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About this book

Didache

About this book

Avoid Evil and Be Humble

Chapter 3

1 My child, avoid every evil person and all those like him. 2 Don't be proud, as pride can lead to murder. Don't be jealous, argumentative, or overly passionate, as these can lead to acts of murder. 3 My child, don't be driven by lust, as lust leads to fornication. Avoid using vulgar language or suggestive glances, as these actions can lead to adultery. 4 My child, don't believe in omens, as this can lead to idol worship. Don't be a spell caster, astrologer, or magician, and don't seek to witness these acts, as they can lead to idolatry. 5 My child, don't lie, as lying leads to theft.⁠ Don't be obsessed with money or seek empty glory, as these things can lead to stealing. 6 My child, don't complain, as this can lead to disrespecting what is sacred. Don't be stubborn or think evil thoughts, as these can lead to blasphemy. 7 But be humble,⁠ for the humble will inherit the earth.⁠ 8 Be patient, merciful, honest, calm, and good, always mindful of the teachings you have heard. 9 Don't be arrogant or let yourself become presumptuous. Don't associate with arrogant people, but walk with those who are righteous and humble. 10 Accept whatever happens to you as good, knowing that nothing happens without God's involvement.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Sirach 2:4 and Didache 3:10

Deuterocanon · Early Christian

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Summary

The Didache draws on Jewish wisdom traditions, echoing Sirach, which teaches patience and to accept life’s difficult challenges. The Didache highlights how early Christian tradition relied on Jewish wisdom texts to form its teaching.

Passages

Sirach 2:4

Deuterocanon · Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
2 Set your heart aright, constantly endure, and don’t make haste in time of calamity. 3 Cling to him, and don’t depart, that you may be increased at your latter end. 4 Accept whatever is brought upon you, and be patient when you suffer humiliation. 5 For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation. 6 Put your trust in him, and he will help you. Make your ways straight, and set your hope on him.
195–180 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Sirach

Didache 3:10

Early Christian
8 Be patient, merciful, honest, calm, and good, always mindful of the teachings you have heard. 9 Don't be arrogant or let yourself become presumptuous. Don't associate with arrogant people, but walk with those who are righteous and humble. 10 Accept whatever happens to you as good, knowing that nothing happens without God's involvement.
90–120 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Didache

References

"... At the same time, however, materials from Sirach are not employed as the mainstay of the Two Ways tradition ... these passages are largely drawn from the Deuteronomistic tradition, with Sirach standing only secondarily in the background. As further example, Didache 2–3, is largely oriented around the absolute prohibitions of the Decalogue, supported by other warnings that serve as a fence against the possibility that the listener may violate the restrictions of Scripture. In this structure, Sirach appears only twice: (2:4), where one is warned not to be double-tongued—an important warning but hardly the apex of the passage—and (3:10), where one is counseled to receive all things as good ..."
Clayton N. Jefford, “The Wisdom of Sirach and the Glue of the Matthew–Didache Tradition,” in Intertextuality in the Second Century, ed. D. Jeffrey Bingham and Clayton N. Jefford, BAC 11 (Leiden: Brill, 2016), 8–23.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Sirach 2:4 and Didache 3:10

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