Sirach 13
13
Sirach 13
Caution Regarding Associates
1 #
Isa 52.11; 2 Cor 6.17 Whoever touches pitch gets dirty,
and whoever associates with the proud will become like them.
2Do not lift a weight too heavy for you
or associate with one mightier and richer than you.
How can the clay pot associate with the iron kettle?
The pot will strike against it and be smashed.
3 #
Prov 18.23
A rich person does wrong and even adds insults;
a poor person suffers wrong and must add apologies.
4Rich people#13.4 Gk He will exploit you#13.4 Heb: Gk work with you if you can be of use to them,
but if you are in need they will abandon you.
5If you own something, they will live with you;
they will drain your resources without a qualm.
6When they need you, they will deceive you
and will smile at you and encourage you;
they will speak to you kindly and say, “What do you need?”
7 #
Prov 23.3; Sir 12.18 They will embarrass you with their delicacies,
until they have drained you two or three times,
and finally they will laugh at you.
Should they see you afterwards, they will pass you by
and shake their heads at you.
8Take care not to be led astray
and humiliated when you are enjoying yourself.#13.8 Other ancient authorities read in your folly
9When the influential invite you, be reserved,
and they will invite you more insistently.
10 #
Prov 25.6, 7 Do not be forward, or you may be rebuffed;
do not stand aloof, or you will be forgotten.
11 #
Sir 32.9
Do not try to treat them as equals
or trust their lengthy conversations,
for they will test you by prolonged talk,
and while they smile they will be examining you.
12Cruel are those who do not keep your secrets;
they will not spare you harm or imprisonment.
13Be on your guard and very careful,
for you are walking about with your own downfall.#13.13 Other ancient authorities add as 13.14: When you hear these things in your sleep, wake up! During all your life love the Lord, and call on him for your salvation.
15 #
Sir 18.13
Every creature loves its like
and every person a neighbor.
16 #
Sir 27.9
All living beings associate with their own kind,
and people stick close to those like themselves.
17 #
Prov 29.27; 2 Cor 6.14, 15 What does a wolf have in common with a lamb?
No more has a sinner with the devout.
18What peace is there between a hyena and a dog,
and what peace between the rich and the poor?
19 #
Isa 3.14, 15; Jer 2.24; Am 8.4 Wild asses in the wilderness are the prey of lions;
likewise the poor are feeding grounds for the rich.
20Humility is an abomination to the proud;
likewise the poor are an abomination to the rich.
21 #
Prov 14.20; 19.7 When the rich person totters, he is supported by friends,
but when the humble#13.21 Other ancient authorities read poor falls, he is pushed away by friends.
22 #
Eccl 9.15, 16; Sir 10.23; 26.28 If the rich person slips, many come to the rescue;
he speaks unseemly words, but they justify him.
If the humble person slips, they even criticize him;
he talks sense but is not given a hearing.
23The rich person speaks, and all are silent;
they extol to the clouds what he says.
The poor person speaks, and they say, “Who is this fellow?”
And should he stumble, they push him down.
24 #
Jer 17.11
Riches are good if they are free from sin;
poverty is evil only in the opinion of the ungodly.
25 #
Sir 12.18
The heart changes the countenance
either for good or for evil.#13.25 Other ancient authorities add and a glad heart makes a cheerful countenance
26 #
Prov 15.13; Eccl 12.12 The sign of a happy heart is a cheerful face,
but to devise proverbs requires strenuous thinking.
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Sirach 13: NRSVUE
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New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, copyright © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.