Ecclesiasticus 4

My son, do not cheat the poor man out of what he lives on, and do not make eyes that are in need wait a long time.

1My son, defraud not the poor of his living, and make not the needy eyes to wait long.

Note"My son" is the standard way a wisdom teacher addresses a pupil in this kind of book; it does not mean the writer is speaking to his own child. The book was written in Hebrew by Jesus son of Sirach around 180 BC and translated into Greek by his grandson, which is why some of its lines survive in two forms that do not quite agree.

2Do not make a hungry person sad, and do not provoke a man who is in distress.

2Make not an hungry soul sorrowful; neither provoke a man in his distress.

Note"Soul" in the King James of this book normally stands for the whole living person, or for the appetite and feeling in a person, not for a separate spiritual part. "An hungry soul" is simply a hungry human being.

3Do not add more trouble to a heart that is already upset, and do not put off giving to someone who is in need.

3Add not more trouble to an heart that is vexed; and defer not to give to him that is in need.

Note"Vexed" in 1611 English is much stronger than the modern word. It means grieved, distressed, worn down, not merely irritated.

4Do not turn down the request of a person who is suffering, and do not turn your face away from a poor man.

4Reject not the supplication of the afflicted; neither turn away thy face from a poor man.

5Do not turn your eye away from someone in need, and give him no reason to curse you.

5Turn not away thine eye from the needy, and give him none occasion to curse thee:

NoteA curse here is not foul language. It is a formal appeal to God to act against the person who has wronged you, and such an appeal from someone genuinely wronged was treated as a real danger to the one who caused the wrong.

6For if he curses you out of the bitterness of his soul, the one who made him will hear his prayer.

6For if he curse thee in the bitterness of his soul, his prayer shall be heard of him that made him.

Note"Heard of him that made him" uses "of" in its old sense of "by." The prayer will be heard by God, who made the man.

7Make yourself loved by the assembly of the people, and bow your head to a great man.

7Get thyself the love of the congregation, and bow thy head to a great man.

Note"Congregation" does not mean a church gathering. It is the assembled community, the body of townsmen who meet to settle public business, whose good opinion a man needed. Bowing the head was the ordinary physical gesture of respect toward someone of higher rank.

8Do not let it annoy you to bend your ear down to a poor man, and answer him in a friendly way, with humility.

8Let it not grieve thee to bow down thine ear to the poor, and give him a friendly answer with meekness.

Note"Meekness" in the King James means humility or gentleness of manner. It does not carry the modern suggestion of weakness or timidity.

9Rescue the one who is being wronged from the hand of the man who is crushing him, and do not lose your nerve when you sit as a judge.

9Deliver him that suffereth wrong from the hand of the oppressor; and be not fainthearted when thou sittest in judgment.

NoteOrdinary justice was handled locally by respected men sitting in the open space by the town gate, so any man of standing might find himself deciding a neighbor's case. "Be not fainthearted" warns against losing nerve in the face of the more powerful party.

10Be like a father to children who have no father, and take the place of a husband to their mother. Then you will be like a son of the Most High, and he will love you more than your mother does.

10Be as a father unto the fatherless, and instead of an husband unto their mother: so shalt thou be as the son of the most High, and he shall love thee more than thy mother doth.

NoteA child with no father and a woman with no husband had nobody to press their claims in court or defend their property, so taking that role on was a recognized public duty rather than private kindness. "The most High" is a title for God.

11Wisdom lifts her children high, and she takes hold of those who look for her.

11Wisdom exalteth her children, and layeth hold of them that seek her.

NoteFrom here through verse 19 wisdom is spoken of as a woman: she has children, she can be sought, courted, held on to, and she can walk away. This personification is a fixed convention of Hebrew wisdom writing, and "her" does not point to any goddess or actual person.

12The person who loves her loves life, and those who look for her early will be filled with joy.

12He that loveth her loveth life; and they that seek to her early shall be filled with joy.

Note"Seek to her early" translates a Greek expression built on rising at dawn. It carries both senses at once: searching eagerly, first thing, and beginning the search early in life.

13The person who holds on to her tightly will receive glory as his inheritance, and wherever she goes in, the Lord will bless.

13He that holdeth her fast shall inherit glory; and wheresoever she entereth, the Lord will bless.

Note"Inherit" here has nothing to do with a will or a death. It is the ordinary word for coming into a lasting possession, the kind of holding that stays in a family.

14Those who serve her are serving the Holy One, and the Lord loves those who love her.

14They that serve her shall minister to the Holy One: and them that love her the Lord doth love.

Note"Minister" means to serve, and the Greek word is the one used for service in the temple. "The Holy One" is a title for God. The line puts the service of wisdom on the same footing as priestly service.

15Whoever listens to her will judge the nations, and whoever pays attention to her will live in safety.

