HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  15for their hope is in him who saves them.

  16Those who fear the Lord will not be timid,

  or play the coward, for he is their hope.

  17Happy is the soul that fears the Lord!

  18To whom does he look? And who is his support?

  19The eyes of the Lord are on those who love him,

  a mighty shield and strong support,

  a shelter from scorching wind and a shade from noonday sun,

  a guard against stumbling and a help against falling.

  20He lifts up the soul and makes the eyes sparkle;

  he gives health and life and blessing.

  Offering Sacrifices

  21If one sacrifices ill-gotten goods, the offering is blemished;c

  22the giftsd of the lawless are not acceptable.

  23The Most High is not pleased with the offerings of the ungodly,

  nor for a multitude of sacrifices does he forgive sins.

  24Like one who kills a son before his father’s eyes

  is the person who offers a sacrifice from the property of the poor.

  25The bread of the needy is the life of the poor;

  whoever deprives them of it is a murderer.

  26To take away a neighbor’s living is to commit murder;

  27to deprive an employee of wages is to shed blood.

  28When one builds and another tears down,

  what do they gain but hard work?

  29When one prays and another curses,

  to whose voice will the Lord listen?

  30If one washes after touching a corpse, and touches it again,

  what has been gained by washing?

  31So if one fasts for his sins,

  and goes again and does the same things,

  who will listen to his prayer?

  And what has he gained by humbling himself?

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  a Syr: Gk pays heed to

  b Other ancient authorities read A traveled

  c Other ancient authorities read is made in mockery

  d Other ancient authorities read mockeries

  34.1–8 A decidedly negative judgment on the predictive value of dreams. In contrast, cf. the important role of dreams in the stories of Joseph (Gen 37–50), Gideon (Judg 7.13–15), Job (Job 33.15–18), and Daniel. During the Hellenistic period dreams were generally thought to contain predictions, and dream interpretation was considered a critical and scientific occupation. Ben Sira ranks dreams with omens and other forms of divination as fantasies (v. 5). His criticism here may reflect a rejection of apocalyptic speculation about God’s secrets; cf. 3.21–24.

  34.2 Pursues the wind, a metaphor for impossible projects. Cf. Eccl 1.14; Hos 12.1.

  34.6 Unless…sent…from the Most High. With this exception, Ben Sira hesitates to reject all dreams as evil or taboo according to Jewish standards. How one distinguished dreams that were sent from the Most High is not explained. Cf. the similar problem of true and false prophecy in Deut 18.15–22.

  34.8 The law will be fulfilled echoes 33.3. Wisdom is complete. In Ben Sira’s view wisdom, in addition to knowledge of the Lord’s instructions, promises, and covenants, includes knowing the Lord’s “ways,” namely, that he will protect, rescue, and restore the righteous and Israel to states of well-being (cf. 24.33; 36.1–22; 39.33; 50.24); thus one does not need to pursue divination.

  34.9–13 On the value of travel.

  34.9 An educated person, better a traveled person (text note a) for the sense of this section. Learning through travel was a common idea in Hellenistic times, made famous by writers from Herodotus to Pausanius.

  34.13 In danger of death, idiomatic for lack of protection away from home, a common theme in entertaining literature such as the Joseph story (Gen 37–50) and the Hellenistic romance. See also Paul’s list of dangers in 2 Cor 11.23–27.

  34.14–20 On the protection of those who fear the Lord.

  34.14 The spirit…will live does not refer to spiritual or postmortem destiny, but to a sense of courage that is “lively.”

  34.15 The Lord saves those who fear him from trouble or distress. Cf. 2.6–11.

  34.19 On the eyes of the Lord, see 42.16–20. On the Lord as a shelter and a guard, cf. Ps 91.1–16.

  34.21–31 A unit on ritual observances relates wisdom piety to temple worship.

  34.21 That ill-gotten goods are blemished merges Ben Sira’s ethic of acquisition (cf. 31.1–9) with the prescription that sacrificial offerings were to be made from “perfect,” or “unblemished,” animals or produce. Cf. Lev 22.21.

  34.24–25 Taking from the poor is the moral equivalent of murder.

  34.30 Touching a corpse made one ritually impure. Cf. Num 19.11.

  SIRACH 35

  The Law and Sacrifices

  1The one who keeps the law makes many offerings;

  2one who heeds the commandments makes an offering of well-being.

  3The one who returns a kindness offers choice flour,

  4and one who gives alms sacrifices a thank offering.

  5To keep from wickedness is pleasing to the Lord,

  and to forsake unrighteousness is an atonement.

  6Do not appear before the Lord empty-handed,

  7for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the commandment.

  8The offering of the righteous enriches the altar,

  and its pleasing odor rises before the Most High.

  9The sacrifice of the righteous is acceptable,

  and it will never be forgotten.

  10Be generous when you worship the Lord,

  and do not stint the first fruits of your hands.

  11With every gift show a cheerful face,

  and dedicate your tithe with gladness.

  12Give to the Most High as he has given to you,

  and as generously as you can afford.

