Sirach 39:21–41:22

21 No one can say, “What is this?” “Why is that?”

for everything has been created for its use.

22 His blessing covers the dry land like a river,

and drenches it like a flood.

23 The nations will incur his wrath,

just as he turns fresh water into salt.

24 To the holy his ways are straight,

just as they are obstacles to the wicked.

25 From the beginning good things were created for good people,

just as evil things for sinners.

26 Basic to all the needs of man’s life

are water and fire and iron and salt

and wheat flour and milk and honey,

the blood of the grape, and oil and clothing.

27 All these are for good to the godly,

just as they turn into evils for sinners.

28 There are winds that have been created for vengeance,

and in their anger they scourge heavily;

in the time of consummation they will pour out their strength

and calm the anger of their Maker.

29 Fire and hail and famine and pestilence,

all these have been created for vengeance;

30 the teeth of wild beasts, and scorpions and vipers,

and the sword that punishes the ungodly with destruction;

31 they will rejoice in his commands,

and be made ready on earth for their service,

and when their times come they will not transgress his word.

32 Therefore from the beginning I have been convinced,

and have thought this out and left it in writing:

33 The works of the Lord are all good,

and he will supply every need in its hour.

34 And no one can say, “This is worse than that,”

for all things will prove good in their season.

35 So now sing praise with all your heart and voice,

and bless the name of the Lord.

Chapter 40

1 Much labor was created for every man,

and a heavy yoke is upon the sons of Adam,

from the day they come forth from their mother’s womb

till the day they return to the mother of all.

2 Their perplexities and fear of heart—

their anxious thought is the day of death,

3 from the man who sits on a splendid throne

to the one who is humbled in dust and ashes,

4 from the man who wears purple and a crown

to the one who is clothed in burlap;

5 there is anger and envy and trouble and unrest,

and fear of death, and fury and strife.

And when one rests upon his bed,

his sleep at night confuses his mind.

6 He gets little or no rest,

and afterward in his sleep, as though he were on watch,

he is troubled by the visions of his mind

like one who has escaped from the battle-front;

7 at the moment of his rescue he wakes up,

and wonders that his fear came to nothing.

8 With all flesh, both man and beast,

and upon sinners seven times more,

9 are death and bloodshed and strife and sword,

calamities, famine and affliction and plague.

10 All these were created for the wicked,

and on their account the flood came.

11 All things that are from the earth turn back to the earth,

and what is from the waters returns to the sea.

12 All bribery and injustice will be blotted out,

but good faith will stand for ever.

13 The wealth of the unjust will dry up like a torrent,

and crash like a loud clap of thunder in a rain.

14 A generous man will be made glad;

likewise transgressors will utterly fail.

15 The children of the ungodly will not put forth many branches;

they are unhealthy roots upon sheer rock.

16 The reeds by any water or river bank

will be plucked up before any grass.

17 Kindness is like a garden of blessings,

and almsgiving endures for ever.

18 Life is sweet for the self-reliant and the worker,

but he who finds treasure is better off than both.

19 Children and the building of a city establish a man’s name,

but a blameless wife is accounted better than both.

20 Wine and music gladden the heart,

but the love of wisdom is better than both.

21 The flute and the harp make pleasant melody,

but a pleasant voice is better than both.

22 The eye desires grace and beauty,

but the green shoots of grain more than both.

23 A friend or a companion never meets one amiss,

but a wife with her husband is better than both.

24 Brothers and help are for a time of trouble,

but almsgiving rescues better than both.

25 Gold and silver make the foot stand sure,

but good counsel is esteemed more than both.

26 Riches and strength lift up the heart,

but the fear of the Lord is better than both.

There is no loss in the fear of the Lord,

and with it there is no need to seek for help.

27 The fear of the Lord is like a garden of blessing,

and covers a man better than any glory.

28 My son, do not lead the life of a beggar;

it is better to die than to beg.

29 When a man looks to the table of another,

his existence cannot be considered as life.

He pollutes himself with another man’s food,

but a man who is intelligent and well instructed guards against that.

30 In the mouth of the shameless begging is sweet,

but in his stomach a fire is kindled.

Chapter 41

1 O death, how bitter is the reminder of you

to one who lives at peace among his possessions,

to a man without distractions, who is prosperous in everything,

and who still has the vigor to enjoy his food!

2 O death, how welcome is your sentence

to one who is in need and is failing in strength,

very old and distracted over everything;

to one who is contrary, and has lost his patience!

3 Do not fear the sentence of death;

remember your former days and the end of life;

this is the decree from the Lord for all flesh,

4 and how can you reject the good pleasure of the Most High?

Whether life is for ten or a hundred or a thousand years,

there is no inquiry about it in Hades.

5 The children of sinners are abominable children,

and they frequent the haunts of the ungodly.

6 The inheritance of the children of sinners will perish,

and on their posterity will be a perpetual reproach.

7 Children will blame an ungodly father,

for they suffer reproach because of him.

8 Woe to you, ungodly men,

who have forsaken the law of the Most High God!

9 When you are born, you are born to a curse;

and when you die, a curse is your lot.

10 Whatever is from the dust returns to dust;

so the ungodly go from curse to destruction.

11 The mourning of men is about their bodies,

but the evil name of sinners will be blotted out.

12 Have regard for your name, since it will remain for

you longer than a thousand great stores of gold.

13 The days of a good life are numbered,

but a good name endures for ever.

14 My children, observe instruction and be at peace;

hidden wisdom and unseen treasure,

what advantage is there in either of them?

15 Better is the man who hides his folly

than the man who hides his wisdom.

16 Therefore show respect for my words:

For it is good to retain every kind of shame,

and not everything is confidently esteemed by every one.

17 Be ashamed of immorality, before your father or mother;

and of a lie, before a prince or a ruler;

18 of a transgression, before a judge or magistrate;

and of iniquity, before a congregation or the people;

of unjust dealing, before your partner or friend;

19 and of theft, in the place where you live.

Be ashamed before the truth of God and his covenant.

Be ashamed of selfish behavior at meals,

of surliness in receiving and giving,

20 and of silence, before those who greet you;

of looking at a woman who is a harlot,

21 and of rejecting the appeal of a kinsman;

of taking away some one’s portion or gift,

and of gazing at another man’s wife;

22 of meddling with his maidservant—

and do not approach her bed;

of abusive words, before friends—

and do not upbraid after making a gift;