Sirach 4:1-16: a reflection

1My son, don’t deprive the poor of his living. Don’t make the needy eyes wait long. 2Don’t make a hungry soul sorrowful, or provoke a man in his distress. 3Don’t add more trouble to a heart that is provoked. Don’t put off giving to him who is in need. 4Don’t reject a suppliant in his affliction. Don’t turn your face away from a poor man. 5Don’t turn your eye away from one who asks. Give no occasion to a man to curse you. 6For if he curses you in the bitterness of his soul, he who made him will hear his supplication. 7Endear yourself to the assembly. Bow your head to a great man. 8Incline your ear to a poor man. Answer him with peaceful words in humility. 9Deliver him who is wronged from the hand of him who wrongs him; Don’t be hesitant in giving judgment. 10Be as a father to the fatherless, and like a husband to their mother. So you will be as a son of the Most High, and he will love you more than your mother does. 11Wisdom exalts her sons, and takes hold of those who seek her. 12He who loves her loves life. Those who seek her early will be filled with gladness. 13He who holds her fast will inherit glory. Where he enters, the Lord will bless. 14Those who serve her minister to the Holy One. The Lord loves those who love her. 15He who listens to her will judge the nations. He who heeds her will dwell securely. 16If he trusts her, he will inherit her, and his generations will possess her.

The sage urges a tender, attentive care for the poor and needy: do not make the needy wait, do not turn your face away from the poor, and be a father to the fatherless. Don't make the needy eyes wait long, he says; don't turn your face away from a poor man; don't turn your eye away from one who asks. And more: be as a father to the fatherless, and like a husband to their mother, so that you will be as a son of the Most High. The care he urges is not grudging or distant, but tender and attentive: answering the poor with peaceful words in humility, not making them wait, not turning away, being a father to those who have none. This shows the call to a tender, attentive care for the poor and fatherless. Attend tenderly to the needy; do not make them wait or turn away. Be a father to the fatherless, and you will be as a son of the Most High. Care for the poor with humility and peaceful words, not grudgingly. God notices how we treat those who have no one.

Notice the tenderness the sage calls for. He does not merely say to help the poor, but urges a care that is attentive and tender: do not make the needy wait long, do not add to the sorrow of a troubled heart, do not turn your face away from a poor man or your eye from one who asks; incline your ear to the poor, and answer him with peaceful words in humility. And he urges us to be as a father to the fatherless and like a husband to the widow, caring for those who have no one to care for them; and in doing so, we become as sons of the Most High, loved by God. This is a picture of the care God calls us to give the needy. It is not grudging, distant, or impatient, making the poor wait, turning our face away, adding to their sorrow. It is tender and attentive: not keeping them waiting, not turning away, answering them with humility and peaceful words, being a father to the fatherless and a help to those with no one. And God notices such care; those who care tenderly for the needy become as sons of the Most High, and God hears the cry of the poor toward those who ignore them. We do well to care for the poor and fatherless tenderly and attentively, not making them wait or turning away, but inclining our ear and answering with humility. Attend tenderly to the needy; do not make them wait or turn your face away. Be a father to the fatherless, caring for those who have no one. Answer the poor with humility and peaceful words, not grudgingly. God notices tender care for the needy and hears the cry of the poor.

That is worth taking to heart, for God calls us to a tender, attentive care for the poor and fatherless, not making them wait or turning away, and notices such care, as the sage urges. We can be grudging, distant, or impatient with the needy, making them wait and turning our face away; but the sage urges us to incline our ear, answer with peaceful words, and be a father to the fatherless. Attend tenderly. Do not make the needy wait or turn your face from the poor; attend to them tenderly, answering with humility and being a father to those who have no one. Care for the poor and fatherless tenderly and attentively, not making them wait or turning your face away but inclining your ear and answering with humility and peaceful words, as the sage urged not to make the needy wait long, not to turn away from a poor man, and to be a father to the fatherless and like a husband to their mother so as to be a son of the Most High; for the care he urges is not grudging or distant but tender and attentive, answering the poor with peaceful words in humility, not making them wait, not turning away, and being a father to those who have none, which is a picture of the care God calls us to give the needy, not grudging, distant, or impatient, making the poor wait and turning our face away and adding to their sorrow, but tender and attentive, not keeping them waiting, not turning away, answering with humility and peaceful words, being a father to the fatherless and a help to those with no one, and God notices such care, since those who care tenderly for the needy become as sons of the Most High and God hears the cry of the poor toward those who ignore them, so that we do well to care for the poor and fatherless tenderly and attentively.

Lord, the sage urges a tender, attentive care for the poor and needy: do not make the needy wait, do not turn your face away from the poor, and be a father to the fatherless. Don't make the needy eyes wait long, he says; don't turn your face away from a poor man; don't turn your eye away from one who asks. And more: be as a father to the fatherless, and like a husband to their mother, so that you will be as a son of the Most High. The care he urges is not grudging or distant, but tender and attentive: answering the poor with peaceful words in humility, not making them wait, not turning away, being a father to those who have none. Show me the tenderness the sage calls for. He does not merely say to help the poor, but urges a care that is attentive and tender: do not make the needy wait long, do not add to the sorrow of a troubled heart, do not turn your face away from a poor man or your eye from one who asks; incline your ear to the poor, and answer him with peaceful words in humility. And he urges me to be as a father to the fatherless and a help to the widow, caring for those who have no one; and in doing so, to become as a son of the Most High, loved by you. This is a picture of the care you call me to give the needy. It is not grudging, distant, or impatient, making the poor wait, turning my face away. It is tender and attentive: not keeping them waiting, not turning away, answering with humility and peaceful words, being a father to the fatherless. And you notice such care; you hear the cry of the poor toward those who ignore them. Take that to my heart. Keep me from being grudging, distant, or impatient with the needy, from making them wait or turning my face away; help me attend to them tenderly, Lord, inclining my ear and answering with humility and peaceful words, being a father to the fatherless and a help to those who have no one, that I may be as a son of the Most High.