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Sirach 6

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1 καὶ ἀντὶ φίλου μὴ γίνου ἐχθρός ὄνομα γὰρ πονηρὸν αἰσχύνην καὶ ὄνειδος κληρονομήσει οὕτως ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς ὁ δίγλωσσος

1 Wouldst thou rather be thy neighbour’s enemy than his friend? Wouldst thou earn, by ill nature, an ill name, and be despised for such faults as these, envy and hypocrisy?

1

Noli fieri pro amico inimicus proximo:
improperium enim et contumeliam malus hæreditabit:
et omnis peccator invidus et bilinguis.

2 μὴ ἐπάρῃς σεαυτὸν ἐν βουλῇ ψυχῆς σου ἵνα μὴ διαρπαγῇ ὡς ταῦρος ἡ ψυχή σου 3 τὰ φύλλα σου καταφάγεσαι καὶ τοὺς καρπούς σου ἀπολέσεις καὶ ἀφήσεις σεαυτὸν ὡς ξύλον ξηρόν 4 ψυχὴ πονηρὰ ἀπολεῖ τὸν κτησάμενον αὐτὴν καὶ ἐπίχαρμα ἐχθρῶν ποιήσει αὐτόν

2 Wilt thou toss thy head, bull-fashion, and glory in thy own strength? What if that strength should be brought down by thy own folly? 3 Then wilt thou be no better than some dry tree-stump out in the desert, its leaves withered, its hope of fruit all gone. 4 Ill nature brings a man to an ill end, the scorn of his enemies and a prey to iniquity.

2

Non te extollas in cogitatione animæ tuæ velut taurus,
ne forte elidatur virtus tua per stultitiam: 3
et folia tua comedat, et fructus tuos perdat,
et relinquaris velut lignum aridum in eremo. 4
Anima enim nequam disperdet qui se habet,
et in gaudium inimicis dat illum,
et deducet in sortem impiorum.

5 λάρυγξ γλυκὺς πληθυνεῖ φίλους αὐτοῦ καὶ γλῶσσα εὔλαλος πληθυνεῖ εὐπροσήγορα 6 οἱ εἰρηνεύοντές σοι ἔστωσαν πολλοί οἱ δὲ σύμβουλοί σου εἷς ἀπὸ χιλίων 7 εἰ κτᾶσαι φίλον ἐν πειρασμῷ κτῆσαι αὐτὸν καὶ μὴ ταχὺ ἐμπιστεύσῃς αὐτῷ 8 ἔστιν γὰρ φίλος ἐν καιρῷ αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐ μὴ παραμείνῃ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ θλίψεώς σου 9 καὶ ἔστιν φίλος μετατιθέμενος εἰς ἔχθραν καὶ μάχην ὀνειδισμοῦ σου ἀποκαλύψει 10 καὶ ἔστιν φίλος κοινωνὸς τραπεζῶν καὶ οὐ μὴ παραμείνῃ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ θλίψεώς σου 11 καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς σου ἔσται ὡς σὺ καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς οἰκέτας σου παρρησιάσεται 12 ἐὰν ταπεινωθῇς ἔσται κατὰ σοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ προσώπου σου κρυβήσεται 13 ἀπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου διαχωρίσθητι καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν φίλων σου πρόσεχε 14 φίλος πιστὸς σκέπη κραταιά ὁ δὲ εὑρὼν αὐτὸν εὗρεν θησαυρόν 15 φίλου πιστοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀντάλλαγμα καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν σταθμὸς τῆς καλλονῆς αὐτοῦ 16 φίλος πιστὸς φάρμακον ζωῆς καὶ οἱ φοβούμενοι κύριον εὑρήσουσιν αὐτόν 17 ὁ φοβούμενος κύριον εὐθυνεῖ φιλίαν αὐτοῦ ὅτι κα{T'} αὐτὸν οὕτως καὶ ὁ πλησίον αὐτοῦ

5 Gentleness of speech, how it wins friends everywhere, how it disarms its enemies! Never was a good man wanting for a gracious word. 6 Be on good terms with all, but for thy trusted counsellor, choose one in a thousand. 7 Tried friends be the friends thou makest; do not bestow thy confidence lightly; 8 some men are but fair-weather friends, and will not stand the test of adversity. 9 Some will veer from friend to foe, and lay bare old grudges, old quarrels, to reproach thee; 10 some will be thy boon companions, but desert thee when trouble is afoot. 11 Fast and faithful friend there is, that will be even as thyself, and have thy servants at his beck and call; 12 let him behave modestly, and rid thee of his presence, and there shall be true and tried friendship between you.[1] 13 From enemies thou mayst keep thy distance; against friends be on thy guard. 14 True friendship, sure protection and rare treasure found; 15 true friendship, a thing beyond compare, its tried loyalty outweighing gold and silver; 16 true friendship, elixir of life, and of life eternal! Only those who fear God will come by it; 17 the fear of God gives friendship evenly shared, friend matched with friend.

