Sirach 11

Wisdom lifteth up the head of him that is of low degree,

And ^amaketh him to sit among great men.

²Commend not a man for his beauty;

Neither abhor a man for his outward appearance.

³The bee is little among such as fly;

But her fruit is ^bthe chief of sweet things.

^4cBoast not of thy clothing and raiment,

And exalt not thyself in the day of honour:

For ^dthe works of the Lord are wonderful,

And his works among men are hidden.

⁵Many kings have ^esit down upon the ground;

And one that was never thought of hath worn the crown.

^6fMany mighty men have been greatly disgraced;

And the honourable delivered into other men’s hands.

^7gBlame not before thou hast examined the truth:

Understand first, and then rebuke.

^8hAnswer not before thou hast heard the cause:

Neither interrupt men in the midst of their talk.

⁹Strive not in a matter that concerneth thee not;

And sit not in judgment with sinners.

¹⁰My son, meddle not with many matters:

For if thou meddle much, thou shalt not be innocent;

And if thou ⁱfollow after, thou shalt not ⁱobtain,

Neither shalt thou escape by fleeing.

^11kThere is one that laboureth, and taketh pains, and maketh haste,

And is so much the more behind.

¹²Again, there is another that is slow, and hath need of help,

Wanting ^lability, and full of poverty;

^mYet the eye of the Lord looked upon him for good,

And set him up from his low estate,

¹³And lifted up his head from misery;

So that many that saw it marvelled at him.

¹⁴ⁿProsperity and adversity, life and death,

Poverty and riches, come of the Lord.

^15oWisdom, knowledge, and understanding of the law, are of the Lord:

Love, and the way of good works, are from him.

¹⁶Error and darkness ^phad their beginning together with sinners:

And evil shall wax old with them that glory therein.

¹⁷The gift of the Lord remaineth with the godly,

And his favour bringeth prosperity for ever.

¹⁸There is that waxeth rich by his wariness and pinching,

And this is the portion of his reward:

^19qWhereas he saith, I have found rest,

And now will eat ^qcontinually of my goods;

And yet he knoweth not what time shall come upon him,

And that ^rhe must leave those things to others, and die.

^20sBe stedfast in thy covenant, and be conversant therein,

And wax old in thy work.

^21tMarvel not at the works of sinners;

But trust in the Lord, and abide in thy labour:

For it is an easy thing in the sight of the Lord on the sudden to make a poor man rich.

²²The blessing of the Lord is in the reward of the godly,

And suddenly he maketh his blessing to flourish.

²³Say not, ^uWhat profit is there of my service?

And what good things shall I have hereafter?

²⁴Again, ^qsay not, I have enough, and possess many things,

And what evil can come to me hereafter?

^25vIn the day of prosperity there is a forgetfulness of affliction:

And in the day of affliction there is no remembrance of prosperity.

²⁶For it is an easy thing unto the Lord ^win the day of death

To reward a man according to his ways.

²⁷The affliction of an hour maketh a man forget pleasure:

And in his end his deeds shall be discovered.

^28xJudge none blessed before his death:

For a man shall be known in his children.

²⁹Bring not every man into thine house:

For the deceitful man hath many trains.

³⁰Like as a partridge taken and kept in a cage, so is the heart of the proud;

And like as a spy, watcheth he for thy fall:

³¹For he lieth in wait, and turneth good into evil,

And in things worthy praise will lay blame upon thee.

³²Of a spark of fire ^ya heap of coals is kindled:

And a sinful man layeth wait for blood.

³³Take heed of a mischievous man, for he worketh wickedness;

Lest he bring upon thee a perpetual blot.

³⁴Receive a stranger into thine house, and he will disturb thee,

And turn thee out of ^zthine own.

XII.