  13For the Lord is the one who repays,

  and he will repay you sevenfold.

  Divine Justice

  14Do not offer him a bribe, for he will not accept it;

  15and do not rely on a dishonest sacrifice;

  for the Lord is the judge,

  and with him there is no partiality.

  16He will not show partiality to the poor;

  but he will listen to the prayer of one who is wronged.

  17He will not ignore the supplication of the orphan,

  or the widow when she pours out her complaint.

  18Do not the tears of the widow run down her cheek

  19as she cries out against the one who causes them to fall?

  20The one whose service is pleasing to the Lord will be accepted,

  and his prayer will reach to the clouds.

  21The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds,

  and it will not rest until it reaches its goal;

  it will not desist until the Most High responds

  22and does justice for the righteous, and executes judgment.

  Indeed, the Lord will not delay,

  and like a warriora will not be patient

  until he crushes the loins of the unmerciful

  23and repays vengeance on the nations;

  until he destroys the multitude of the insolent,

  and breaks the scepters of the unrighteous;

  24until he repays mortals according to their deeds,

  and the works of all according to their thoughts;

  25until he judges the case of his people

  and makes them rejoice in his mercy.

  26His mercy is as welcome in time of distress

  as clouds of rain in time of drought.

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  a Heb: Gk and with them

  35.1–13 Advice concerning the offering of sacrifices. Ben Sira regards ethical piety (keeping the commandments, especially almsgiving) as effective as ritual observance (vv. 1–5), but does not conclude that the sacrificial system is therefore unimportant or ineffective (vv. 6–13). His recommended
cultic practices include temple worship, support for the priests, tithes, sacrificial offerings, prayers, praise, and oaths. See 4.13–14; 7.9–10, 31; 14.11; 23.9–11; 28.5; 34.21–31; 35.14–26; 38.9–15; 45.6–22; 50.1–21.

  35.6 Appear before the Lord, approach the temple with offerings.

  35.14–26 A unit on divine justice that builds upon the ethic of helping the poor, the widow, and the orphan, confidence in the effectiveness of prayers of supplication from one in distress, and a theology of divine judgment in history. On the Lord’s provision for the poor, the widow, and the orphan, see 4.1–10. For the cry of one in distress, see 2.10–11. The theme of divine intervention in history appears unexpectedly but prepares for the prayer to follow in 36.1–22.

  35.22 The verse segues from God’s protection of the marginalized in Israel to God’s protection of Israel, culminating in chap 36.

  SIRACH 36

  A Prayer for God’s People

  1Have mercy upon us, O Goda of all,

  2and put all the nations in fear of you.

  3Lift up your hand against foreign nations

  and let them see your might.

  4As you have used us to show your holiness to them,

  so use them to show your glory to us.

  5Then they will know,b as we have known,

  that there is no God but you, O Lord.

  6Give new signs, and work other wonders;

  7make your hand and right arm glorious.

  8Rouse your anger and pour out your wrath;

  9destroy the adversary and wipe out the enemy.

  10Hasten the day, and remember the appointed time,c

  and let people recount your mighty deeds.

  11Let survivors be consumed in the fiery wrath,

  and may those who harm your people meet destruction.

  12Crush the heads of hostile rulers

  who say, “There is no one but ourselves.”

  13Gather all the tribes of Jacob,d

  16and give them their inheritance, as at the beginning.

  17Have mercy, O Lord, on the people called by your name,

  on Israel, whom you have namede your firstborn,

  18Have pity on the city of your sanctuary,f

  Jerusalem, the place of your dwelling.g

  19Fill Zion with your majesty,h

  and your templei with your glory.

  20Bear witness to those whom you created in the beginning,

  and fulfill the prophecies spoken in your name.

  21Reward those who wait for you

  and let your prophets be found trustworthy.

  22Hear, O Lord, the prayer of your servants, according to your goodwill towardj your people,

  and all who are on the earth will know

  that you are the Lord, the God of the ages.

  Concerning Discrimination

  23The stomach will take any food,

  yet one food is better than another.

  24As the palate tastes the kinds of game,

  so an intelligent mind detects false words.

  25A perverse mind will cause grief,

  but a person with experience will pay him back.

  26A woman will accept any man as a husband,

  but one girl is preferable to another.

  27A woman’s beauty lights up a man’s face,

  and there is nothing he desires more.

  28If kindness and humility mark her speech,

  her husband is more fortunate than other men.

  29He who acquires a wife gets his best possession,k

  a helper fit for him and a pillar of support.l

  30Where there is no fence, the property will be plundered;

  and where there is no wife, a man will become a fugitive and a wanderer.m

  31For who will trust a nimble robber

  that skips from city to city?

  So who will trust a man that has no nest,

  but lodges wherever night overtakes him?

