19.30
  16. 21.22 : Prov 25.17; 1 Tim 5.13
  17. 21.25 : Sir 28.25
  18. 21.26 : Prov 14.33; 29.11; Sir 8.17
  19. 21.27 : Ps 109.6, 7; Jn 8.44

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