Ecclesiasticus 3

Children, listen to me, your father, and do what I say, so that you may be safe.

1Hear me your father, O children, and do thereafter, that ye may be safe.

NoteThe teacher speaks in the voice of a father addressing his sons, the standard form of address in ancient wisdom instruction, where a sage's pupils were called his children. Ben Sira, who kept a school in Jerusalem around 180 BC, uses it throughout, as in the "My son" of verses 12 and 17. The advice fits both a literal household and a classroom.

2The Lord has given the father honor over his children, and has established the mother's authority over her sons.

2For the Lord hath given the father honour over the children, and hath confirmed the authority of the mother over the sons.

NoteKJV "honour over the children" translates a phrase for a legal claim or right, and "authority" in the second line renders a word for a judge's ruling. The couplet says that both parents' standing over their children has God's backing, not merely custom's.

3Whoever honors his father makes up for his sins,

3Whoso honoureth his father maketh an atonement for his sins:

Note"Atonement" means the covering over or wiping out of an offense, something normally accomplished by a sacrifice at the temple. Ben Sira transfers that sacrificial language to ordinary acts of family duty here, and to almsgiving in verse 30.

4and whoever honors his mother is like someone storing up treasure.

4And he that honoureth his mother is as one that layeth up treasure.

5Whoever honors his father will have joy from his own children, and when he prays, he will be heard.

5Whoso honoureth his father shall have joy of his own children; and when he maketh his prayer, he shall be heard.

6Whoever honors his father will have a long life, and whoever obeys the Lord will be a comfort to his mother.

6He that honoureth his father shall have a long life; and he that is obedient unto the Lord shall be a comfort to his mother.

7Whoever fears the Lord will honor his father, and will serve his parents as though they were his masters.

7He that feareth the Lord will honour his father, and will do service unto his parents, as to his masters.

Note"Masters" translates a word for owners or lords, the head of a household to whom slaves and hired servants answered. The comparison is to that relationship of service, not to schoolteachers.

8Honor your father and mother in what you say and in what you do, so that a blessing may come to you from them.

8Honour thy father and mother both in word and deed, that a blessing may come upon thee from them.

NoteThis whole section works out the commandment "Honour thy father and thy mother," which in Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16 carries a promise of long life in the land; that promise is behind verse 6. Honoring parents in that setting meant practical support of them in old age, which is what verses 12 to 15 spell out.

9A father's blessing makes his children's houses stand firm, but a mother's curse tears up their foundations.

9For the blessing of the father establisheth the houses of children; but the curse of the mother rooteth out foundations.

NoteA "house" is a household and the family line that continues it, together with its property and standing, so "houses" and "foundations" are two halves of one image: a family built like a building. A parent's blessing or curse was treated as a spoken act with real force once uttered, not merely a wish, which is why the deathbed blessings in Genesis could not be taken back.

10Do not take pride in your father's disgrace, because your father's disgrace brings you no glory.

10Glory not in the dishonour of thy father; for thy father’s dishonour is no glory unto thee.

11A person's glory comes from the honor of his father, and a mother in disgrace is a shame to her children.

11For the glory of a man is from the honour of his father; and a mother in dishonour is a reproach to the children.

12My son, help your father when he is old, and do not cause him grief as long as he lives.

12My son, help thy father in his age, and grieve him not as long as he liveth.

13And if his understanding fails, be patient with him, and do not look down on him while you are in your full strength.

13And if his understanding fail, have patience with him; and despise him not when thou art in thy full strength.

14The care you give your father will not be forgotten. It will count in place of your sins and add to your building up.

14For the relieving of thy father shall not be forgotten: and instead of sins it shall be added to build thee up.

NoteThe wording is drawn from accounting: the care you give is credited to you and set against the debt of your sins. The Greek text and the surviving Hebrew of this verse differ, and the second half is obscure in both. "Build thee up" carries the same house-building image as verse 9.

15On the day of your trouble it will be remembered. Your sins will also melt away, like ice in fair warm weather.

15In the day of thine affliction it shall be remembered; thy sins also shall melt away, as the ice in the fair warm weather.

16Whoever abandons his father is like someone who speaks against God, and whoever angers his mother is cursed by God.

16He that forsaketh his father is as a blasphemer; and he that angereth his mother is cursed: of God.

NoteA "blasphemer" is someone who speaks of God with contempt, an offense Israelite law treated as among the gravest (Leviticus 24:16); the comparison is measuring how serious it is to abandon a parent. The colon in "cursed: of God" is a quirk of the 1611 printing, and the sense is simply "cursed by the Lord."

