Ecclesiasticus 13

Whoever touches pitch will be dirtied by it, and whoever keeps company with a proud man will become like him.

1He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled therewith; and he that hath fellowship with a proud man shall be like unto him.

NotePitch is a thick black tar, used in the ancient world for waterproofing boats, jars and roofs. It sticks to skin and cannot be wiped clean, which is the whole force of the comparison. The King James "defiled" here carries no ritual or religious sense; it means smeared and blackened.

2Do not load yourself with more than you can carry, as long as you live, and do not keep company with someone mightier and richer than you are. How do a metal pot and a clay pot get along? If the one is struck against the other, the clay pot will break.

2Burden not thyself above thy power while thou livest; and have no fellowship with one that is mightier and richer than thyself: for how agree the kettle and the earthen pot together? for if the one be smitten against the other, it shall be broken.

NoteThe King James "kettle" is not a tea kettle but a large cooking pot of bronze or iron. Beside a pot of fired clay it is the far harder vessel, so if the two knock together the clay one shatters and the metal one is unmarked. The proverb is about mismatched strength, not about cookware.

3The rich man has done wrong, and on top of that he makes threats. The poor man is the one wronged, and on top of that he must plead for mercy.

3The rich man hath done wrong, and yet he threateneth withal: the poor is wronged, and he must intreat also.

4If there is profit for him in you, he will use you. But if you have nothing, he will leave you.

4If thou be for his profit, he will use thee: but if thou have nothing, he will forsake thee.

5If you have anything, he will live at your side. Yes, he will strip you bare, and he will not be sorry about it.

5If thou have any thing, he will live with thee: yea, he will make thee bare, and will not be sorry for it.

6If he needs you, he will deceive you, and smile at you, and raise your hopes. He will speak kindly to you and say, "What do you need?"

6If he have need of thee, he will deceive thee, and smile upon thee, and put thee in hope; he will speak thee fair, and say, What wantest thou?

NoteIn 1611 English, "What wantest thou?" meant "What do you lack?" rather than "What would you like?" The rich man is presenting himself as the one who can supply a need.

7He will shame you with his fine meals, until he has drained you dry two or three times, and in the end he will laugh at you in scorn. Later, when he sees you, he will leave you standing there and shake his head at you.

7And he will shame thee by his meats, until he have drawn thee dry twice or thrice, and at the last he will laugh thee to scorn afterward, when he seeth thee, he will forsake thee, and shake his head at thee.

Note"Meats" in the King James means food of any kind, not flesh alone. The shaming happens through hospitality: he serves meals far beyond what his guest could ever return, so the guest is put permanently in his debt. Shaking the head at someone was a recognized gesture of mockery and dismissal, the equivalent of a public sneer.

8Be careful that you are not fooled and brought low in the middle of your good cheer.

8Beware that thou be not deceived and brought down in thy jollity.

Note"Jollity" is the King James word for festive high spirits, the pleasure of the banquet just described. The warning is that the good cheer is the trap.

9If a powerful man invites you, hold back, and he will invite you all the more.

9If thou be invited of a mighty man, withdraw thyself, and so much the more will he invite thee.

NoteAn invitation from a powerful man was not simple hospitality. It created a relationship of obligation between a patron and his dependent, and the whole passage is advice on how to survive one. Holding back from the invitation is a calculated move: eagerness is read as need, and need lowers your price.

10Do not push yourself on him, or you may be pushed away. Do not stand too far off, or you may be forgotten.

10Press thou not upon him, lest thou be put back; stand not far off, lest thou be forgotten.

11Do not try to speak with him as his equal, and do not believe his many words. With a great deal of talk he will test you, and while he smiles at you he will draw your secrets out of you.

11Affect not to be made equal unto him in talk, and believe not his many words: for with much communication will he tempt thee, and smiling upon thee will get out thy secrets:

Note"Affect" in the King James means to aim at or aspire to, not to pretend. The advice is not to reach for the footing of an equal in conversation with him.

12But he will cruelly store up what you said, and he will not hold back from harming you and from putting you in prison.

12But cruelly he will lay up thy words, and will not spare to do thee hurt, and to put thee in prison.

NoteWords spoken in private could be produced later as evidence. A wealthy man had the standing to press a charge and the resources to pursue it, and a man of small means, particularly one in debt, could be held in custody, so the mention of prison is a practical risk rather than a figure of speech.

