Ecclesiasticus 14

Happy is the man who has not slipped with his mouth, and who is not stung by a great number of sins.

1Blessed is the man that hath not slipped with his mouth, and is not pricked with the multitude of sins.

Note"Blessed" here renders a Greek word closer to "fortunate" or "happy": it congratulates a man on the state he is in rather than pronouncing a blessing over him. "Pricked" in 1611 English means stung or pierced, as by a thorn.

2Happy is the man whose conscience has not condemned him, and who has not fallen away from his hope in the Lord.

2Blessed is he whose conscience hath not condemned him, and who is not fallen from his hope in the Lord.

3Riches do not suit a stingy man. And what would an envious man do with money?

3Riches are not comely for a niggard: and what should an envious man do with money?

Note"Niggard" is an old English word for a miser or tight-fisted person. It is unrelated in origin to the modern racial slur it resembles, and had no such association in 1611.

4The man who piles up wealth by cheating himself is piling it up for other people, who will spend his goods wildly.

4He that gathereth by defrauding his own soul gathereth for others, that shall spend his goods riotously.

Note"His own soul" in the King James means simply himself, his own life; the man short-changes himself to build the pile. "Riotously" means wastefully and extravagantly, not violently.

5If a man is bad to himself, who will he ever be good to? He will take no pleasure in his own goods.

5He that is evil to himself, to whom will he be good? he shall not take pleasure in his goods.

6There is no one worse than the man who begrudges himself, and this is the payment he gets for his wickedness.

6There is none worse than he that envieth himself; and this is a recompence of his wickedness.

Note"Envieth himself" is old usage: in 1611 "envy" could mean to grudge or begrudge, and a man could begrudge himself. The sense is that he denies himself what he has.

7And if he does something good, he does it unwillingly, and in the end he shows what he really is.

7And if he doeth good, he doeth it unwillingly; and at the last he will declare his wickedness.

NoteThe Greek copies differ here. Some read "unwillingly," as the King James has it; others read "without realizing it," that is, he does good only by accident. "Declare his wickedness" means his real character finally comes out.

8The envious man has an evil eye. He turns his face away and looks down on people.

8The envious man hath a wicked eye; he turneth away his face, and despiseth men.

Note"A wicked eye" and "an evil eye" are a fixed Hebrew and Greek idiom for stinginess: the grudging, calculating look of a man who resents what he must give. It has nothing to do with casting a curse or a magical gaze. The opposite idiom, a "good eye" or "single eye," means generosity.

9A greedy man's eye is never satisfied with his share, and the wrongdoing of the wicked dries up his soul.

9A covetous man’s eye is not satisfied with his portion; and the iniquity of the wicked drieth up his soul.

10A man with an evil eye grudges even his own bread, and he is stingy at his own table.

10A wicked eye envieth his bread, and he is a niggard at his table.

NoteThe same idiom as in verse 8: an "evil eye" is a grudging one. The picture is of a host who counts what his guests eat.

11My son, as far as you are able, be good to yourself, and give the Lord the offering that is due to him.

11My son, according to thy ability do good to thyself, and give the Lord his due offering.

Note"The Lord his due offering" means the fixed portions of produce, livestock and money that the law set aside for the temple in Jerusalem and the priests who served it. These were obligations with set amounts, not free gifts.

12Remember that death will not be slow in coming, and that the terms of the grave have not been shown to you.

12Remember that death will not be long in coming, and that the covenant of the grave is not shewed unto thee.

Note"The covenant of the grave" means the fixed terms on which death comes: the appointment is certain, but its date has not been disclosed to you. "The grave" here translates Hades, the Greek word used for the Hebrew Sheol, the shadowy place where all the dead go. In this book it is not a place of punishment but simply the state of the dead, where nothing more is enjoyed or done.

13Do good to your friend before you die, and as far as you are able, reach out your hand and give to him.

13Do good unto thy friend before thou die, and according to thy ability stretch out thy hand and give to him.

14Do not cheat yourself out of a good day, and do not let your share of a good thing you want pass you by.

