Ecclesiasticus 21

My son, have you sinned? Do it no more, and ask forgiveness for the sins you have already committed.

1My son, hast thou sinned? do so no more, but ask pardon for thy former sins.

Note"My son" is the standard way a teacher addresses a pupil in ancient wisdom writing. It does not mean the writer is speaking to his own child; it signals an older, experienced man instructing a younger one.

2Run away from sin the way you would run from the face of a snake. If you come too close to it, it will bite you. Its teeth are like the teeth of a lion, and they kill people's souls.

2Flee from sin as from the face of a serpent: for if thou comest too near it, it will bite thee: the teeth thereof are as the teeth of a lion, slaying the souls of men.

NoteIn this book "soul" normally means a person's life, or the person himself, rather than a separable part of him. "Slaying the souls of men" means sin destroys the people who come near it.

3Every wrong act is like a sword sharpened on both edges. The wounds it makes cannot be healed.

3All iniquity is as a two edged sword, the wounds whereof cannot be healed.

4Frightening people and doing them harm will use up a person's riches. In the same way, the house of proud men will be left empty and ruined.

4To terrify and do wrong will waste riches: thus the house of proud men shall be made desolate.

Note"House" here means a household: the family, its dependents and its standing across generations, not just the building. To be "made desolate" is for that line to be emptied out and come to nothing. The first half is compressed in the Greek and can be read two ways, either that terror and violence eat up the wealth of the man who uses them, or that they eat up the wealth of the people he preys on.

5A prayer from a poor man's mouth reaches the ears of God, and his judgment comes quickly.

5A prayer out of a poor man’s mouth reacheth to the ears of God, and his judgment cometh speedily.

NoteIn this culture a poor man had no patron, no money for a bribe and little standing before a judge, so an appeal to God was his only recourse. "His judgment cometh speedily" is ambiguous: the judgment is most likely God's verdict, arriving quickly on the poor man's behalf.

6The person who hates being corrected is walking the road that sinners walk. But the person who fears the Lord will turn from his sins from the heart.

6He that hateth to be reproved is in the way of sinners: but he that feareth the Lord will repent from his heart.

Note"The fear of the Lord" is a set phrase in Hebrew wisdom writing. It means reverence toward God worked out in how a person lives, closer to awe than to fright.

7A man who is powerful with words is known far and wide, but a man of understanding knows when he has slipped.

7An eloquent man is known far and near; but a man of understanding knoweth when he slippeth.

NoteKJV "An eloquent man" renders a Greek phrase meaning powerful with the tongue. "Knoweth when he slippeth" means he catches his own missteps in speech. The contrast is between a man everyone has heard of and a man who actually hears himself.

8The man who builds his house with other people's money is like a man collecting stones for the tomb he will be buried in.

8He that buildeth his house with other men’s money is like one that gathereth himself stones for the tomb of his burial.

NoteTombs were cut from rock or built up out of stone, so a man stockpiling stones is gathering the materials of his own grave. Building "with other men's money" means building on borrowed or extorted funds.

9A gathering of wicked men is like a bundle of dry flax fibers tied together, and at the end of them is a flame of fire to destroy them.

9The congregation of the wicked is like tow wrapped together: and the end of them is a flame of fire to destroy them.

Note"Tow" is the short, coarse fiber combed out of flax when it is prepared for spinning. It was kept as tinder because it catches light instantly, so a bundle of it is the most flammable thing in the house.

10The road that sinners take is paved smooth with stones, but at the end of that road is the pit of Hades.

10The way of sinners is made plain with stones, but at the end thereof is the pit of hell.

NoteKJV "the pit of hell" renders the Greek word Hades, the underworld where the dead were thought to go. It is the place of the dead generally rather than specifically a place of punishment. "Made plain with stones" pictures a paved road: level, smooth, easy walking, as against a rough track.

11The person who keeps the law of the Lord comes to understand what that law means. Complete fear of the Lord is wisdom.

11He that keepeth the law of the Lord getteth the understanding thereof: and the perfection of the fear of the Lord is wisdom.

Note"Perfection" in 1611 English means completion or full growth, not moral flawlessness. The line says that the fear of the Lord brought to its full development is wisdom.

12A person who is not clever will not accept teaching. But there is a kind of cleverness that makes bitterness grow and grow.

12He that is not wise will not be taught: but there is a wisdom which multiplieth bitterness.

NoteThe word behind "wise" here is closer to shrewd or clever than to good. It names a practical skill that can be turned either way, which is why the writer can speak in the same breath of "a wisdom which multiplieth bitterness".

13The knowledge of a wise man will overflow like a flood, and his advice is like a clean spring of living water.

13The knowledge of a wise man shall abound like a flood: and his counsel is like a pure fountain of life.

NoteA "fountain" in this idiom is a natural spring rising and running of itself, not a built fountain. In a dry country the difference between a live spring and a cistern of standing water was the difference between fresh water and stale.

14The inside of a fool is like a cracked jar. He will hold on to no knowledge for as long as he lives.

14The inner parts of a fool are like a broken vessel, and he will hold no knowledge as long as he liveth.

