Ecclesiasticus 20

There is a way of correcting someone that is not fitting. And there is a man who says nothing, and he is wise.

1There is a reproof that is not comely: again, some man holdeth his tongue, and he is wise.

NoteEcclesiasticus, also known as Sirach, is a book of wisdom teaching written in Hebrew around 180 BC by Jesus son of Sirach and translated into Greek by his grandson; the King James translators worked from the Greek. Chapters like this one are strings of separate sayings rather than a continuous argument, so one verse often has no connection to the next. "Comely" in 1611 English meant fitting or becoming, not good-looking.

2It is much better to correct someone openly than to be angry in secret. And whoever admits his fault will be kept from harm.

2It is much better to reprove, than to be angry secretly: and he that confesseth his fault shall be preserved from hurt.

3How good it is to show that you are sorry when you are corrected! That way you will escape sinning on purpose.

3How good is it, when thou art reproved, to shew repentance! for so shalt thou escape wilful sin.

Note"Wilful sin" translates a Greek phrase for sin committed deliberately, as opposed to sin committed in ignorance. Ancient Jewish law treated the two very differently, with remedies available for the accidental offense that were not available for the deliberate one.

4The desire of a eunuch to take a virgin's virginity is like the man who carries out judgment by violence.

4As is the lust of an eunuch to deflower a virgin; so is he that executeth judgment with violence.

NoteA eunuch was a castrated man. Eunuchs were common as servants and officials in royal households across the ancient Near East, precisely because they posed no sexual threat and could father no rival line. The saying turns on that: the desire is real but can never reach its object, and the same futility is being ascribed to the man who tries to produce justice by force.

5There is one who keeps silent and is found to be wise, and another who becomes hated by talking far too much.

5There is one that keepeth silence, and is found wise: and another by much babbling becometh hateful.

6Some men keep quiet because they have nothing to answer, and some keep quiet because they know the right moment.

6Some man holdeth his tongue, because he hath not to answer: and some keepeth silence, knowing his time.

7A wise man will hold his tongue until he sees his chance, but a babbler and a fool pay no attention to timing.

7A wise man will hold his tongue till he see opportunity: but a babbler and a fool will regard no time.

8The man who uses many words will be detested, and the man who claims for himself the right to speak will be hated.

8He that useth many words shall be abhorred; and he that taketh to himself authority therein shall be hated.

NoteThe second half of the verse is compressed in the Greek and has been read two ways: as the man who seizes authority by talking, and as the man who claims the right to do all the talking. The rendering keeps the sense of a man appointing himself the voice in the room.

9There is a sinner who does well at evil things, and there is a profit that turns into a loss.

9There is a sinner that hath good success in evil things; and there is a gain that turneth to loss.

NoteFrom here the chapter runs on the formula "There is... and there is...", a standard device of Hebrew wisdom writing. It sets two opposite outcomes side by side and leaves them there, without saying which one will apply in a given case.

10There is a gift that will do you no good, and there is a gift that is paid back to you twice over.

10There is a gift that shall not profit thee; and there is a gift whose recompence is double.

11There is a bringing low that comes because of honor, and there is a man who lifts up his head out of a low position.

11There is an abasement because of glory; and there is that lifteth up his head from a low estate.

12There is a man who buys much for a little, and pays for it seven times over.

12There is that buyeth much for a little, and repayeth it sevenfold.

Note"Sevenfold" is a conventional round number in Hebrew idiom meaning fully or many times over, not a literal count of seven. The picture is of a bargain that looks cheap at the time and ends up costing far more than the price.

13A wise man makes himself loved by what he says, but the pleasing words of fools are poured out and gone.

13A wise man by his words maketh him beloved: but the graces of fools shall be poured out.

NoteThe King James "graces" translates a Greek word for charm or pleasing quality, the attractiveness of a person's speech. "Poured out" is the image of liquid spilled on the ground: gone, and of no use to anyone.

14A fool's gift will do you no good once you have it, and neither will the gift of an envious man given for his need, because he expects to receive many things back for one.

14The gift of a fool shall do thee no good when thou hast it; neither yet of the envious for his necessity: for he looketh to receive many things for one.

Note"The envious" renders a Greek word for the grudging or stingy man, literally one with an evil eye, a stock ancient expression for meanness rather than for magic. His gift is an investment: he expects a return larger than what he handed over. The Greek of this verse is difficult and its exact grammar is disputed.

15He gives a little and scolds a lot; he opens his mouth like a town crier. Today he lends, and tomorrow he asks for it back. Such a man is hated by God and by people.

15He giveth little, and upbraideth much; he openeth his mouth like a crier; to day he lendeth, and to morrow will he ask it again: such an one is to be hated of God and man.

NoteA crier was a public announcer who stood in the street or marketplace and shouted news at the top of his voice. The comparison is about volume and publicity: he makes sure everyone hears about the small thing he gave.

16The fool says, "I have no friends, I get no thanks for all my good deeds, and the people who eat my bread speak evil of me."

16The fool saith, I have no friends, I have no thank for all my good deeds, and they that eat my bread speak evil of me.

