Scripture Daily

Context No. 181 of 4322 · Sirach

Context · Reflection

Sirach 21:1-16: in context

1My son, have you sinned? Do it no more; and ask forgiveness for your past sins. 2Flee from sin as from the face of a snake; for if you go near, it will bite you. Its teeth are like lion’s teeth, slaying people’s souls. 3All iniquity is as a two-edged sword. Its stroke has no healing. 4Terror and violence will waste away riches. So the house of an arrogant man will be laid waste. 5Supplication from a poor man’s mouth reaches to the ears of God, and his judgment comes speedily. 6One who hates reproof is in the path of the sinner. He who fears the Lord will repent in his heart. 7He who is mighty in tongue is known far away; but the man of understanding knows when he slips. 8He who builds his house with other men’s money is like one who gathers stones for his own tomb. 9The congregation of wicked men is as a bundle of tow with a flame of fire at the end of them. 10The way of sinners is paved with stones; and at the end of it is the pit of Hades. 11He who keeps the law becomes master of its intent. The fulfilment of the fear of the Lord is wisdom. 12He who is not clever will not be instructed. There is a cleverness which makes bitterness abound. 13The knowledge of a wise man will be made to abound as a flood, and his counsel as a fountain of life. 14The inward parts of a fool are like a broken vessel. He will hold no knowledge. 15If a man of knowledge hears a wise word, he will commend it and add to it. The wanton man hears it, and it displeases him, so he throws it away behind his back. 16The chatter of a fool is like a burden in the way, but grace will be found on the lips of the wise.

Ben Sira writes this passage as a father to a son, and it opens with an instruction about sin that puts the order in an unexpected place. Have you sinned? Do it no more, and pray about your past sins. Stopping comes first, then the prayer.

Then the images. Flee from sin as from a snake, for if you approach it, it will bite you, its teeth are lion's teeth, destroying human lives. All lawlessness is a two-edged sword, and there is no healing for its wound. He piles up pictures of a thing that harms you on contact rather than on a schedule.

The second half is a run of contrasts between the wise and the foolish, and they are about listening. The knowledge of a wise man increases like a flood, and his counsel is like a living spring. The mind of a fool is like a broken jar, holding no knowledge. When an educated man hears a wise word, he praises it and adds to it. When a reveler hears it, he dislikes it and throws it behind his back. A fool's tale is a burden on a journey, but delight is found in the speech of the intelligent. The difference is not intelligence but what a person does in the moment after hearing something true. What was the last true thing I heard, and did I add to it or put it behind me?

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