Sirach 20:1-16: a reflection

1There is a reproof that is not timely; and there is a person who is wise enough to keep silent. 2How good is it to reprove, rather than to be angry. He who confesses will be kept back from harm. 4As is the lust of a eunuch to deflower a virgin, so is he who executes judgments with violence. 5There is one who keeps silent and is found wise; and there is one who is hated for his much talk. 6There is one who keeps silent, for he has no answer to make; And there is one who keeps silent, knowing when to speak. 7A wise man will be silent until his time has come, but the braggart and fool will miss his time. 8He who uses many words will be abhorred. He who takes authority for himself will be hated in it. 9There is a prosperity that a man finds in misfortunes; and there is a gain that turns to loss. 10There is a gift that will not profit you; and there is a gift that pays back double. 11There are losses because of glory; and there is one who has lifted up his head from a low estate. 12There is one who buys much for a little, and pays for it again sevenfold. 13He who is wise in words will make himself beloved; but the pleasantries of fools will be wasted. 14The gift of a fool will not profit you, for he looks for repayment many times instead of one. 15He will give little and insult much. He will open his mouth like a crier. Today he will lend, and tomorrow he will ask for it back. Such a one is a hateful man. 16The fool will say, “I have no friend, and I have no thanks for my good deeds. Those who eat my bread have an evil tongue.”

Sirach reflects on the wisdom of knowing when to speak and when to be silent, for both have their time. There is one who keeps silent and is found wise, he observes; and there is one who is hated for his much talk. A wise man will be silent until his time has come, but the braggart and fool will miss his time. The wise are not always silent, nor always speaking; they know the right time for each, holding their peace when silence is wise, and speaking when the moment has come. To know when to be silent and when to speak, to time our words rightly, is itself a mark of wisdom; the fool speaks when he should be silent and is silent when he should speak, missing the right time, while the wise discern the moment. Timely silence and timely speech, each in its season, belong to wisdom.

Notice what Sirach commends: not silence alone, nor speech alone, but knowing the right time for each. There is a silence that is wise, holding one's peace when speaking would be foolish or premature; and there is a speaking whose time has come, when silence would be wrong. The wise discern which the moment calls for; they keep silent until their time has come, and then they speak. The fool misses the time, speaking when he should hold his peace, or holding his peace when he should speak. Wisdom lies not in a rule of always speaking or always keeping silent, but in discerning the right time for each. To know when to be silent and when to speak, and to act accordingly, is a real mark of wisdom. The wise are neither compulsive talkers nor merely quiet; they are timely, speaking and keeping silent each in its season.

That is worth taking to heart, for wisdom lies in knowing when to be silent and when to speak, timing our words rightly. We can err in both directions, speaking when we should keep silent, or holding our peace when we should speak; but Sirach commends the one who keeps silent until his time has come and then speaks, discerning the right moment for each. Wisdom is not a rule of always talking or always staying quiet, but the discernment to know which the moment calls for. Do not speak when you should be silent, nor stay silent when you should speak; seek the wisdom to know the right time for each, as Sirach commends. Seek the wisdom to know when to be silent and when to speak, timing your words rightly rather than always talking or always staying quiet, as Sirach commends the one who keeps silent until his time has come and then speaks; for wisdom lies not in a rule of constant speech or constant silence but in discerning the right time for each, and the wise, unlike the fool who misses his time, know when to hold their peace and when the moment to speak has come.

Lord, Sirach reflects on the wisdom of knowing when to speak and when to be silent, for both have their time. There is one who keeps silent and is found wise, he observes; and there is one who is hated for his much talk. A wise man will be silent until his time has come, but the braggart and fool will miss his time. The wise are not always silent, nor always speaking; they know the right time for each, holding their peace when silence is wise, and speaking when the moment has come. To know when to be silent and when to speak, to time our words rightly, is itself a mark of wisdom. Show me what Sirach commends: not silence alone, nor speech alone, but knowing the right time for each. There is a silence that is wise, holding one's peace when speaking would be foolish or premature; and there is a speaking whose time has come, when silence would be wrong. The wise discern which the moment calls for; they keep silent until their time has come, and then they speak. The fool misses the time. Wisdom lies not in a rule of always speaking or always keeping silent, but in discerning the right time for each. Take that to my heart, for wisdom lies in knowing when to be silent and when to speak, timing my words rightly. I can err in both directions, speaking when I should keep silent, or holding my peace when I should speak; but Sirach commends the one who keeps silent until his time has come and then speaks. Wisdom is the discernment to know which the moment calls for. Keep me from speaking when I should be silent, and from staying silent when I should speak; give me the wisdom to know the right time for each, Lord, as Sirach commends the one who keeps silent until his time has come.