Catholic Evangelization Training Center
Training in the NEW Evangelization
Sirach Chapter 12-14
1 If you do a kindness, know to whom you do it, and you will be thanked for your good deeds.
2 Do good to a godly man, and you will be repaid -- if not by him, certainly by the Most High.
3 No good will come to the man who persists in evil or to him who does not give alms.
4 Give to the godly man, but do not help the sinner.
5 Do good to the humble, but do not give to the ungodly; hold back his bread, and do not give it to him, lest by means of it he subdue you; for you will receive twice as much evil for all the good which you do to him.
6 For the Most High also hates sinners and will inflict punishment on the ungodly.
7 Give to the good man, but do not help the sinner.
8 A friend will not be known in prosperity, nor will an enemy be hidden in adversity.
9 A man's enemies are grieved when he prospers, and in his adversity even his friend will separate from him.
10 Never trust your enemy, for like the rusting of copper, so is his wickedness.
11 Even if he humbles himself and goes about cringing, watch yourself, and be on your guard against him; and you will be to him like one who has polished a mirror, and you will know that it was not hopelessly tarnished.
12 Do not put him next to you, lest he overthrow you and take your place; do not have him sit at your right, lest he try to take your seat of honor, and at last you will realize the truth of my words, and be stung by what I have said.
13 Who will pity a snake charmer bitten by a serpent, or any who go near wild beasts?
14 So no one will pity a man who associates with a sinner and becomes involved in his sins.
15 He will stay with you for a time, but if you falter, he will not stand by you.
16 An enemy will speak sweetly with his lips, but in his mind he will plan to throw you into a pit; an enemy will weep with his eyes, but if he finds an opportunity his thirst for blood will be insatiable.
17 If calamity befalls you, you will find him there ahead of you; and while pretending to help you, he will trip you by the heel;
18 he will shake his head, and clap his hands, and whisper much, and change his expression.
1 Whoever touches pitch will be defiled, and whoever associates with a proud man will become like him.
2 Do not lift a weight beyond your strength, nor associate with a man mightier and richer than you. How can the clay pot associate with the iron kettle? The pot will strike against it, and will itself be broken.
3 A rich man does wrong, and he even adds reproaches; a poor man suffers wrong, and he must add apologies.
4 A rich man will exploit you if you can be of use to him, but if you are in need he will forsake you.
5 If you own something, he will live with you; he will drain your resources and he will not care.
6 When he needs you he will deceive you, he will smile at you and give you hope. He will speak to you kindly and say, "What do you need?"
7 He will shame you with his foods, until he has drained you two or three times; and finally he will deride you. Should he see you afterwards, he will forsake you, and shake his head at you.
8 Take care not to be led astray, and not to be humiliated in your feasting.
9 When a powerful man invites you, be reserved; and he will invite you the more often.
10 Do not push forward, lest you be repulsed; and do not remain at a distance, lest you be forgotten.
11 Do not try to treat him as an equal, nor trust his abundance of words; for he will test you through much talk, and while he smiles he will be examining you.
12 Cruel is he who does not keep words to himself; he will not hesitate to injure or to imprison.
13 Keep words to yourself and be very watchful, for you are walking about with your own downfall.
15 Every creature loves its like, and every person his neighbor;
16 all living beings associate by species, and a man clings to one like himself.
17 What fellowship has a wolf with a lamb? No more has a sinner with a godly man.
18 What peace is there between a hyena and a dog? And what peace between a rich man and a poor man?
19 Wild asses in the wilderness are the prey of lions; likewise the poor are pastures for the rich.
20 Humility is an abomination to a proud man; likewise a poor man is an abomination to a rich one.
21 When a rich man totters, he is steadied by friends, but when a humble man falls, he is even pushed away by friends.
22 If a rich man slips, his helpers are many; he speaks unseemly words, and they justify him. If a humble man slips, they even reproach him; he speaks sensibly, and receives no attention.
23 When the rich man speaks all are silent, and they extol to the clouds what he says. When the poor man speaks they say, "Who is this fellow?" And should he stumble, they even push him down.
24 Riches are good if they are free from sin, and poverty is evil in the opinion of the ungodly.
25 A man's heart changes his countenance, either for good or for evil.
26 The mark of a happy heart is a cheerful face, but to devise proverbs requires painful thinking.
1 Blessed is the man who does not blunder with his lips and need not suffer grief for sin.
2 Blessed is he whose heart does not condemn him, and who has not given up his hope.
3 Riches are not seemly for a stingy man; and of what use is property to an envious man?
4 Whoever accumulates by depriving himself, accumulates for others; and others will live in luxury on his goods.
5 If a man is mean to himself, to whom will he be generous? He will not enjoy his own riches.
6 No one is meaner than the man who is grudging to himself, and this is the retribution for his baseness;
7 even if he does good, he does it unintentionally, and betrays his baseness in the end.
8 Evil is the man with a grudging eye; he averts his face and disregards people.
9 A greedy man's eye is not satisfied with a portion, and mean injustice withers the soul.
10 A stingy man's eye begrudges bread, and it is lacking at his table.
11 My son, treat yourself well, according to your means, and present worthy offerings to the Lord.
12 Remember that death will not delay, and the decree of Hades has not been shown to you.
13 Do good to a friend before you die, and reach out and give to him as much as you can.
14 Do not deprive yourself of a happy day; let not your share of desired good pass by you.
15 Will you not leave the fruit of your labors to another, and what you acquired by toil to be divided by lot?
16 Give, and take, and beguile yourself, because in Hades one cannot look for luxury.
17 All living beings become old like a garment, for the decree from of old is, "You must surely die!"
18 Like flourishing leaves on a spreading tree which sheds some and puts forth others, so are the generations of flesh and blood: one dies and another is born.
19 Every product decays and ceases to exist, and the man who made it will pass away with it.
20 Blessed is the man who meditates on wisdom and who reasons intelligently.
21 He who reflects in his mind on her ways will also ponder her secrets.
22 Pursue wisdom like a hunter, and lie in wait on her paths.
23 He who peers through her windows will also listen at her doors;
24 he who encamps near her house will also fasten his tent peg to her walls;
25 he will pitch his tent near her, and will lodge in an excellent lodging place;
26 he will place his children under her shelter, and will camp under her boughs;
27 he will be sheltered by her from the heat, and will dwell in the midst of her glory.