Ecclesiasticus 15

The person who fears the Lord will do good, and the person who has knowledge of the law will obtain her.

1He that feareth the Lord will do good, and he that hath the knowledge of the law shall obtain her.

Note"Her" is Wisdom, pictured through these chapters as a woman; the sentence runs straight on from the end of chapter 14, where she was named. To fear the Lord means to hold God in awe and take him seriously, not to be frightened of him. "The law" is the law of Moses, the first five books of the Bible, which this writer treats as the place where wisdom is kept.

2She will come to meet him like a mother, and she will receive him like a bride married as a virgin.

2And as a mother shall she meet him, and receive him as a wife married of a virgin.

NoteTwo pictures of the same woman: Wisdom greets the man the way a mother greets a son, and takes him in the way a household takes in a bride. "A wife married of a virgin" is 1611 English for a wife married while still a virgin, that is, a first wife taken in youth.

3She will feed him with the bread of understanding, and give him the water of wisdom to drink.

3With the bread of understanding shall she feed him, and give him the water of wisdom to drink.

4He will lean on her and will not be shaken; he will rely on her and will not be put to shame.

4He shall be stayed upon her, and shall not be moved; and shall rely upon her, and shall not be confounded.

Note"Stayed upon" means supported by, leaning his weight on. "Confounded" in 1611 did not mean confused; it meant let down and publicly humiliated.

5She will lift him up higher than his neighbors, and in the middle of the gathered assembly she will open his mouth so that he speaks.

5She shall exalt him above his neighbours, and in the midst of the congregation shall she open his mouth.

NoteTo "open his mouth" is an idiom for giving someone both the standing and the words to speak in public. The "congregation" is the assembled community gathered for worship or for business, the setting in which a man's standing was made or lost.

6He will find joy and a crown of gladness, and she will give him a name that lasts forever as his inheritance.

6He shall find joy and a crown of gladness, and she shall cause him to inherit an everlasting name.

NoteA "crown of gladness" is the garland worn at a feast, not a royal crown. An "everlasting name" is a reputation that outlasts the person; in this period, being remembered by name was itself spoken of as a kind of continuing.

7But foolish men will not reach her, and sinners will not see her.

7But foolish men shall not attain unto her, and sinners shall not see her.

8She stays far away from pride, and men who are liars cannot keep her in mind.

8For she is far from pride, and men that are liars cannot remember her.

NoteThe Greek says Wisdom keeps far away from arrogant men, rather than that she herself lacks pride. "Cannot remember her" means liars never so much as call her to mind.

9Praise does not look right in the mouth of a sinner, because it was not sent to him from the Lord.

9Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner, for it was not sent him of the Lord.

Note"Seemly" means fitting or becoming. The praise in view is praise offered to God in worship, and the line says such words do not sit right in the mouth of a man whose life contradicts them.

10For praise will be spoken with wisdom, and the Lord will make it succeed.

10For praise shall be uttered in wisdom, and the Lord will prosper it.

NoteIn 1611 "prosper" could take an object: to prosper something is to make it turn out well.

11Do not say, "It is because of the Lord that I fell away," because you are not to do the things that he hates.

11Say not thou, It is through the Lord that I fell away: for thou oughtest not to do the things that he hateth.

Note"Fell away" translates a word for deserting or defecting, used of turning away from God. "Say not thou" is a teaching formula: the writer quotes an excuse people were actually making, then answers it.

12Do not say, "He is the one who made me go wrong," because he has no need of a sinful man.

12Say not thou, He hath caused me to err: for he hath no need of the sinful man.

13The Lord hates everything that is detestable, and those who fear God do not love it.

13The Lord hateth all abomination; and they that fear God love it not.

Note"Abomination" is the standard biblical word for something regarded as disgusting and forbidden, used in the law for practices Israel was to have nothing to do with.

14He himself made man at the beginning, and he left him in the hand of his own decision;

14He himself made man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of his counsel;

Note"In the hand of" means in the power of, at the disposal of. "His counsel" means his own deliberation, his own choosing. The Hebrew text of this book, recovered in fragments in modern times, reads "in the hand of his yetzer", his inclination or impulse, the inner pull that draws a person one way or the other.

15if you are willing, you can keep the commandments, and you can carry out the kind of faithfulness that is accepted.

15If thou wilt, to keep the commandments, and to perform acceptable faithfulness.

NoteThe Greek runs roughly: if you choose, you can keep the commandments, and acting faithfully is a matter of your own choice. The King James "to perform acceptable faithfulness" keeps the words but blurs the point, which is that the choosing belongs to you.

16He has set fire and water in front of you: reach out your hand to whichever one you want.

16He hath set fire and water before thee: stretch forth thy hand unto whether thou wilt.

NoteFire and water are a stock pair of opposites, two things set side by side so that a person must reach for one or the other. "Whether" in 1611 meant whichever of two, not if. The verse echoes the choice set before Israel in Deuteronomy 30.

17In front of man are life and death, and whichever one he likes will be given to him.

17Before man is life and death; and whether him liketh shall be given him.

Note"Whether him liketh" is older grammar running backwards from modern English: whichever pleases him. "Like" here means to please, and "him" is the person being pleased.

18For the wisdom of the Lord is great, and he is mighty in power, and he sees all things.

18For the wisdom of the Lord is great, and he is mighty in power, and beholdeth all things:

19His eyes are on those who fear him, and he knows every deed a man does.

19And his eyes are upon them that fear him, and he knoweth every work of man.

20He has commanded no man to act wickedly, and he has given no man permission to sin.

20He hath commanded no man to do wickedly, neither hath he given any man licence to sin.

Note"Licence" means permission, formal leave to do a thing.