Sirach 31

Common English Bible

On wealth

31 Sleeplessness over wealth
makes the body waste away,
    and anxiety about wealth
    keeps sleep away.
²Worrying will keep you awake,
    and serious illness
    will chase sleep away.
³Rich people have worked
to accumulate money,
    and when they rest,
    they fill themselves with their luxuries.
⁴Poor people have worked
to eke out a living,
    and when they rest,
    they become needy again.

⁵Whoever loves gold won’t be declared just,
    and whoever pursues profits
    will be led astray by them.
⁶Many have been ruined because of gold,
    and their destruction has met them head-on.^[a]
⁷It’s a stumbling block for those
who are possessed by it,
    and it will take
    every senseless person captive.
⁸Happy are the rich
who are without blame
    and who don’t follow after gold.
⁹Who are they,
so that we might praise them?
    They have done wonders
    among the people.
¹⁰Who has been tested by wealth^[b]
and been found perfect?
        For them it will be a reason to boast.
    Who had the power to sin and didn’t,
    and could do evil but didn’t?
¹¹The possessions of such people
will be secure,
    and the congregation will tell
    of their acts of charity.

Behavior at meals

¹²Have you been seated
at a magnificent table?
    Don’t be greedy as you sit there,
    and don’t say,
    “Look how much food there is!”
¹³Remember, a greedy eye is a bad thing.
    What has been created more greedy
    than the eye?
    For this reason, every face sheds tears.
¹⁴Don’t reach out your hand
for whatever you see,
    and don’t crowd your dinner companion by reaching into the same bowl.
¹⁵Put yourself in your companion’s place,
    and be considerate in everything.
¹⁶Eat what’s put in front of you
like a normal human being,^[c]
    and don’t chew rudely,
    or you will be hated.
¹⁷Be the first to stop,
to show your good breeding,
    and don’t be gluttonous;
    otherwise, you will offend.
¹⁸If you have been seated
with a lot of people,
    don’t help yourself before they do.

¹⁹A little food is more than enough
for well-educated people!
    They won’t gasp for breath
    when they lie down to sleep.
²⁰Healthy sleep depends
on not stuffing yourself.
    Such people arise early and feel good.^[d]
    The gluttons suffer the pains of insomnia, nausea, and colic.
²¹If you’ve overstuffed yourself,
    get up, vomit far away,
    and you will feel better.
²²Listen to me, my child,
and don’t show me contempt,
        and in the end you will understand
        what I’m saying;
    be careful^[e] in everything you do,
    and you will never fall sick.
²³People will bless those
who are generous with bread;
    they give reliable testimony
    to the excellence of such people.
²⁴The city will murmur about those
who are stingy with bread,
    giving accurate witness
    to the wickedness of such people.

²⁵Don’t demonstrate your bravado
in wine drinking,
    because wine has destroyed many.
²⁶A furnace tests the hardening of steel
when it’s dipped,^[f]
    so wine tests the heart
    when the arrogant quarrel.
²⁷If taken in moderation,
    wine makes people’s lives better.
What’s life to those who
don’t have wine?
    It was created from the beginning
    to bring merriment.
²⁸The right amount of wine
consumed at the right time
    makes for a joyful heart
    and a light spirit.
²⁹Too much wine drunk
in the midst of strife and conflict
    makes for a bitter spirit.
³⁰Getting drunk causes fools to lose
their temper and do themselves harm,
    reducing their strength,
    and adding injuries as well.
³¹Don’t correct your neighbors
at a wine banquet,
    and don’t show them contempt
    when they are partying;
    don’t say any reproachful word
    to them,
    and don’t trouble them
    with any demands.