Sirach 4:31

Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon

25 Never speak against the truth, but be ashamed of your ignorance. 26 Do not be ashamed to confess your sins, and do not try to stop the current of a river. 27 Do not subject yourself to a fool, or show partiality to a ruler. 28 Fight to the death for truth, and the Lord God will fight for you. 29 Do not be reckless in your speech, or sluggish and remiss in your deeds. 30 Do not be like a lion in your home, or suspicious of your servants. 31 Do not let your hand be stretched out to receive and closed when it is time to give.

Didache 4:5

Patristic

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, nor complain when you do, for you'll know who rewards you well.

 Notes and References

"... The book of Sirach is not quoted directly in the New Testament. The strongest parallel is Matthew 11:28-30 (= Sirach 6:24-25; 51:26-27). But even there it may be a matter of common terminology and conceptuality. Yet Sirach is a precious resource for understanding the presuppositions of Judaism in the late Second Temple period and for discerning what was or was not innovative about Jesus and early Christianity. The earliest patristic evidence for Sirach occurs in Didache 4:5 and Barnabas 19:9, which appear to cite Sirach 4:31. The book was translated into Larin, Coptic, Syriac, Ethiopic, Armenian, and Arabic, thus insuring a wide circulation. Many Greek church fathers (Clement of Alexandria, Origen, John Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem) and Latin fathers (Tertullian, Cyprian, Jerome, Augustine) quoted or incorporated material from Sirach in their own works. Throughout the late patristic and medieval periods, Sirach generated a rich commentary tradition ..."

Harrington, Daniel J. Invitation to the Apocrypha (p. 90) William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999

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