Sirach 22
22
1Lazy people
are like stones
that everyone spits on,
2or a pile of manure
that you have to walk around.
If you touch them,
you want to wash your hands.
Children's Behavior
3A father is ashamed if his son
isn't well behaved,
and a disobedient daughter
is even worse.
4If a daughter is sensible
she will get a good husband,
but a shameless girl
only brings her father pain.
5If a woman insults her father
and her husband,
they will be disgraced
and in return
will humiliate her.
6Picking the wrong time
to criticize your children
is like playing happy music
at a funeral,
but punishment and correction
are always wise.
7Bring up your children well
and no one will guess
you were poor as a child.
8But rude and arrogant children
are a disgrace
to a good family.#22.7,8 Bring up … good family: Verses 7,8 are not in some manuscripts; some translations number these verses as 9,10.
Trying To Teach Fools
9Just try to wake someone
from deep sleep,
to fix shattered pottery,
or to teach fools!
10Tell them a story,
and they will doze off;
and afterwards, they will ask,
“So what's your point?”
11Mourn for the dead,
who rest in darkness,
but weep even more for fools,
doomed to live
in the darkness of stupidity.
12 #
Gn 50.10; Jdt 16.23,24. After a death,
you mourn seven days,
but you mourn for ungodly fools
until the day they die.
13To avoid lots of problems
and have a peaceful life,
stay away from stupid people
and do not talk to them.
When a wet dog shakes itself,
water flies everywhere,
but humans who have no sense
splatter everyone nearby
with troubles.
14A fool is a heavier burden
than a load of lead,
15or a bag of sand or salt,
or a lump of iron ore.
A Mind That Thinks and Reasons Well
16An earthquake cannot loosen
a wooden beam set firmly
in the walls of a building,
and no crisis can shake you up
if you have prepared your mind
and decided what you must do.
17A mind that thinks
and reasons well
is like a smooth wall
decorated with carvings.#22.17 carvings: One ancient translation; Greek “plaster.”
18But foolish cowards
will not stand firm
when fearsome disaster hits,
just as small rocks are blown
from the top of a vineyard wall#22.18 small rocks … top of a vineyard wall: When a jackal or other small animal climbed over the wall to eat the ripening grapes, the sound of these rocks falling on the ground would alert a person guarding the vineyard. Some manuscripts have “posts supporting grapevines on top of a hill are blown over.”
by the wind.
Friends and Neighbors
19Poke someone in the eye
and they will shed tears;
but wound their heart
and they will show deep pain.
20You can throw stones
to frighten birds away,
and you can end a friendship
by tossing insults.
21Threaten a friend with a sword,
and you can still hope
the friendship will heal.
22And you can argue with friends
and later, win them back.
But if you are arrogant
and insult them,
if you tell their secrets
or harm them
when they trusted you,
they will be gone for good.
23Earn the trust of your neighbors
when they are poor,
and if they become wealthy
you can celebrate with them.
Be a true friend
when they have troubles,
and later they will share
their inheritance with you.
24When you smell smoke
you will soon see flames,
and when you hear insults,
you will soon see murder.
25I will never be ashamed
to protect my friends,
and I will always be there
when I am needed.
26But if they turn and harm me,
all who find out
will be on their guard
against them.
A Prayer
27Our Lord, help me to be careful
in everything I say,
so that my mouth
will not be my downfall.
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Sirach 22: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.