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Sirach / Chapter 13

Sirach 13

32 verses • Latin Vulgate (Jerome)

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

A sustained meditation on the social dynamics of wealth and poverty. Whoever touches pitch is defiled; whoever associates with the proud becomes like them. The rich and the poor are natural enemies: the rich man wrongs the poor and takes offense when wronged in return; the poor man is used and discarded. Even the way a rich man stumbles draws helpers, while a poor man who stumbles is pushed aside. The chapter closes with observations on how prosperity and adversity change one's countenance.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This is one of the most socially astute passages in all ancient wisdom literature. Ben Sira's analysis of class dynamics -- how the rich exploit the poor through false friendship, how wealth attracts sycophants while poverty repels even genuine friends -- anticipates modern sociological observation. The animal fables (wolf and lamb, hyena and dog) are particularly powerful.

Translation Friction

The fatalism about social class ('what communion has the rich man with the poor?') can be read as resignation to injustice rather than protest against it. Ben Sira describes the world as it is, not necessarily as it should be. His counsel to avoid the powerful could be read as either wisdom or cowardice.

Connections

Proverbs 14:20 (the poor is hated even by his neighbor); Proverbs 19:4 (wealth brings many new friends); James 2:1-9 (partiality toward the rich); Amos 4:1 (oppression of the poor); Luke 16:19-31 (the rich man and Lazarus).

Sirach 13:1

Qui tetigerit picem inquinabitur ab ea et qui communicaverit superbo induet superbiam.

Whoever touches pitch will be defiled by it, and whoever associates with the proud will put on pride.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

picem
"pitch"

Pitch (pix) is tar or bitumen; black, sticky, and almost impossible to remove once it contacts the skin. A perfect metaphor for moral contamination.

Translator Notes

  1. The pitch metaphor: moral contamination is as certain as physical staining. Association shapes character.
Sirach 13:2

Pondus super se tollet qui honestiori se communicat et ditiori te ne socius fueris.

Whoever keeps company with one more honored than himself takes up a burden beyond his strength; do not be a companion to one richer than you.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Class difference creates an inherent imbalance that the inferior partner cannot sustain.
Sirach 13:3

Quid communicabit cacabus ad ollam quando enim se conliserint confringetur.

What has the clay pot in common with the iron kettle? When they strike each other, the pot will be shattered.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

cacabus
"clay pot"

The cacabus is an earthenware cooking vessel; paired with the olla (metal pot), the mismatch in durability is lethal for the weaker.

Translator Notes

  1. One of Sirach's most memorable images: the fragile clay pot and the iron kettle. The weaker party always breaks.
Sirach 13:4

Dives iniuste egit et fremet pauper autem laesus tacebit.

The rich man does wrong and roars in indignation; the poor man is wronged and must keep silent.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A devastating observation on power dynamics: the aggressor can afford outrage; the victim cannot afford complaint.
Sirach 13:5

Si largitus fueris adsumet te et si non habueris derelinquet te.

If you are generous, he will make use of you; and if you have nothing, he will abandon you.

Sirach 13:6

Si habes conviviet tecum et evacuabit te et ipse non dolebit.

If you have means, he will feast with you and drain you dry, and he himself will feel no remorse.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The rich man's exploitation is systematic and guilt-free.
Sirach 13:7

Si necessarius illi fueris subplantabit te et subridens spem dabit narrans tibi bona et dicet quid opus est tibi.

If he needs you, he will deceive you, and smiling he will give you hope, speaking pleasantly and saying, 'What do you need?'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The false generosity of the rich: smiles and promises that mask exploitation.
Sirach 13:8

Et confundet te in cibis suis donec te exinaniat bis aut ter et in novissimo deridebit te et postea videns derelinquet te et caput suum movebit ad te.

And he will shame you with his banquets until he has drained you two or three times over; and in the end he will mock you, and afterward, seeing you, he will abandon you and shake his head at you.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The complete cycle of exploitation: invitation, extraction, mockery, abandonment. The head-shaking is a gesture of contempt.
Sirach 13:9

Humiliare Deo et expecta manus eius.

Humble yourself before God and await his hand.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. In the midst of social realism, a brief theological interjection: the remedy for exploitation by the powerful is reliance on God.
Sirach 13:10

Adtende ne seductus in stultitiam humilieris.

Take care that you not be led astray into foolishness and be humiliated.

Sirach 13:11

Noli esse humilis in sapientia tua ne humiliatus in stultitiam seducaris.

Do not be lowly in your wisdom, lest being humiliated you be led astray into folly.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A warning against excessive self-deprecation: false humility can lead to bad decisions.
Sirach 13:12

Advocatus a potentiore discede inde magis enim te advocabit.

If summoned by one more powerful, withdraw; for this very reason he will summon you all the more.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A paradox of social dynamics: withdrawal increases your value in the powerful person's eyes.
Sirach 13:13

Non inproperes ne repellaris et non longe sis ab eo ne eas in oblivionem.

