Texts in Conversation
Sirach builds on Proverbs’ idea that wise words lose value when spoken by someone without understanding. Proverbs highlights misused wisdom, and Sirach adds the need for proper timing. Both connect wisdom with careful judgment.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Proverbs 26:7
Hebrew Bible
5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own opinion. 6 Like cutting off the feet or drinking violence, so is sending a message by the hand of a fool. 7 Like legs dangle uselessly from the lame, so a proverb dangles in the mouth of fools. 8 Like tying a stone in a sling, so is giving honor to a fool. 9 Like a thorn has gone up into the hand of a drunkard, so a proverb has gone up into the mouth of a fool.
Date: 600–201 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Sirach 20:19
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
17 How often, and of how many, will he be laughed to scorn! 18 A slip on a pavement is better than a slip with the tongue. So the fall of the wicked will come speedily. 19 A man without grace is a tale out of season. It will be continually in the mouth of the ignorant. 20 A parable from a fool’s mouth will be rejected; for he won’t tell it at the proper time. 21 There is one who is hindered from sinning through lack. When he rests, he will not be troubled.
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Like much proverbial wisdom, the maxims in this chapter are only loosely connected. The general theme is true and false wisdom, verses 1-3 reprise the topic of admonition. Timely silence (w. 5-8) is a favorite theme of prudential literature. Compare Proverbs 17:28; Ecclesiastes 3:7; Plutarch's Moralia, 5.2. Verses 9-11 reflect on the variability of fortune, verses 13-17 comment on the fool's lack of perspective, and impatience. The fate of the fool is to be laughed to scorn. While the fool is not guilty or subject to divine punishment, he incurs shame. Verse 18 echoes a proverb attributed to Zeno of Citium, founder of Stoicism: 'Better to slip with the foot than with the tongue' (Diogenes Laertes 7.26). Verse 20 shows the crucial importance of timing in the wisdom tradition. The principles laid out in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 are fundamental to the application of all proverbs. Compare Proverbs 26:7, 9. Verses 21-23 point out ambiguities in some commonly accepted values. Poverty is not desirable, but if it keeps one from sinning it can be beneficial. Honour is a good to be sought, but it can also mislead a person and lead to downfall. These comments, however, do not put in question Ben Sira's acceptance of conventional wisdom on these subjects; they merely allow for exceptions ..."
John Barton and John Muddiman, eds., The Oxford Bible Commentary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 680.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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