Old Testament · Deuterocanon

Sirach 19

Tongue, Virtue, and True Wisdom

8 passages

Overview

Ben Sira warns against the ruin wrought by dissipation, gossip, and rash judgment, calling the wise person to silence, charitable inquiry toward neighbors, and obedience to the Law rooted in fear of the Lord, while exposing hypocrisy and cunning divorced from virtue as counterfeits that corrode the soul.

Passages

1–3The Ruin Brought by Dissipation 4–6The Soul's Own Enemy: Rashness, Sin, and the Poison of Gossip 7–12Let It Die With You: The Discipline of Silence and the Sin of the Tongue 13–19Charitable Inquiry Before Judgment 20–23True Wisdom Is the Fear of the Lord and Keeping the Law 24–25Humble Piety Over Clever Transgression 26–28The Hypocrite Who Conceals Wickedness 27–29A Person's Character Is Revealed Outwardly

Study Resources

No study guides, devotionals, or teaching outlines have been created for this chapter yet.

Sirach 19

¹A worker who is a drunkard will not become rich. He who despises small things will fall little by little. ²Wine and women will make men of understanding go astray. He who joins with prostitutes is reckless. ³Decay and worms will have him as their heritage. A reckless soul will be taken away. ⁴He who is hasty to trust is shallow-hearted. He who sins offends against his own soul. ⁵He who rejoices in wickedness will be condemned. ⁶He who hates gossip has less wickedness. ⁷Never repeat what is told you, and you won’t lose anything. ⁸Whether it is of friend or foe, don’t tell it. Unless it is a sin to you, don’t reveal it. ⁹For if he has heard you and observed you, when the time comes, he will hate you. ¹⁰Have you heard something? Let it die with you. Be brave: it will not make you burst! ¹¹A fool will travail in pain with a word, as a woman in labor with a child. ¹²As an arrow that sticks in the flesh of the thigh, so is gossip in a fool. ¹³Question a friend; it may be he didn’t do it. If he did something, it may be that he may do it no more. ¹⁴Question your neighbor; it may be he didn’t say it. If he has said it, it may be that he may not say it again. ¹⁵Question a friend; for many times there is slander. Don’t trust every word. ¹⁶There is one who slips, and not from the heart. Who is he who hasn’t sinned with his tongue? ¹⁷Reprove your neighbor before you threaten him; and give place to the law of the Most High. ²⁰All wisdom is the fear of the Lord. In all wisdom is the doing of the law. ²²The knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom. The prudence of sinners is not counsel. ²³There is a wickedness, and it is an abomination. There is a fool lacking in wisdom. ²⁴Better is one who has little understanding, and fears God, than one who has much intelligence and transgresses the law. ²⁵There is an exquisite subtlety, and it is unjust. And there is one who perverts favor to gain a judgment. ²⁶There is one who does wickedly, who hangs down his head with mourning; but inwardly he is full of deceit, ²⁷bowing down his face, and pretending to be deaf in one ear. Where he isn’t known, he will take advantage of you. ²⁸And if for lack of power he is hindered from sinning, if he finds opportunity, he will do mischief. ²⁹A man will be known by his appearance. One who has understanding will be known by his face when you meet him. ³⁰A man’s attire, grinning laughter, and the way he walks show what he is.

Sirach 18 Sirach 20