5

Verbum dulce multiplicat amicos et mitigat inimicos,
et lingua eucharis in bono homine abundat. 6
Multi pacifici sint tibi:
et consiliarius sit tibi unus de mille. 7
Si possides amicum, in tentatione posside eum,
et ne facile credas ei. 8
Est enim amicus secundum tempus suum,
et non permanebit in die tribulationis. 9
Et est amicus qui convertitur ad inimicitiam,
et est amicus qui odium et rixam et convitia denudabit. 10
Est autem amicus socius mensæ,
et non permanebit in die necessitatis. 11
Amicus si permanserit fixus, erit tibi quasi coæqualis,
et in domesticis tuis fiducialiter aget. 12
Si humiliaverit se contra te,
et a facie tua absconderit se,
unanimem habebis amicitiam bonam. 13
Ab inimicis tuis separare,
et ab amicis tuis attende. 14
Amicus fidelis protectio fortis:
qui autem invenit illum, invenit thesaurum. 15
Amico fideli nulla est comparatio,
et non est digna ponderatio auri et argenti contra bonitatem fidei illius. 16
Amicus fidelis medicamentum vitæ et immortalitatis:
et qui metuunt Dominum, invenient illum. 17
Qui timet Deum æque habebit amicitiam bonam,
quoniam secundum illum erit amicus illius.

18 τέκνον ἐκ νεότητός σου ἐπίλεξαι παιδείαν καὶ ἕως πολιῶν εὑρήσεις σοφίαν 19 ὡς ὁ ἀροτριῶν καὶ ὁ σπείρων πρόσελθε αὐτῇ καὶ ἀνάμενε τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς καρποὺς αὐτῆς ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἐργασίᾳ αὐτῆς ὀλίγον κοπιάσεις καὶ ταχὺ φάγεσαι τῶν γενημάτων αὐτῆς 20 ὡς τραχεῖά ἐστιν σφόδρα τοῖς ἀπαιδεύτοις καὶ οὐκ ἐμμενεῖ ἐν αὐτῇ ἀκάρδιος 21 ὡς λίθος δοκιμασίας ἰσχυρὸς ἔσται ἐ{P'} αὐτῷ καὶ οὐ χρονιεῖ ἀπορρῖψαι αὐτήν 22 σοφία γὰρ κατὰ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτῆς ἐστιν καὶ οὐ πολλοῖς ἐστιν φανερά 23 ἄκουσον τέκνον καὶ ἔκδεξαι γνώμην μου καὶ μὴ ἀπαναίνου τὴν συμβουλίαν μου 24 καὶ εἰσένεγκον τοὺς πόδας σου εἰς τὰς πέδας αὐτῆς καὶ εἰς τὸν κλοιὸν αὐτῆς τὸν τράχηλόν σου 25 ὑπόθες τὸν ὦμόν σου καὶ βάσταξον αὐτὴν καὶ μὴ προσοχθίσῃς τοῖς δεσμοῖς αὐτῆς 26 ἐν πάσῃ ψυχῇ σου πρόσελθε αὐτῇ καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ δυνάμει σου συντήρησον τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτῆς 27 ἐξίχνευσον καὶ ζήτησον καὶ γνωσθήσεταί σοι καὶ ἐγκρατὴς γενόμενος μὴ ἀφῇς αὐτήν 28 ἐ{P'} ἐσχάτων γὰρ εὑρήσεις τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν αὐτῆς καὶ στραφήσεταί σοι εἰς εὐφροσύνην 29 καὶ ἔσονταί σοι αἱ πέδαι εἰς σκέπην ἰσχύος καὶ οἱ κλοιοὶ αὐτῆς εἰς στολὴν δόξης 30 κόσμος γὰρ χρύσεός ἐστιν ἐ{P'} αὐτῆς καὶ οἱ δεσμοὶ αὐτῆς κλῶσμα ὑακίνθινον 31 στολὴν δόξης ἐνδύσῃ αὐτὴν καὶ στέφανον ἀγαλλιάματος περιθήσεις σεαυτῷ 32 ἐὰν θέλῃς τέκνον παιδευθήσῃ καὶ ἐὰν ἐπιδῷς τὴν ψυχήν σου πανοῦργος ἔσῃ

18 My son, learn the lessons of youth, and garner wisdom against thy grey hairs; 19 ploughman and sower thou must come to the task, and wait patiently for the harvest; 20 how light the toil wisdom claims, the fruits of her how soon enjoyed! 21 Only to undisciplined minds she seems an over-hard task-mistress; not for long will the fool endure her company; 22 here is a weight (says he) that tries my strength too much, and away he casts it. 23 The enlightenment which comes with wisdom is true to its name; known to so few, yet where men are acquainted with it, it waits to light them into the presence of God.[2] 24 My son, give good heed to the warnings of experience, do not spurn this counsel of mine. 25 Yield foot of thine to wisdom’s fetters, neck of thine to her collar, 26 shoulder of thine to her yoke; do not chafe at her bonds. 27 Make her thy whole heart’s quest, follow, as best thou canst, the path she makes known to thee; 28 search, and thou wilt find her, hold fast, and never let her go; 29 in good time, thou shalt repose in her, and find her all delight. 30 In time, those fetters of hers shall prove a strong protection, a sure support, that halter of hers a badge of honour about thy neck; 31 there is life in those trappings, healing virtue in those bonds. 32 Robe is none shall do thee more honour, crown is none shall rest more radiant on thy brow.