13Watch, and take good care, for you are walking in danger of your own downfall. When you hear these things, wake up out of your sleep.

13Observe, and take good heed, for thou walkest in peril of thy overthrowing: when thou hearest these things, awake in thy sleep.

NoteThe last clause is obscure in the Greek and the King James renders it word for word. It is usually taken to mean something like "stay awake even in your sleep," that is, never let your guard down; a few readings take it as "wake up, you who are asleep." The ambiguity is in the text itself.

14Love the Lord your whole life, and call on him to save you.

14Love the Lord all thy life, and call upon him for thy salvation.

15Every animal loves its own kind, and every person loves his neighbor.

15Every beast loveth his like, and every man loveth his neighbor.

16Every living thing keeps company according to its kind, and a person will stay close to his own kind.

16All flesh consorteth according to kind, and a man will cleave to his like.

Note"All flesh" in the King James means every living creature, not bodies or bodily appetites. "Consorteth" means keeps company.

17What company can a wolf keep with a lamb? It is the same with a sinner and a godly person.

17What fellowship hath the wolf with the lamb? so the sinner with the godly.

18What agreement is there between a hyena and a dog? And what peace is there between the rich and the poor?

18What agreement is there between the hyena and a dog? and what peace between the rich and the poor?

NoteThe hyena and the dog were both scavengers around human settlements and competitors for the same carrion, and were proverbially at each other's throats. Dogs in this world were not pets but half-wild animals living at the edges of a town.

19Just as the wild donkey is the lion's prey out in the wilderness, so the rich eat up the poor.

19As the wild ass is the lion’s prey in the wilderness: so the rich eat up the poor.

NoteThe wild ass is the untamed desert donkey, a fast, solitary animal of the wilderness, not a farm beast. It was a standard example of prey for lions. "Eat up the poor" is a stock phrase for consuming someone's whole livelihood.

20Just as the proud hate humility, so the rich cannot stand the poor.

20As the proud hate humility: so doth the rich abhor the poor.

21A rich man who begins to fall is held up by his friends, but a poor man who is down is shoved away by his friends.

21A rich man beginning to fall is held up of his friends: but a poor man being down is thrust away by his friends.

22When a rich man has fallen, he has many helpers. He says things that ought not to be said, and still men take his side. The poor man slipped, and on top of that they scolded him. He spoke wisely, and got no hearing at all.

22When a rich man is fallen, he hath many helpers: he speaketh things not to be spoken, and yet men justify him: the poor man slipped, and yet they rebuked him too; he spake wisely, and could have no place.

23When a rich man speaks, everyone holds his tongue, and whatever he says, look, they praise it to the clouds. But if the poor man speaks, they say, "Who is this fellow?" And if he stumbles, they will help to push him over.

23When a rich man speaketh, every man holdeth his tongue, and, look, what he saith, they extol it to the clouds: but if the poor man speak, they say, What fellow is this? and if he stumble, they will help to overthrow him.

Note"Extol it to the clouds" is an idiom of the period meaning to praise something to the skies. The rendering keeps the image the King James uses.

24Riches are good for the person who has no sin, and poverty is evil in the mouth of the ungodly.

24Riches are good unto him that hath no sin, and poverty is evil in the mouth of the ungodly.

NoteThis verse is genuinely ambiguous and both halves have been read more than one way. The first line may mean that wealth is a good thing when it is held by someone who has not sinned to get it. The second may mean that the ungodly are the ones who call poverty an evil, or that poverty produces ungodly talk in the mouth of the person suffering it. The Greek allows both.

25What is in a person's heart changes his face, whether for good or for bad, and a merry heart makes a cheerful face.

25The heart of a man changeth his countenance, whether it be for good or evil: and a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.

Note"Countenance" simply means the face or the expression on it. In this literature the "heart" is the seat of thought, intention and judgment, not only of feeling, so the saying is that what a person is inwardly working out shows on the outside.

26A cheerful face is a sign of a heart that is doing well, and thinking up sayings is tiring labor for the mind.

26A cheerful countenance is a token of a heart that is in prosperity; and the finding out of parables is a wearisome labour of the mind.

Note"Parables" here translates a Greek word meaning proverbs, riddles and compressed wise sayings, not the story-parables of the Gospels. "The finding out of parables" is the work of composing them or of cracking their meaning, which is the trade this whole book is written in.