14Defraud not thyself of the good day, and let not the part of a good desire overpass thee.

Note"The part of a good desire" means the share or portion of some good thing that has fallen to you. "Overpass thee" means pass you by while you hesitate.

15Will you not leave what you worked hard for to someone else, and leave your labors to be divided up by lot?

15Shalt thou not leave thy travails unto another? and thy labours to be divided by lot?

Note"Travails" and "labours" here mean not the work itself but what the work produced, the estate left behind. "Divided by lot" refers to settling an inheritance by drawing lots, a common way of splitting property among heirs so that no one could claim the division was rigged.

16Give, and receive, and treat yourself well, because in the grave there is no searching out fine food.

16Give, and take, and sanctify thy soul; for there is no seeking of dainties in the grave.

Note"Sanctify thy soul" is the King James reading of a Greek verb that most now take to mean indulge or treat yourself well, which is why the plain rendering has "treat yourself well." "Dainties" means choice or luxurious food. "The grave" again translates Hades, the place of the dead.

17Every living body wears out like a piece of clothing, for the agreement from the beginning is this: you will surely die.

17All flesh waxeth old as a garment: for the covenant from the beginning is, Thou shalt die the death.

Note"Waxeth old" means grows old. "The covenant from the beginning" points back to the sentence passed in the garden in Genesis. "Thou shalt die the death" copies a Hebrew construction that doubles the verb for emphasis, meaning "you will certainly die."

18It is like the green leaves on a thick tree: some fall and some grow. So it is with people, flesh and blood. One comes to an end and another is born.

18As of the green leaves on a thick tree, some fall, and some grow; so is the generation of flesh and blood, one cometh to an end, and another is born.

19Every piece of work rots and wastes away, and the one who made it goes the same way with it.

19Every work rotteth and consumeth away, and the worker thereof shall go withal.

Note"Shall go withal" means goes along with it: the maker perishes as surely as the thing he made.

20Happy is the man who thinks deeply about good things in wisdom, and who reasons about holy things with his understanding.

20Blessed is the man that doth meditate good things in wisdom, and that reasoneth of holy things by his understanding. ing.

21The man who turns her ways over in his heart will also come to understand her secrets.

21He that considereth her ways in his heart shall also have understanding in her secrets.

Note"Her" is Wisdom. From verse 20 to the end of the chapter Wisdom is spoken of as a woman, a way of writing that runs through this book and the book of Proverbs. The verses that follow picture a man courting her, then moving in next door, then living in her house.

22Go after her like someone following a trail, and wait quietly along her paths.

22Go after her as one that traceth, and lie in wait in her ways.

Note"As one that traceth" means like a hunter or tracker following a trail, reading the signs an animal has left. The second half continues the image: lying in wait where the quarry passes.

23The man who peers in at her windows will also listen at her doors.

23He that prieth in at her windows shall also hearken at her doors.

NotePeering in at the windows and listening at the doors is the behavior of a suitor hanging around the house of the woman he is courting. The point of the image is persistence, not stealth.

24The man who stays near her house will also drive a peg into her walls.

24He that doth lodge near her house shall also fasten a pin in her walls.

Note"Fasten a pin in her walls" means driving in a tent peg or a wall peg. Either way it marks a move from passing by to settling down permanently beside her.

25He will pitch his tent close beside her, and he will stay in a place where good things are.

25He shall pitch his tent nigh unto her, and shall lodge in a lodging where good things are.

26He will settle his children under her shelter, and he will stay under her branches.

26He shall set his children under her shelter, and shall lodge under her branches.

NoteThe image shifts here from a house to a tree: Wisdom becomes shelter and branches. Both pictures say the same thing, that a man can live under her protection.

27By her he will be covered from the heat, and he will live in her glory.

27By her he shall be covered from heat, and in her glory shall he dwell.

Note"Covered from heat" would strike a reader in that climate as an obvious image of safety and relief. Shade was the standard picture of protection, the way shelter from storm is in colder countries.