Sirach 29:10

Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon

7 Many refuse to lend, not because of meanness, but from fear of being defrauded needlessly. 8 Nevertheless, be patient with someone in humble circumstances, and do not keep him waiting for your alms. 9 Help the poor for the commandment's sake, and in their need do not send them away empty-handed. 10 Lose your silver for the sake of a brother or a friend, and do not let it rust under a stone and be lost. 11 Lay up your treasure according to the commandments of the Most High, and it will profit you more than gold. 12 Store up almsgiving in your treasury, and it will rescue you from every disaster; 13 better than a stout shield and a sturdy spear, it will fight for you against the enemy.

James 5:3

New Testament

1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure! 4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

 Notes and References

"... Much evidence suggests that James is adapting his language from a specific Jewish tradition (Sirach 12:10–11; 29:8–12) that similarly condemns the static hoarding of wealth. The high likelihood that James is interacting with Sirach is based on the following evidence: (1) the verb “to corrode” occurs in the Greek Bible only in Sirach 12:10–11 and James 5:3. (2) The noun “rust” is rare, occurring in only two other contexts in the Greek Bible: Epistle of Jeremiah 1:10, 23 and Ezekiel 24:6–12. The verbal form “to rust” occurs only in Sirach 12:10; 29:10. Thus, the rare word group occurs in only five contexts total in the Greek Bible, with three being James 5:3, Sirach 12:10, and Sirach 29:10. (3) Like James 5, Sirach 12 and 29 teach about the use of wealth. (4) The terms silver, gold, and treasure all occur in James 5:2–3 and Sirach 29:10–11. This linguistic and thematic evidence suggests that James is interacting with Sirach’s teaching on wealth and poverty ..."

Scacewater, Todd The Dynamic and Righteous Use of Wealth in James 5:1-6 (pp. 227-242) Journal of Markets & Morality Volume 20, Number 2, 2017

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