Sirach 4

My son, ^adefraud not the poor of his living,

And ^amake not the needy eyes to wait long.

²Make not a hungry soul sorrowful;

Neither provoke a man in his distress.

^3aaAdd not more trouble to a heart that is vexed;

And ^bdefer not to give to him that is in need.

⁴Reject not the supplication of the afflicted;

^cNeither ^dturn away thy face from a poor man.

^5dTurn not away thine eye from ^ethe needy,

And give him none occasion ^fto curse thee:

⁶For ^gif he curse thee in the bitterness of his soul,

^hHis prayer shall be heard of him that made him.

⁷Get thyself the love of the congregation,

And bow thy head to a great man.

⁸Let it not grieve thee to bow down thine ear to the poor,

And give him a friendly answer with meekness.

⁹ⁱDeliver him that suffereth wrong from the hand of the oppressor;

And ^jbe not fainthearted when thou sittest in judgment.

^10kBe as a father unto the fatherless,

And instead of a husband unto their mother:

So shalt thou be as ^lthe son of the most High,

And he shall love thee more than thy mother doth.

^11mWisdom exalteth ⁿher children,

And layeth hold of them that seek her.

^12oHe that loveth her loveth life;

And ^pthey that seek to her early shall be filled with ^qjoy.

¹³He that holdeth her fast ^rshall inherit glory;

And wheresoever she entereth, the Lord will bless.

¹⁴They that serve her shall minister to the Holy One:

And them that love her the Lord doth love.

¹⁵Whoso giveth ear unto her ^sshall judge the nations:

And he that attendeth unto her shall dwell securely.

¹⁶If a man commit himself unto her, he shall inherit her;

And his generations shall hold her in possession.

¹⁷For at the first she will walk with him ^tby 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.

¹⁸Then will she return the straight way unto him,

And ^qcomfort him, and ^ushew him her secrets.

¹⁹But if he go wrong, she will forsake him,

And give him over to his own ruin.

^20wObserve the opportunity, and beware of evil;

And ^xbe not ashamed when it concerneth thy soul.

²¹For ^ythere is a shame that bringeth sin;

And ^zthere is a shame which is glory and grace.

^22aAccept no person against thy soul,

And let not the reverence of any man cause thee to fall.

²³And refrain not to speak, when there is occasion to do good,

And hide not thy wisdom in her beauty.

²⁴For by speech wisdom shall be known:

And learning by the word of the tongue.

²⁵In no wise speak against the truth;

But be abashed of the error of thine ignorance.

^26bBe not ashamed to confess thy sins;

And force not the course of the river.

²⁷Make not thyself an underling to a foolish man;

Neither ^aaccept the person of the mighty.

²⁸Strive for the truth unto death,

And the Lord shall fight for thee.

^29cBe not hasty in thy tongue,

And in thy deeds slack and remiss.

³⁰Be not as a lion in thy house,

^dNor frantick among thy servants.

^31eLet not thine hand be stretched out to receive,

And shut when thou shouldest repay.

V.