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Sirach

Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus

About this book
Chapter 15

1 He who fears the Lord will do this. He who has possession of the law will obtain her.⁠ 2 She will meet him like a mother, and receive him like a wife married in her virginity.⁠ 3 She will feed him with bread of understanding and give him water of wisdom to drink. 4 He will be stayed upon her, and will not be moved. He will rely upon her, and will not be confounded. 5 She will exalt him above his neighbors. She will open his mouth in the midst of the congregation. 6 He will inherit joy, a crown of gladness, and an everlasting name. 7 Foolish men will not obtain her. Sinners will not see her. 8 She is far from pride. Liars will not remember her. 9 Praise is not attractive in the mouth of a sinner; for it was not sent to him from the Lord.⁠ 10 For praise will be spoken in wisdom; The Lord will prosper it.

Human Freedom and Responsibility

11 Don’t say, “It is through the Lord that I fell away;” for you shall not do the things that he hates.⁠ 12 Don’t say, “It is he that caused me to err;” for he has no need of a sinful man. 13 The Lord hates every abomination; and those who fear him don’t love them.⁠ 14 He himself made man from the beginning and left him in the hand of his own counsel.⁠ 15 If you choose, you can keep the commandments. To be faithful is a matter of your choice. 16 He has set fire and water before you. You will stretch forth your hand to whichever you desire. 17 Before man is life and death. Whichever he likes, it will be given to him.⁠ 18 For the wisdom of the Lord is great. He is mighty in power, and sees all things. 19 His eyes are upon those who fear him. He knows every act of man. 20 He has not commanded any man to be ungodly. He has not given any man license to sin.

Texts in conversation

Compare Deuteronomy 30:15 and Sirach 15:17

Hebrew Bible · Deuterocanon

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Summary

Sirach echoes Deuteronomy 30 by presenting the choice between life and death as two possible paths. In Deuteronomy, this choice frames Israel’s covenant obedience, and Sirach repeats it to highlight human responsibility in following the Torah.

Passages

Deuteronomy 30:15

Hebrew Bible
13 And it is not across the sea, as though one must say, ‘Who will cross over to the other side of the sea and get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ 14 For the thing is very near you—it is in your mouth and in your mind so that you can do it. 15 “Look! I have set before you today life and prosperity on the one hand, and death and disaster on the other. 16 What I am commanding you today is to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to obey his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances. Then you will live and become numerous and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are about to possess. 17 However, if you turn aside and do not obey, but are lured away to worship and serve other gods,
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

Sirach 15:17

Deuterocanon · Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
15 If you choose, you can keep the commandments. To be faithful is a matter of your choice. 16 He has set fire and water before you. You will stretch forth your hand to whichever you desire. 17 Before man is life and death. Whichever he likes, it will be given to him. 18 For the wisdom of the Lord is great. He is mighty in power, and sees all things. 19 His eyes are upon those who fear him. He knows every act of man.
195–180 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Sirach

References

"... Ben Sira presents a kind of drama of salvation—salvation not in the sense of deliverance from something but as the bestowal of well-being, blessing, and life. His theological starting point is the biblical (especially the Deuteronomic) view of covenant and Torah. Through the covenant, God bestowed on Israel its status as the chosen people. In the same covenant, God set the divine commandments before them. The alternative possibilities to obey and disobey these commandments would lead like two roads to blessing and life or to curse and death. (On the ambiguities of the relationship between Ben Sira and the Deuteronomic tradition, see Mack, Wisdom and Hebrew Epic, 113, 120. However, on Ben Sira’s use of a two-ways theology that is related to Deuteronomy: Sirach 15:17; Deuteronomy 30:15, see Nickelsburg, Resurrection, 164 n. 21. The vitalistic language in 24:12–22 and its connection with the Mosaic Torah in verse 23 fits well with the notion of covenantal blessing as life) One could not short-circuit the process that led from the grace of covenantal election to the fullness of covenantal blessing and life. Responsible obedience to the commandments of Torah was an integral and necessary part of the covenant. In this sense Torah was a gift that brought the possibility of life ..."
George W. E. Nickelsburg, Jewish Literature between the Bible and the Mishnah: A Historical and Literary Introduction (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005), 58.

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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Deuteronomy 30:15 and Sirach 15:17

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