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About this book

Didache

About this book

Rules for Living Together

Chapter 4

1 My child, remember day and night the one who teaches you God’s word, and honor him as you would the Lord, for wherever the Lord’s nature is spoken of, the Lord is present.⁠ 2 Seek the company of holy people every day so you may find comfort in their words. 3 Don’t seek division but reconcile those in conflict. Make fair judgments; don’t show favoritism when correcting wrongs. 4 Don’t be double-minded about whether something should be or not.⁠ 5 Don’t be someone who is eager to receive but reluctant to give.⁠ 6 Give a portion of what you’ve earned with your hands as a ransom for your sins.⁠ 7 Don’t hesitate to give, and don’t complain when you do, for you’ll know who rewards you well. 8 Don’t turn away those in need, but share everything with your family, and don’t claim it as your own. If you share in what is eternal, how much more should you share in what is perishable?⁠ 9 Don’t withhold correction from your son or daughter, but teach them to respect God from a young age.⁠ 10 Don’t treat your slaves harshly out of anger,⁠ especially if they believe in the same God, or they may stop fearing the God who oversees you both. God doesn’t show favoritism, but calls those prepared by the Spirit. 11 If you are a slave, obey your master as you would God’s representative, with respect and fear. 12 Hate all hypocrisy and everything displeasing to the Lord. 13 Don’t abandon God’s commandments, but keep what you’ve received, without adding to it or taking anything away.⁠ 14 Confess your sins in the congregation, and don’t pray with a guilty conscience.⁠ This is the way of life.

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Texts in conversation

Compare Jesus Ben Sira, Sirach 4:5 and Didache 4:8

Deuterocanon · Early Christian

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Summary

The Didache echoes the Jewish wisdom tradition of Sirach by teaching generosity to those in need and telling people not to turn away the poor, highlighting a similar emphasis on compassion and fairness in early Christian instruction.

Passages

Jesus Ben Sira, Sirach 4:5

Deuterocanon · Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
3 Don’t add more trouble to a heart that is provoked.
Don’t put off giving to him who is in need. 4 Don’t reject someone pleading in distress.
Don’t turn your face away from a poor man. 5 Don’t turn your eye away from one who asks.
Give no one a reason to curse you. 6 For if he curses you in the bitterness of his soul,
he who made him will hear his plea. 7 Endear yourself to the assembly.
Bow your head to an important man.
195–175 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jesus Ben Sira, Sirach

Didache 4:8

Early Christian
6 Give a portion of what you’ve earned with your hands as a ransom for your sins. 7 Don’t hesitate to give, and don’t complain when you do, for you’ll know who rewards you well. 8 Don’t turn away those in need, but share everything with your family, and don’t claim it as your own. If you share in what is eternal, how much more should you share in what is perishable? 9 Don’t withhold correction from your son or daughter, but teach them to respect God from a young age. 10 Don’t treat your slaves harshly out of anger, especially if they believe in the same God, or they may stop fearing the God who oversees you both. God doesn’t show favoritism, but calls those prepared by the Spirit.
90–120 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Didache

References

"... Most usages of Sirach by the Didachist relate to interpersonal relationships, especially in terms of respect given to spiritual leaders. Thus, #b (1:2), #f (4:1), #g (4:2), and #l (13:3) all relate to leaders and community governance. This is particularly intriguing in the case of #b, which otherwise is viewed as a reference to “neighbors” throughout Scripture generally or to believers within the immediate context. But if read here in the light of Sirach, this instruction may refer specifically to those who are the leaders of the community, not simply the population at large. So too, #c (1:6), #h (4:5), and #i (4:8) are likewise about relationships, though in these cases the circumstances are reversed. Here the listener becomes the person of authority and is counseled how to be gracious to others in need (this use is particularly intriguing in the instance of #c, since most scholars associate this verse with the special circumstances of 1:3–2:1, which is generally attributed to a secondary hand) ..."
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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Jesus Ben Sira, Sirach 4:5 and Didache 4:8

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