Chapter 21 contrasts the wise and the foolish with vivid metaphors: sin is like a double-edged sword, the fool's mind is like a broken jar, and wisdom is like a golden ornament. Ben Sira catalogues the behaviors that distinguish the prudent from the reckless, with particular attention to how each handles speech, laughter, learning, and social propriety.
The extended comparison between the wise and the fool (vv. 13-28) achieves a portrait of such specificity that it reads almost as social satire. The fool laughs loudly (v. 23), listens at doors (v. 27), and blurts out his thoughts before they are formed. The wise man steps lightly, speaks carefully, and builds knowledge like a wall with mortar. The metaphor of the fool's knowledge as a 'broken vessel' (v. 17) is one of the most memorable images in wisdom literature.
The deterministic tone of some verses ('whoever touches pitch will be defiled,' v. 2) leaves little room for grace or redemption. The sharp social stratification implicit in the chapter -- the wise are praised partly for their courtly manners -- reflects the perspective of an educated elite.
Proverbs 26:1-12 (sayings about fools); Proverbs 12:23 (a prudent man conceals knowledge); Psalm 141:3 (set a guard over my mouth); Matthew 12:34 (out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks).
Fili peccasti non adicias iterum sed et de pristinis deprecare ut tibi dimittantur.
My son, have you sinned? Do not do so again; but also pray concerning your former sins, that they may be forgiven you.
Quasi a facie colubri fuge peccata et si accesseris ad illa suscipient te dentes leonis dentes eius qui interficiant animas hominum.
Flee from sins as from the face of a serpent, for if you approach them, they will seize you. Their teeth are like lion's teeth, slaying the souls of men.
The serpent image evokes Genesis 3 -- sin is personified as a predator that strikes those who draw near.
Quasi romphaea bis acuta omnis iniquitas plagae illius non est sanitas.
All iniquity is like a double-edged sword; there is no healing for its wound.
The rhomphaia is a large, heavy blade -- sin cuts in both directions, harming both the sinner and those around him.
Obiurgatio et iniuriae adnullabunt substantiam et domus quae nimis locuples est adnullabitur superbia sic substantia superbi eradicabitur.
Strife and injury will lay waste to wealth, and a house that is exceedingly rich will be brought to nothing by pride; so the substance of the proud will be uprooted.
Deprecatio pauperis ex ore usque ad aures eius perveniet et iudicium festinanter adveniet illi.
The prayer of a poor man reaches from his mouth to the ears of God, and judgment will come to him swiftly.
Qui odit correptionem vestigium est peccatoris et qui timet Deum convertetur ad cor suum.
Whoever hates correction walks in the footsteps of the sinner, but whoever fears God will turn to his own heart.
Self-examination as the mark of the God-fearer -- he turns inward for honest self-assessment rather than deflecting criticism.
Notus a longe potens lingua audaci et sensatus scit labi se ab ipso.
The man powerful in bold speech is known from afar, but the sensible person knows how to avoid a fall through him.
Qui aedificat domum suam inpendiis alienis quasi qui colligit lapides suos in hieme.
Whoever builds his house with other people's money is like one who gathers his stones in winter.
Stupa collecta synagoga peccantium et consummatio illorum flamma ignis.
The assembly of sinners is like gathered tow, and their end is a flame of fire.
Tow is the short, tangled fibers of flax -- extremely flammable. The wicked, gathered together, are kindling awaiting the spark.
Via peccantium conplanata lapidibus et in fine illorum inferi et tenebrae et poenae.
The way of sinners is paved smooth with stones, but at its end lie the grave and darkness and punishment.
Sheol -- the underworld abode of the dead, here associated with darkness and punishment.
Qui custodit iustitiam continebit sensum eius.
Whoever keeps justice will grasp its meaning.
Consummatio timoris Dei sapientia et sensus.
The perfection of the fear of God is wisdom and understanding.
Not merely 'completion' but the fullest realization -- fear of God, pursued to its end, becomes wisdom itself.
Non erudiet se qui non est sapiens est autem qui abundat malitia.
The one who is not wise will not be instructed, but there is a cleverness that abounds in malice.
Scientia sapientis tamquam inundatio abundabit et consilium illius sicut fons vitae permanet.
The knowledge of the wise overflows like a flood, and his counsel endures like a fountain of life.
Echoes Proverbs 13:14 and 14:27 -- the teaching of the wise is a perpetual source of vitality.
Cor fatui quasi vas confractum et omnem sapientiam non tenebit.
The heart of a fool is like a broken vessel; it will hold no wisdom.
The shattered jar is beyond repair -- not merely leaky but fundamentally unable to contain what is poured into it.
Verbum sapiens quodcumque audierit scius laudabit et ad se adiciet audivit luxuriosus et displicebit illi et proiciet illud post dorsum suum.
Whatever wise word a knowledgeable person hears, he will praise it and add it to himself. But the dissolute man hears it and it displeases him, and he throws it behind his back.
Narratio fatui quasi sarcina in via nam in labiis sensati invenietur gratia.
The talk of a fool is like a burden on a journey, but on the lips of the sensible, grace is found.
Os prudentis quaeritur in ecclesia et verba illius cogitabunt in cordibus suis.
The mouth of the prudent is sought in the assembly, and they will ponder his words in their hearts.
The public gathering where communal decisions are made -- the wise person's speech carries authority in civic life.
Tamquam domus exterminata sic fatuo sapientia et scientia insensati inenarrabilia verba.
Like a ruined house, so is wisdom to a fool; and the knowledge of the senseless is incoherent speech.
Conpedes in pedibus stulto doctrina et quasi vincula manuum super manum dexteram.
Instruction is like fetters on the feet of a fool, and like chains upon his right hand.
Fatuus in risu inaltat vocem suam vir autem sapiens vix tacite ridebit.
A fool raises his voice when he laughs, but a wise man will scarcely laugh quietly.
Ornamentum aureum prudenti doctrina et quasi brachiale in brachio dextro.
Instruction is like a golden ornament to the prudent, and like a bracelet on the right arm.
Pes fatui facilis in domum proximi et homo peritus confundetur a persona potentis.
The foot of a fool rushes into his neighbor's house, but an experienced person shows restraint before the powerful.
Stultus a fenestra respiciet in domum vir autem eruditus foris stabit.
A fool peers into a house through the window, but a well-bred man will stand outside.
Stultitia hominis auscultare per ostium et prudens gravabitur contumelia.
It is folly for a person to eavesdrop at the door, but the prudent man would feel burdened by such a disgrace.
Labia inprudentium stulta narrabunt verba autem prudentium statera ponderabuntur.
The lips of the imprudent will tell foolish tales, but the words of the prudent are weighed on a balance.
The image of the scale suggests that the wise person's words are carefully measured -- each word has weight and is deliberately placed.
In ore fatuorum cor illorum et in corde sapientium os illorum.
The heart of fools is in their mouth, but the mouth of the wise is in their heart.
Dum maledicit impius diabolum maledicit ipse animam suam.
When the ungodly curses his adversary, he curses his own soul.
Here diabolus likely retains its original sense of 'accuser' or 'adversary' rather than the later theological meaning of Satan.
Susurro coinquinabit animam suam et in omni regione odietur et qui cum eo manserit odiosus erit tacitus et sensatus honorabitur.
A whisperer defiles his own soul and will be hated in every region; and whoever stays with him will be despised. But the silent and sensible one will be honored.
The susurro is the gossip who speaks in whispers, spreading malice covertly. The word itself imitates the hissing sound of whispered slander.