17My son, carry out your affairs with meekness, and you will be loved by the one who is approved.

17My son, go on with thy business in meekness; so shalt thou be beloved of him that is approved.

Note"Meekness" in 1611 did not mean timidity. It means the absence of self-assertion: restraint, gentleness, not pressing your own claims. The second half of the verse is uncertain, and the Greek manuscripts divide between "you will be loved by one who is acceptable to God" and "you will be loved more than a person who gives gifts," that is, modesty wins more goodwill than generosity can buy.

18The greater you are, the more you should humble yourself, and you will find favor before the Lord.

18The greater thou art, the more humble thyself, and thou shalt find favour before the Lord.

19Many hold high position and are famous, but hidden things are revealed to the meek.

19Many are in high place, and of renown: but mysteries are revealed unto the meek.

NoteThis verse is missing from many Greek manuscripts and from the surviving Hebrew, so it may be a later addition to the book. "Mysteries" translates a word meaning secrets or hidden things, matters that have to be disclosed before anyone can know them. It does not mean puzzles.

20For the Lord's power is great, and he is honored by those who are lowly.

20For the power of the Lord is great, and he is honoured of the lowly.

21Do not search out things that are too hard for you, and do not investigate what is beyond your strength.

21Seek not out things that are too hard for thee, neither search the things that are above thy strength.

Note"Too hard for thee" and "above thy strength" form a standard Hebrew pairing for matters out of a person's reach. The lines warn against prying into what has not been disclosed, and later Jewish teachers quoted this passage as a limit on speculation about what lies beyond the created world.

22Think about what you have been commanded, and do so with respect, for you do not need to see with your own eyes the things that are hidden.

22But what is commanded thee, think thereupon with reverence, for it is not needful for thee to see with thine eyes the things that are in secret.

23Do not busy yourself with matters that are unnecessary, for more has already been shown to you than people can understand.

23Be not curious in unnecessary matters: for more things are shewed unto thee than men understand.

Note"Curious" in 1611 meant prying or meddlesome, poking into what is not your business. It did not mean simply interested or inquisitive.

24Many have been led astray by their own worthless opinions, and an evil suspicion has ruined their judgment.

24For many are deceived by their own vain opinion; and an evil suspicion hath overthrown their judgment.

Note"Suspicion" here translates a word for an assumption, a notion a person takes for granted. It is not distrust of other people. The line is about false ideas wrecking someone's judgment.

25Without eyes you will lack light. So do not claim to have knowledge that you do not have.

25Without eyes thou shalt want light: profess not the knowledge therefore that thou hast not.

Note"Want" in 1611 means lack, not desire. This verse is also absent from some ancient manuscripts.

26A stubborn heart will come to a bad end, and whoever loves danger will die in it.

26A stubborn heart shall fare evil at the last; and he that loveth danger shall perish therein.

27An obstinate heart will be loaded down with sorrows, and the wicked person will pile up sin on top of sin.

27An obstinate heart shall be laden with sorrows; and the wicked man shall heap sin upon sin.

28There is no cure for the punishment of the proud, for the plant of wickedness has taken root in him.

28In the punishment of the proud there is no remedy; for the plant of wickedness hath taken root in him.

Note"Punishment" translates a word meaning calamity or affliction, the disaster that falls on a proud person, and "no remedy" means incurable; the picture is of a wound or disease past healing. The second line switches to a plant that has rooted itself in him, another figure for something that cannot be pulled out.

29The heart of a sensible person will understand a saying, and an attentive ear is what a wise person wants.

29The heart of the prudent will understand a parable; and an attentive ear is the desire of a wise man.

NoteA "parable" here is not a story of the kind told in the Gospels. The Greek word stands for the Hebrew mashal, which covers proverbs, riddles, comparisons and any compressed saying that has to be worked out before it yields its sense.

30Water will put out a blazing fire, and alms make up for sins.

30Water will quench a flaming fire; and alms maketh an atonement for sins.

Note"Alms" means money, food or goods given to the poor. The word reaches English through a Greek term for mercy, and in Israelite practice giving to the poor was a defined obligation rather than an optional kindness.

31Whoever repays kindness is thinking of what may come later, and when he falls, he will find support.

31And he that requiteth good turns is mindful of that which may come hereafter; and when he falleth, he shall find a stay.

Note"Requiteth good turns" means repays the favors done to him. Households in this world survived on such exchanges of help, with no institution to fall back on, so a person who paid his debts of kindness built up goodwill he could draw on when his own turn came. "A stay" is a prop or support to lean on.