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Sirach

Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus

About this book
Chapter 14

1 Blessed is the man who has not slipped with his mouth, and doesn’t suffer from sorrow for sins.⁠ 2 Blessed is he whose soul does not condemn him, and who has not given up hope.

The Use of Wealth

3 Riches are not appropriate for a stingy person. What would a miser do with money? 4 He who gathers by denying himself gathers for others. Others will revel in his goods. 5 If one is mean to himself, to whom will he be good?⁠ He won’t enjoy his possessions. 6 There is none more evil than he who is grudging to himself. This is a punishment for his wickedness. 7 Even if he does good, he does it in forgetfulness. In the end, he reveals his wickedness. 8 A miser is evil. He turns away and disregards souls.⁠ 9 A covetous man’s eye is not satisfied with his portion. Wicked injustice dries up his soul. 10 A miser begrudges bread, and it is lacking at his table. 11 My son, according to what you have, treat yourself well, and bring worthy offerings to the Lord.⁠ 12 Remember that death will not wait, and that the covenant of Hades hasn’t been shown to you. 13 Do good to your friends before you die. According to your ability, reach out and give to them. 14 Don’t deprive yourself of a good day. Don’t let your share of a desired good pass you by. 15 Won’t you leave your labors to another, and your toils be divided by lot? 16 Give, take, and treat yourself well, because there is no seeking of luxury in Hades.⁠ 17 All flesh grows old like a garment, for the covenant from the beginning is, “You must die!”⁠ 18 Like the leaves flourishing on a thick tree, some it sheds, and some grow, so also are the generations of flesh and blood: one comes to an end and another is born.⁠ 19 Every work rots and falls away, and its builder will depart with it.

The Search for Wisdom and Its Blessings

20 Blessed is the man who meditates on wisdom, and who reasons by his understanding. 21 He who considers her ways in his heart will also have knowledge of her secrets. 22 Go after her like a hunter, and lie in wait in her paths. 23 He who peers in at her windows will also listen at her doors. 24 He who lodges close to her house will also fasten a nail in her walls. 25 He will pitch his tent near at hand to her, and will lodge in a lodging where good things are. 26 He will set his children under her shelter, and will rest under her branches. 27 By her he will be covered from heat, and will lodge in her glory.

Texts in conversation

Compare Sirach 14:5 and Augustine, City of God 21.27

Deuterocanon · Early Christian

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Summary

Sirach criticizes the rich person who refuses to be generous, describing this behavior as self-defeating. The Christian theologian Augustine quotes this in the City of God, showing how he treated Sirach as an authoritative source.

Passages

Sirach 14:5

Deuterocanon · Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
3 Riches are not appropriate for a stingy person. What would a miser do with money? 4 He who gathers by denying himself gathers for others. Others will revel in his goods. 5 If one is mean to himself, to whom will he be good? He won’t enjoy his possessions. 6 There is none more evil than he who is grudging to himself. This is a punishment for his wickedness. 7 Even if he does good, he does it in forgetfulness. In the end, he reveals his wickedness.
195–180 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Sirach

Augustine, City of God 21.27

Early Christian · On the City of God Against the Pagans
And if they for one crime have distributed all their goods to Christ's needy members, that could profit them nothing unless they desisted from all similar actions, and attained the love which works no evil. Whoever, therefore, gives alms proportioned to his sins must first begin with himself. For it is not reasonable that a man who shows charity toward his neighbor should not do so toward himself, since he hears the Lord saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” Matthew 22:39 and again, “Have compassion on your soul, and please God.” How, then, can the one who has no compassion on his own soul so that he may please God be said to give alms proportioned to his sins? To the same effect it is written, “He who is bad to himself, to whom can he be good?”
426 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Augustine, City of God 21

References

"... As to Augustine’s use of the Book of Ecclesiasticus, it is striking that more than once he quotes a text that is somewhat different from the Vetus Latina, which for the Book of Ben Sira, serves as the traditional Latin text. Since Augustine’s quotations from the Book of Ben Sira have more than once been brought in line with the Greek translation, a thorough investigation into this phenomenon is needed in order to find out whether he had (some) knowledge of the Greek text of the Book of Ecclesiasticus. Apart from Speculum in which Augustine for his quotations from the Book of Ben Sira usually follows the Latin, in his other works he rather frequently appears to correct the Latin Ben Sira quotations according to the Greek. An investigation into this intriguing question would be very useful. Such an in depth inquiry should also take into full consideration whether, and to what extent, St. Augustine has been influenced by a text type of Ecclesiasticus that was already used by St. Cyprian and has even been given its own siglum (K) by Thiele ..."
Pancratius C. Beentjes, “Saint Augustine's Sermons 38-41 on the Book of Ben Sira,” in The Scriptures of Israel in Jewish and Christian Tradition: Essays in Honour of Maarten J. J. Menken, ed. Bart Koet, Steven Moyise, and Joseph Verheyden, NovTSup 148 (Leiden: Brill, 2013), 81–94.

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 14:5 and Augustine, City of God 21.27

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