Do not be presumptuous, lest you be rebuffed; and do not stand too far off, lest you be forgotten.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The impossibly narrow path: not too close (presumptuous) and not too far (forgotten). Life near the powerful is a minefield.
Sirach 13:14

Ne retineas ex aequo loqui cum illo et ne credas multis verbis illius ex multa enim loquella temptabit te et subridens interrogabit te de absconditis tuis.

Do not presume to speak with him as an equal, and do not trust his many words; for through much talk he will test you, and smiling he will probe your secrets.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The powerful person's conversation is an interrogation disguised as fellowship. Information extracted through charm becomes leverage.
Sirach 13:15

Inmitis conservabit verba tua et non parcet de malitia et de vinculis.

The merciless one will store up your words, and will not spare you from harm or from chains.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Your own words become the evidence used against you.
Sirach 13:16

Cave tibi et adtende diligenter auditui tuo quoniam cum subversione tua ambulas.

Be on your guard and attend carefully to what you hear, for you walk with your own overthrow.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A chilling warning: in the company of the powerful, you carry the means of your own destruction.
Sirach 13:17

Audiens vero illa quasi in somnis vide et vigilabis.

When you hear these things, treat them as though in a dream, and you will be awake.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Paradoxical advice: receive the powerful person's words as if dreaming (without acting on them), and you will actually be alert.
Sirach 13:18

Omni vita tua dilige Deum et invoca illum in salute tua.

All your life long, love God, and call upon him for your salvation.

Sirach 13:19

Omne animal diligit simile sibi sic et omnis homo proximum sibi.

Every animal loves its own kind, and so does every person love his neighbor who is like himself.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The principle of natural affinity: like draws to like. This is descriptive, not necessarily prescriptive.
Sirach 13:20

Omnis caro ad similem sibi coniungetur et omnis homo simili sui sociabitur.

All flesh joins with its own kind, and every person associates with his own sort.

Sirach 13:21

Quid communicabit lupus agno aliquando sic peccator iusto.

What has the wolf in common with the lamb? So it is between the sinner and the righteous.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The wolf-and-lamb pairing is one of the most enduring biblical images of incompatible natures (cf. Isaiah 11:6 for the eschatological reversal).
Sirach 13:22

Quae communicatio sancto homini ad canem aut quae pars diviti ad pauperem.

What fellowship has a holy man with a dog, or what portion has the rich with the poor?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The rhetorical questions expect the answer 'none'; the social gulf between rich and poor is compared to the ritual gulf between holy and unclean.
Sirach 13:23

Venatio leonis onager in heremo sic et pascua divitum sunt pauperes.

The wild donkey is the lion's prey in the wilderness; so the poor are feeding grounds for the rich.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

onager
"the wild donkey"

The onager (wild ass) was a symbol of freedom but also of vulnerability; it roams free but is prey to the lion.

Translator Notes

  1. Perhaps the most brutal image in the chapter: the poor are hunted and devoured by the rich as naturally as a lion hunts its prey.
Sirach 13:24

Et sicut abominatio est superbo humilitas sic et execratio divitis pauper.

And as humility is an abomination to the proud, so the poor man is an abomination to the rich.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The rich person's contempt for the poor is as instinctive as the proud person's contempt for humility.
Sirach 13:25

Dives commotus confirmatur ab amicis suis humilis autem cum ceciderit expelletur et a notis.

When a rich man is shaken, he is supported by his friends; but when a humble man falls, he is pushed away even by those who know him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Social networks are wealth-dependent: the rich have safety nets, the poor have nothing.
Sirach 13:26

Diviti decepto multi recuperatores locutus est superbe et iustificaverunt illum.

When a rich man is deceived, many come to his aid; he speaks proudly, and they justify him.

Sirach 13:27

Humilis deceptus est et insuper arguitur locutus est sensate et non est datus ei locus.

A humble man is deceived, and is reproached besides; he speaks wisely, and no room is given to him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The double standard: the rich man's arrogance is excused, the poor man's wisdom is ignored.
Sirach 13:28

Dives locutus est et omnes tacuerunt et verbum illius usque ad nubes perducent.

The rich man speaks, and all fall silent, and they exalt his word to the clouds.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A sardonic observation: wealth confers rhetorical authority regardless of content.
Sirach 13:29

Pauper locutus est et dicunt quis est hic et si offenderit subvertent illum.

The poor man speaks, and they say, 'Who is this?' And if he stumbles, they will push him down completely.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The rhetorical question 'Who is this?' dismisses the poor man's very identity, not just his words.
Sirach 13:30

Bona est substantia cui non est peccatum in conscientia et nequissima paupertas in ore impii.

Wealth is good when it is without sin upon the conscience, and poverty is called the worst evil by the mouth of the ungodly.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A nuanced close: wealth itself is not evil if the conscience is clear, but calling poverty evil is the mark of the ungodly.
Sirach 13:31

Cor hominis immutat faciem illius sive in bona sive in mala.

The heart of a person changes his countenance, whether for good or for evil.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The face reveals the heart; inner states show through the skin.
Sirach 13:32

Vestigium cordis boni et faciem bonam difficile invenies et cum labore.

The trace of a good heart and a good face -- you will find them with difficulty and with labor.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The chapter ends with a sober note: genuine goodness is rare and hard to identify amid the social performances described above.
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