NoteTo eat a man's bread meant to be his guest or his dependent. Sharing a meal in that world created a standing obligation of loyalty, so people who ate his bread and then spoke against him were breaking a real bond, which is why the complaint carries weight even in a fool's mouth.

17How often, and by how many, will he be laughed at! He does not rightly understand what it means to own anything, and having it is the same to him as not having it.

17How oft, and of how many shall he be laughed to scorn! for he knoweth not aright what it is to have; and it is all one unto him as if he had it not.

18Slipping on a paved floor is better than slipping with the tongue. In the same way the fall of wicked people will come quickly.

18To slip upon a pavement is better than to slip with the tongue: so the fall of the wicked shall come speedily.

Note"Pavement" in 1611 English meant a floor laid with stone or tile, the kind found in a courtyard or a well-off house, not a sidewalk. A polished stone floor was notoriously easy to slip on, and the point is that such a fall costs you nothing but a bruise.

19A story told at the wrong moment will always be in the mouth of a man without sense.

19An unseasonable tale will always be in the mouth of the unwise.

20A wise saying will be turned down when it comes out of a fool's mouth, because he will not say it at the right time.

20A wise sentence shall be rejected when it cometh out of a fool’s mouth; for he will not speak it in due season.

21There is a man who is kept from sinning because he lacks the means, and when he rests he is not troubled.

21There is that is hindered from sinning through want: and when he taketh rest, he shall not be troubled.

Note"Want" in the King James means lack or poverty. The man in view is kept honest only by having no opportunity or no means. The second half says that when he rests, nothing gnaws at him: he has no guilt to lie awake over.

22There is a man who destroys his own life through embarrassment, and by showing favor to a person's face he brings himself down.

22There is that destroyeth his own soul through bashfulness, and by accepting of persons overthroweth himself.

Note"Accepting of persons" is a fixed biblical phrase meaning showing partiality, deciding a matter by who the person in front of you is rather than by the merits of the case. Here it is the shy man's version of it: he cannot bring himself to say no to someone's face. "Soul" in the King James usually means the life or the self, not a separable spirit.

23There is a man who out of embarrassment makes a promise to his friend, and turns him into an enemy for nothing.

23There is that for bashfulness promiseth to his friend, and maketh him his enemy for nothing.

24A lie is an ugly stain on a person, yet it is always in the mouth of people who have not been taught.

24A lie is a foul blot in a man, yet it is continually in the mouth of the untaught.

Note"Untaught" means without instruction or education. In a wisdom book this is not only about literacy; it means someone who has never been trained in how to conduct himself, which is exactly what a book like this claims to supply.

25A thief is better than a man who is in the habit of lying, but both of them will receive ruin as their inheritance.

25A thief is better than a man that is accustomed to lie: but they both shall have destruction to heritage.

Note"Heritage" means inheritance, the thing handed down and permanently owned. The line is grim wordplay: what these two will pass on and possess is ruin.

26The character of a liar brings him no honor, and his shame is with him always.

26The disposition of a liar is dishonourable, and his shame is ever with him.

27A wise man will raise himself to honor by his words, and the man who has understanding will please great men.

27A wise man shall promote himself to honour with his words: and he that hath understanding will please great men.

Note"Great men" means the powerful: rulers, patrons, men of rank and wealth. In this society an ordinary man's prospects depended heavily on the favor of such a person, so the ability to speak well in their presence was a practical career skill, and the book treats it as one.

28The man who works his land will make his pile of grain grow, and the man who pleases great men will get pardon for wrongdoing.

28He that tilleth his land shall increase his heap: and he that pleaseth great men shall get pardon for iniquity.

Note"His heap" is the pile of threshed grain on the threshing floor, the visible measure of a farmer's harvest and so of his year. The second half of the verse is compressed and has been read both straight, as advice that a patron's favor can cover a man's offenses, and as dry comment on how such favor works.

29Presents and gifts blind the eyes of the wise and stop up his mouth, so that he cannot correct anyone.

29Presents and gifts blind the eyes of the wise, and stop up his mouth that he cannot reprove.

Note"Presents and gifts" here means bribes, particularly those offered to a judge or an arbitrator. Hebrew law repeatedly forbade them in exactly these words, saying that a gift blinds the eyes of the wise, and this verse is echoing that language.

30Wisdom that is hidden, and treasure that is stored away and unused: what good is there in either of them?

30Wisdom that is hid, and treasure that is hoarded up, what profit is in them both?

NoteWith no banks, burying valuables in the ground or in a wall was the ordinary way to keep savings safe. The comparison is between money made useless by being hidden and wisdom made useless by being kept to oneself.

31The man who hides his foolishness is better off than the man who hides his wisdom.

31Better is he that hideth his folly than a man that hideth his wisdom.

32Patience that keeps on seeking the Lord is better than the man who lives his life with no one to guide him.

32Necessary patience in seeking ing the Lord is better than he that leadeth his life without a guide.

NoteThe King James text as printed here reads "seeking ing the Lord"; the doubled syllable is a printer's error for "seeking". This verse is missing from a number of Greek manuscripts and its wording varies among those that do have it.