15Whoso giveth ear unto her shall judge the nations: and he that attendeth unto her shall dwell securely.

Note"Judge the nations" means govern them. In this older sense a judge was a ruler who settled disputes as part of governing, not only a court official.

16If a man entrusts himself to her, he will receive her as his inheritance, and his descendants will keep her as their own.

16If a man commit himself unto her, he shall inherit her; and his generation shall hold her in possession.

Note"His generation" means his descendants, the people who come after him, not the people alive at the same time as him.

17For at first she will walk with him along crooked paths, and bring fear and dread on him, and torment him with her discipline, until she can trust him and has tested him by her laws.

17For at the first she will walk with him by crooked ways, and bring fear and dread upon him, and torment him with her discipline, until she may trust his soul, and try him by her laws.

Note"Crooked ways" means twisting, roundabout paths, not dishonest ones. The surviving Hebrew of this verse reads differently, saying that wisdom walks with him in disguise, unrecognized, and translators disagree over which reading lies behind the Greek. "Discipline" translates a word covering the whole of a child's upbringing and training, punishments included.

18Then she will bring him back onto the straight road, and comfort him, and show him her secrets.

18Then will she return the straight way unto him, and comfort him, and shew him her secrets.

19But if he goes wrong, she will leave him and hand him over to his own ruin.

19But if he go wrong, she will forsake him, and give him over to his own ruin.

20Watch for the right moment, and be on guard against evil, and do not be ashamed when your own soul is at stake.

20Observe the opportunity, and beware of evil; and be not ashamed when it concerneth thy soul.

Note"Observe the opportunity" translates a word for the decisive moment, the point at which action will actually count. The second half of the verse is genuinely unclear in the Greek and has been read both as "do not be ashamed of yourself" and as "do not be ashamed when your own life is at stake."

21For there is a shame that leads to sin, and there is a shame that is glory and favor.

21For there is a shame that bringeth sin; and there is a shame which is glory and grace.

NoteThis depends on ancient ideas of honor and shame, in which shame is not automatically a bad thing. One kind is the embarrassment that stops a person doing what is right; the other is the sense of shame that does a person credit. Ben Sira takes up the distinction at length later in the book.

22Do not show favor to anyone at the cost of your own soul, and do not let your awe of any man make you fall.

22Accept no person against thy soul, and let not the reverence of any man cause thee to fall.

Note"Accept no person" is a King James idiom with nothing to do with accepting people. It translates a phrase meaning to lift someone's face, that is, to show favoritism, especially by a judge who decides according to who the parties are. The same idiom returns in verse 27.

23Do not hold back from speaking when a word of yours can save someone, and do not hide your wisdom away in her beauty.

23And refrain not to speak, when there is occasion to do good, and hide not thy wisdom in her beauty.

NoteThe second half of this verse is obscure in the Greek and has been translated in sharply different ways: do not hide your wisdom when showing it would be fitting, or do not hide it in order to keep up appearances. "In her beauty" is a literal rendering of words whose sense here is disputed.

24For wisdom is known by speech, and learning is known by the words the tongue says.

24For by speech wisdom shall be known: and learning by the word of the tongue.

25Do not speak against the truth in any way, but be ashamed of the mistakes that come from your ignorance.

25In no wise speak against the truth; but be abashed of the error of thine ignorance.

Note"In no wise" means in no way at all. "Be abashed" means be ashamed.

26Do not be ashamed to admit your sins, and do not try to force back the current of a river.

26Be not ashamed to confess thy sins; and force not the course of the river.

NotePushing back the current of a river was a stock image for an effort that cannot possibly succeed.

27Do not make yourself a servant under the feet of a foolish man, and do not show favor to a powerful man.

27Make not thyself an underling to a foolish man; neither accept the person of the mighty.

Note"Underling" translates a picture of lying down flat so that somebody else can walk across you. On "accept the person," see the note at verse 22.

28Fight for the truth even to the death, and the Lord will fight for you.

28Strive for the truth unto death, and the Lord shall fight for thee.

29Do not be reckless with your tongue, and do not be slow and careless in what you do.

29Be not hasty in thy tongue, and in thy deeds slack and remiss.

Note"Remiss" means slack and negligent. The two halves warn against opposite faults: a tongue too quick and hands too slow.

30Do not be like a lion in your own house, or act wildly among the people who serve you.

30Be not as a lion in thy house, nor frantick among thy servants.

Note"Frantick" is the 1611 spelling of frantic, and here means raging or throwing your weight around. The sense of the Greek word is uncertain and has also been understood as suspicious or fault-finding toward one's household staff. A lion in the house is a domestic tyrant.

31Do not let your hand be stretched out to take, and closed when it is time to pay back.

31Let not thine hand be stretched out to receive, and shut when thou shouldest repay.