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  a Heb: Gk O Master, the God

  b Heb: Gk And let them know you

  c Other ancient authorities read remember your oath

  d Owing to a dislocation in the Greek Mss of Sirach, the verse numbers 14 and 15 are not used in chapter 36, though no text is missing.

  e Other ancient authorities read you have likened to

  f Or on your holy city

  g Heb: Gk your rest

  h Heb Syr: Gk the celebration of your wondrous deeds

  i Heb Syr: Gk Lat people

  j Heb and two Gk witnesses: Lat and most Gk witnesses read according to the blessing of Aaron for

  k Heb: Gk enters upon a possession

  l Heb: Gk rest

  m Heb: Gk wander about and sigh

  36.1–22 A prayer for the deliverance of Jerusalem and the people of Israel from foreign oppression. Such a prayer comes as a surprise in a book of wisdom and expresses political judgments and hopes extremely veiled elsewhere in Sirach. In form it draws upon the Psalms and shares many features with prayers and poems found in other Second Temple Jewish texts. Foreign nations (v. 3), the enemy (v. 9), those who harm your people (v. 11), and the hostile rulers (v. 12) probably refer to the Seleucid overlords at the time.

  36.4 Show your holiness, divine deliverance in the idiom of cultic practices. Cf. Ezek 20.41; 28.25.

  36.5 Then they will know, a common expression of theodicy related to divine deliverance. See v. 22; cf. 1 Sam 17.46–47; 1 Kings 8.60; 1 Chr 17.20; Isa 45.14; Wis 4.20–5.8; 12.26–27.

  36.6–7 Signs and…wonders, hand and right arm, common shorthand allusions to the exodus story of deliverance from Egypt; cf. Ex 15.6; Deut 4.34; 7.19; 11.3; Neh 9.10; Isa 63.12; Pss 78.43; 98.1.

  36.16 Their inheritance, the land promised to the children of Abraham (Gen 17.8).

  36.17 Called by your name, a common description of the people of Israel. See Deut 28.10; Isa 63.19; Jer 14.9; 15.16. The name Israel means “God rules.” That Israel was named your firstborn evokes a common idea; see Ex 4.22; Jer 31.9; Hos 11.1; Wis 18.13.

  36.18–19 On Jerusalem as Zion, the place where God dwells, cf. Ex 15.17; Isa 2.2–3; Jer 31.6; Mic 4.1–2.

  36.20–21 This petition is an early occurrence of the idea that the prophecies of the prophets refer to a divine deliverance of Jerusalem yet to be accomplished. It is unique in Sirach, though the idea became programmatic for the somewhat later Qumran community, some Jewish authors of apocalyptic literature, and early Christian authors such as Mark. A somewhat related idea occurs in Sir 48.10, where Elijah is expected to return as it is written. Elsewhere in Sirach prophecies are referred to as a source of wisdom, insight, and instruction. See 24.33. In chs. 44–50 prophets are those whose insights and words were effective agents in the events of their times that determined the epic history of Israel. See 46.13.

  36.23–31 A cluster of loosely connected sayings on food and finding a wife.

  36.29 Helper fit for him recalls Gen 2.18.

  36.30 A fugitive and a wanderer recalls Cain’s punishment in Gen 4.12.

  SIRACH 37

  False Friends

  1Every friend says, “I too am a friend”

  but some friends are friends only in name.

  2Is it not a sorrow like that for death itself

  when a dear friend turns into an enemy?

  3O inclination to evil, why were you formed

  to cover the land with deceit?

  4Some companions rejoice in the happiness of a friend,

  but in time of trouble they are against him.

  5Some companions help a friend for their stomachs’ sake,

  yet in battle they will carry his shield.

  6Do not forget a friend during the battle,a

  and do not be unmindful of him when you distribute your spoils.b

  Caution in Taking Advice

  7All counselors praise the counsel they give,

  but some give counsel in their own interest.

  8Be war
y of a counselor,

  and learn first what is his interest,

  for he will take thought for himself.

  He may cast the lot against you

  9and tell you, “Your way is good,”

  and then stand aside to see what happens to you.

  10Do not consult the one who regards you with suspicion;

  hide your intentions from those who are jealous of you.

  11Do not consult with a woman about her rival

  or with a coward about war,

  with a merchant about business

  or with a buyer about selling,

  with a miser about generosityc

  or with the merciless about kindness,

  with an idler about any work

  or with a seasonal laborer about completing his work,

  with a lazy servant about a big task—

  pay no attention to any advice they give.

  12But associate with a godly person

  whom you know to be a keeper of the commandments,

  who is like-minded with yourself,

  and who will grieve with you if you fail.

  13And heedd the counsel of your own heart,

  for no one is more faithful to you than it is.

  14For our own mind sometimes keeps us better informed

  than seven sentinels sitting high on a watchtower.

  15But above all pray to the Most High

  that he may direct your way in truth.

  True and False Wisdom

  16Discussion is the beginning of every work,

  and counsel precedes every undertaking.

  17The mind is the root of all conduct;

  18it sprouts four branches,e

  good and evil, life and death;

  and it is the tongue that continually rules them.

  19Some people may be clever enough to teach many,

  and yet be useless to themselves.

  20A skillful speaker may be hated;

  he will be destitute of all food,

  21for the Lord has withheld the gift of charm,

  since he is lacking in all wisdom.