18

Fili, a juventute tua excipe doctrinam,
et usque ad canos invenies sapientiam. 19
Quasi is qui arat et seminat accede ad eam,
et sustine bonos fructus illius. 20
In opere enim ipsius exiguum laborabis,
et cito edes de generationibus illius. 21
Quam aspera est nimium sapientia indoctis hominibus!
et non permanebit in illa excors. 22
Quasi lapidis virtus probatio erit in illis:
et non demorabuntur projicere illam. 23
Sapientia enim doctrinæ secundum nomen est ejus,
et non est multis manifestata:
quibus autem cognita est,
permanet usque ad conspectum Dei. 24
Audi, fili, et accipe consilium intellectus,
et ne abjicias consilium meum. 25
Injice pedem tuum in compedes illius,
et in torques illius collum tuum. 26
Subjice humerum tuum, et porta illam,
et ne acedieris vinculis ejus. 27
In omni animo tuo accede ad illam,
et in omni virtute tua conserva vias ejus. 28
Investiga illam, et manifestabitur tibi:
et continens factus, ne derelinquas eam: 29
in novissimis enim invenies requiem in ea,
et convertetur tibi in oblectationem. 30
Et erunt tibi compedes ejus in protectionem fortitudinis et bases virtutis,
et torques illius in stolam gloriæ: 31
decor enim vitæ est in illa,
et vincula illius alligatura salutaris. 32
Stolam gloriæ indues eam,
et coronam gratulationis superpones tibi.

33 ἐὰν ἀγαπήσῃς ἀκούειν ἐκδέξῃ καὶ ἐὰν κλίνῃς τὸ οὖς σου σοφὸς ἔσῃ 34 ἐν πλήθει πρεσβυτέρων στῆθι καὶ τίς σοφός αὐτῷ προσκολλήθητι 35 πᾶσαν διήγησιν θείαν θέλε ἀκροᾶσθαι καὶ παροιμίαι συνέσεως μὴ ἐκφευγέτωσάν σε 36 ἐὰν ἴδῃς συνετόν ὄρθριζε πρὸς αὐτόν καὶ βαθμοὺς θυρῶν αὐτοῦ ἐκτριβέτω ὁ πούς σου 37 διανοοῦ ἐν τοῖς προστάγμασιν κυρίου καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς αὐτοῦ μελέτα διὰ παντός αὐτὸς στηριεῖ τὴν καρδίαν σου καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῆς σοφίας δοθήσεταί σοι

33 My son, mark well and learn, take heed and be wise; 34 here is true knowledge for the listening, here is wisdom if thou wilt lend an ear. 35 Where older men than thou are met, and wiser, take thou thy place, and give thy whole heart to their teaching; old tales of God’s wonders thou shalt hear, and sayings of much renown. 36 A man of discernment if thou find, wait on him at day-break, and wear out his door-step with thy frequent visiting. 37 Think ever upon God’s commandments, and be constant in the following of his will; be sure he will give thee perseverance, and all thy desire for wisdom shall be granted thee.

33
Fili, si attenderis mihi, disces:
et si accommodaveris animum tuum, sapiens eris. 34
Si inclinaveris aurem tuam, excipies doctrinam:
et si dilexeris audire, sapiens eris. 35
In multitudine presbyterorum prudentium sta,
et sapientiæ illorum ex corde conjungere,
ut omnem narrationem Dei possis audire,
et proverbia laudis non effugiant a te. 36
Et si videris sensatum, evigila ad eum,
et gradus ostiorum illius exterat pes tuus. 37
Cogitatum tuum habe in præceptis Dei,
et in mandatis illius maxime assiduus esto:
et ipse dabit tibi cor,
et concupiscentia sapientiæ dabitur tibi.

[1] vv. 11, 12: The sense of these verses is doubtful. The Greek text has, for verse 12, ‘(But) if thou art brought low, he will turn against thee, and hide his presence away from thee’.

[2] The Greek text runs, ‘Wisdom is true to her name, she is revealed to few’, which seems to imply a play upon words quite foreign to Hebrew vocabulary. The Latin version runs literally, ‘The wisdom of doctrine is true to its name; it is revealed to few, but for those to whom it is known, it abides even to the sight of God’. There is an accidental resemblance in Hebrew between the noun ‘wisdom’ and the verb ‘to wait’.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd