Ecclesiasticus 5

Do not set your heart on what you own, and do not say, "I have all I need for my life."

1Set thy heart upon thy goods; and say not, I have enough for my life.

NoteSome King James printings read "Set not thy heart upon thy goods," and that negative is what the Greek has; without it the line reads as advice to do the very thing the chapter is warning against. Every sentence from here to verse 9 is a warning of the same shape. "Goods" in 1611 meant property or wealth of any kind, not merchandise for sale.

2Do not follow your own mind and your own strength, walking wherever your heart wants to go.

2Follow not thine own mind and thy strength, to walk in the ways of thy heart:

Note"The ways of thy heart" is not about feelings. In this literature the heart is the seat of thinking, wanting and deciding, so the phrase means going wherever your own judgment and appetite point.

3And do not say, "Who can call me to account for what I do?" The Lord will surely pay you back for your pride.

3And say not, Who shall controul me for my works? for the Lord will surely revenge thy pride.

Note"Controul" is the 1611 spelling of control, and in that English it meant to check, restrain or call to account, closer to "who can stop me or make me answer for this" than to modern managing or directing. "Revenge" in 1611 simply meant to punish or to exact justice; it did not carry the modern sense of spite.

4Do not say, "I have sinned, and what harm has come to me?" The Lord is patient, but he will certainly not let you go.

4Say not, I have sinned, and what harm hath happened unto me? for the Lord is longsuffering, he will in no wise let thee go.

Note"Longsuffering" is an older English word for patient, slow to anger, willing to put up with a great deal for a long time. "In no wise" means in no way at all, so "he will in no wise let thee go" means he will certainly not let you off.

5About being forgiven: do not be so free of fear that you pile one sin on top of another.

5Concerning propitiation, be not without fear to add sin unto sin:

Note"Propitiation" is a technical word from the world of sacrifice: the offering or act that turns anger aside and makes forgiveness possible. "Concerning propitiation, be not without fear" means, roughly, do not be so confident that atonement is always available that you keep piling up offenses on the strength of it.

6And do not say, "His mercy is great; he will be satisfied even with all my many sins." Mercy and anger both come from him, and his anger rests on sinners.

6And say not His mercy is great; he will be pacified for the multitude of my sins: for mercy and wrath come from him, and his indignation resteth upon sinners.

Note"Pacified" means appeased or satisfied, calmed down. "His indignation resteth upon sinners" uses "rest" in the sense of settling onto something and staying there, not of relaxing.

7Do not delay in turning back to the Lord, and do not put it off from one day to the next. The Lord's anger will come out suddenly, and while you feel safe you will be destroyed, and you will die on the day of punishment.

7Make no tarrying to turn to the Lord, and put not off from day to day: for suddenly shall the wrath of the Lord come forth, and in thy security thou shalt be destroyed, and perish in the day of vengeance.

Note"Make no tarrying" means do not delay. "In thy security" is a trap for modern readers: in 1611 English security meant a false sense of safety, being carelessly off your guard, from a Latin word meaning "without care." It described the person's complacency, not any protection he actually had.

8Do not set your heart on goods you got by unjust means, for they will do you no good on the day disaster comes.

8Set not thine heart upon goods unjustly gotten, for they shall not profit thee in the day of calamity.

9Do not winnow with every wind, and do not go down every road, for that is what the sinner does who has a double tongue.

9Winnow not with every wind, and go not into every way: for so doth the sinner that hath a double tongue.

NoteWinnowing was the last step of harvesting grain. The threshed mixture was tossed into the air with a fork or shovel so the breeze carried off the light chaff while the heavy kernels fell back on the floor. A farmer waited for a steady, reliable wind; tossing grain up into whatever gust happened along would scatter the crop. The image is of a person with no fixed direction. "A double tongue" translates a word for someone who says one thing to one party and something else to another.

10Stand firm in what you understand, and let your word stay the same.

10Be stedfast in thy understanding; and let thy word be the same.

11Be quick to listen; let your way of life be honest; and give your answer patiently.

11Be swift to hear; and let thy life be sincere; and with patience give answer.

NoteThe clause "let thy life be sincere" is in the longer Greek form of this book that stood behind the King James; the shorter manuscripts used by most modern translations do not have it. "Sincere" in 1611 meant unmixed, unfeigned, without anything false stirred into it.

12If you have understanding, answer your neighbor; if you do not, put your hand over your mouth.

12If thou hast understanding, answer thy neighbour; if not, lay thy hand upon thy mouth.

NotePutting a hand over the mouth was a recognized gesture in the ancient Near East for deliberate, respectful silence: the deliberate refusal to speak, not embarrassment.

13Honor and shame both come out of talk, and a person's tongue is what makes him fall.

13Honour and shame is in talk: and the tongue of man is his fall.

NoteHonor and shame were public standing, what the whole community thought of you and said about you. In this society that reputation was a person's main asset, and verse 13 observes that it is won or lost in speech.

14Do not get the name of a whisperer, and do not lie in wait with your tongue. A shameful disgrace rests on the thief, and a harsh sentence on the person with a double tongue.

14Be not called a whisperer, and lie not in wait with thy tongue: for a foul shame is upon the thief, and an evil condemnation upon the double tongue.

NoteA "whisperer" is a slanderer, someone who circulates damaging talk about people quietly and behind their backs. "Lie in wait with thy tongue" is hunting language, the picture of an ambush set for someone who does not see it coming. "Condemnation" here means the sentence handed down by a court.

15Do not be ignorant about anything, whether the matter is large or small.

15Be not ignorant of any thing in a great matter or a small.