Sirach 13–14

He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled therewith;

And ^ahe that hath fellowship with a proud man shall be like unto him.

²Burden not thyself above thy power while thou livest;

And have no fellowship with one that is mightier and richer than thyself:

For how agree the kettle and the earthen pot together?

For if the one be smitten against the other, it shall be broken.

^3bThe rich man hath done wrong, and yet he threateneth withal:

The poor is wronged, and he must intreat also.

⁴If thou be for his profit, he will use thee:

But if thou have nothing, he will forsake thee.

⁵If thou have any thing, he will live with thee:

Yea, he will ^cmake thee bare, and will not be sorry for it.

⁶If he have need of thee, he will deceive thee,

And smile upon thee, and put thee in hope;

He will speak thee fair, and say, What wantest thou?

⁷And he will shame thee by his meats,

Until he have ^cdrawn thee dry twice or thrice,

And at the last he will laugh thee to scorn:

Afterward, when he seeth thee, he will forsake thee,

And ^dshake his head at thee.

⁸Beware that thou be not deceived,

And brought down in thy ^ejollity.

⁹If thou be invited of a mighty man, withdraw thyself,

And so much the more will he invite thee.

^10fPress thou not upon him, lest thou be put back;

Stand not far off, lest thou be forgotten.

^11gAffect not to be made equal unto him in talk,

And believe not his many words:

For with much communication will he tempt thee,

And smiling upon thee will get out thy secrets:

¹²But cruelly he will lay up thy words,

And will not spare to do thee hurt, and to put thee in prison.

¹³Observe, and take good heed,

For thou walkest in peril of thy overthrowing:

When thou hearest these things, awake in thy sleep.

¹⁴Love the Lord all thy life,

And call upon him for thy salvation.

¹⁵Every beast loveth his like,

And every man loveth his neighbor.

¹⁶All flesh consorteth according to kind,

And a man will cleave to his like.

^17hWhat fellowship hath the wolf with the lamb?

ⁱSo the sinner with the godly.

¹⁸What agreement is there between the hyena and a dog?

And what peace between the rich and the poor?

¹⁹As ^kthe wild ass is the lions’ prey in the wilderness:

So ^lthe rich eat up the poor.

²⁰As the proud hate humility:

So doth the rich abhor the poor.

²¹A rich man beginning to fall is held up of his friends:

But a poor man being down is thrust also away by his friends.

²²When a rich man is fallen, he hath many helpers:

He speaketh things not to be spoken, and yet men justify him:

The poor man slipt, and yet they rebuked him too;

^mHe spake wisely, and ⁿcould have no place.

²³When a rich man speaketh, ^oevery man holdeth his tongue,

And look, what he saith, they extol it to the clouds:

But if the poor man speak, they say, What fellow is this?

And if he stumble, they will help to overthrow him.

²⁴Riches are good unto him that hath no sin,

And poverty is evil in the mouth of the ungodly.

²⁵The heart of a man ^pchangeth his countenance, whether it be for good or evil:

And ^qa merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.

²⁶A cheerful countenance is a token of a heart that is in prosperity;

And the finding out of parables is ^ra wearisome labour of the mind.

XIV.^aBlessed is the man that hath not ^abslipt with his mouth,

And is not ^cpricked with the multitude of sins.

^2dBlessed is he whose conscience hath not condemned him,

And who is not fallen from his hope in the Lord.

³Riches are not comely for a niggard:

And what should an envious man do with money?

⁴He that gathereth by defrauding his own soul ^egathereth for others,

That shall spend his goods riotously.

⁵He that is evil to himself, to whom will he be good?

He shall not take pleasure in his goods.

⁶There is none worse than he that envieth himself;

And this is a recompence of his wickedness.

⁷And if he doeth good, he doeth it unwillingly;

And ^fat the last he will declare his wickedness.

⁸The envious man hath a wicked eye;

He turneth away his face, and despiseth men.

⁹A covetous man’s eye ^gis not satisfied with his ^pportion;

And the iniquity of the wicked drieth up his soul.

^10hA wicked eye ⁱenvieth his bread,

And he is a niggard at his table.

¹¹My son, according to thy ability do good to thyself,

And ^kgive the Lord his due offering.

¹²Remember that death will not be long in coming,

And that the covenant of the grave is not shewed unto thee.

^13lDo good unto thy friend before thou die,

And according to thy ^mability stretch out ⁿthy hand and give to him.

^14oDefraud not thyself of the good day,

And let not the ^ppart of a good desire overpass thee.

^15eShalt thou not leave thy travails unto another?

And thy labours to be divided by lot?

¹⁶Give, and take, and sanctify thy soul;

For there is no seeking of dainties in the grave.

¹⁷All flesh ^qwaxeth old as a garment:

For the covenant from the beginning is, ^rThou shalt die the death.

¹⁸As of the green leaves on a thick tree,

Some fall, and some grow;

So is the generation of ^sflesh and blood,

^tOne cometh to an end, and another is born.

¹⁹Every work rotteth and consumeth away,

And the worker thereof shall go withal.

^20uBlessed is the man that doth meditate good things in wisdom,

And that reasoneth of holy things by his understanding.

^21xHe that considereth her ways in his heart

Shall also have understanding in her secrets.

²²Go after her as one that traceth,

And lie in wait in her ways.

²³He that ^yprieth in at her windows

^zShall also hearken at her doors.

²⁴He that doth lodge near her house

Shall also fasten a ^apin in her walls.

²⁵He shall pitch his tent nigh unto her,

And ^bshall lodge in a lodging where good things are.

²⁶He shall set his children under her shelter,

And shall lodge under her branches.

²⁷By her he shall be ^ccovered from heat,

And in her glory shall he dwell.

XV.