NoteHousehold storage jars were fired clay. A cracked one can look whole, holds nothing, and cannot be mended; it is thrown out.

15If a man of skill hears a wise saying, he will praise it and add something to it. But as soon as a man with no understanding hears it, he does not like it, and he throws it away behind his back.

15If a skilful man hear a wise word, he will commend it, and add unto it: but as soon as one of no understanding heareth it, it displeaseth him, and he casteth it behind his back.

Note"Casteth it behind his back" is an idiom for deliberate dismissal: throwing a thing away where you will not have to look at it again.

16A fool's chatter is like a heavy load to carry on a journey, but kind and pleasing words will be found on the lips of the wise.

16The talking of a fool is like a burden in the way: but grace shall be found in the lips of the wise.

NoteTravel was on foot and whatever you took you carried on your body, so an extra load was felt at every step. "Grace" in 1611 English here means gracefulness or charm, a quality that pleases the hearer, and not the later theological sense of divine favor.

17In the assembly, people ask the wise man to speak, and they turn his words over in their hearts.

17They enquire at the mouth of the wise man in the congregation, and they shall ponder his words in their heart.

NoteThe "congregation" is the assembly of the community, gathered to settle disputes and decide matters, a public meeting rather than a worship service. "They enquire at the mouth of" is an idiom for formally asking a man for his opinion or ruling.

18Wisdom is to a fool what a house in ruins is to anyone. The knowledge of a person without sense is talk that means nothing.

18As is a house that is destroyed, so is wisdom to a fool: and the knowledge of the unwise is as talk without sense.

19To fools, being taught feels like chains on their feet and cuffs on their right hand.

19Doctrine unto fools is as fetters on the feet, and like manacles on the right hand.

Note"Doctrine" in 1611 English means teaching or instruction of any kind, not a body of required belief. "Fetters" are iron rings for the ankles and "manacles" the same for the wrists, both standard restraints for prisoners and slaves. The right hand is named because it is the working hand, so binding it makes a man useless.

20A fool raises his voice when he laughs, but a wise man barely smiles.

20A fool lifteth up his voice with laughter; but a wise man doth scarce smile a little.

21To a wise man, learning is like an ornament of gold, and like a bracelet worn on his right arm.

21Learning is unto a wise man as an ornament of gold, and like a bracelet upon his right arm.

NoteGold ornaments and arm bracelets were worn by men as visible marks of rank and honor. The picture deliberately reverses verse 19: the same right limb carries either a shackle or a bracelet, depending on how a man takes instruction.

22A foolish man's foot is quickly inside his neighbor's house, but a man of experience holds back in shame.

22A foolish man’s foot is soon in his neighbour’s house: but a man of experience is ashamed of him.

NoteHospitality had strict rules: a visitor waited at the door to be received rather than walking in. KJV "a man of experience is ashamed of him" can also be read, as many translators take it, to mean that the experienced man would be ashamed to walk in himself. The Greek allows either.

23A fool will peer in through the doorway of a house, but a well-brought-up man will stand outside.

23A fool will peep in at the door into the house: but he that is well nurtured will stand without.

Note"Well nurtured" in 1611 English means well brought up and trained in manners; it has nothing to do with feeding. To "stand without" is to stand outside.

24It is rude for a man to listen at someone's door, but a wise man will be pained by such a disgrace.

24It is the rudeness of a man to hearken at the door: but a wise man will be grieved with the disgrace.

Note"Rudeness" here carries its older sense of coarseness, the behavior of someone with no breeding. "Grieved with the disgrace" means the shamefulness of the act pains him, though the Greek leaves open whether he is pained at the thought of doing it himself or at seeing another do it.

25The lips of people who talk too much will tell things that are none of their business, but the words of those who have understanding are weighed on a scale.

25The lips of talkers will be telling such things as pertain not unto them: but the words of such as have understanding are weighed in the balance.

Note"Weighed in the balance" refers to the two-pan scales of the market, used for weighing out goods and metal money. Measured speech is speech portioned out as carefully as a merchant's weight. KJV "The lips of talkers" follows one line of Greek manuscripts; others read "strangers" or outsiders, which shifts the sense from people who chatter to people who do not belong.

26The heart of fools is in their mouth, but the mouth of the wise is in their heart.

26The heart of fools is in their mouth: but the mouth of the wise is in their heart.

NoteIn ancient usage the heart is the seat of thought, memory and decision, not mainly of feeling. The saying is about where a man's thinking sits in relation to his speech.

27When an ungodly man curses Satan, he is cursing his own soul.

27When the ungodly curseth Satan, he curseth his own soul.

NoteThe Greek word here is satanas, meaning an adversary or accuser. The KJV takes it as the devil, but it can equally mean a human enemy, and the line has been read both ways. "Curseth" means calling down harm on someone, not using foul language.

28A man who whispers about others makes his own soul filthy, and he is hated wherever he lives.

28A whisperer defileth his own soul, and is hated wheresoever he dwelleth.

NoteA "whisperer" is someone who passes damaging talk about others quietly and in private. "Defileth his own soul" borrows the language of ritual uncleanness, the condition that shut a person out of the sanctuary and of normal company until he was cleansed.