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Sirach / Chapter 22

Sirach 22

31 verses • Latin Vulgate (Jerome)

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Chapter 22 opens with unflinching comparisons of the lazy person to filth, then moves to reflections on grief over a fool and over the dead. The central section explores the fragility of friendship -- how easily it can be shattered by betrayal or harsh words -- and concludes with a prayer asking God for a guard over the speaker's mouth and lips.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The meditation on grief (vv. 11-12) contains a striking instruction: weep less for the dead than for the fool, because the dead have found rest while the fool's life is worse than death. The friendship section (vv. 19-26) is emotionally raw, acknowledging that some betrayals cannot be repaired and that the loss of a friend through one's own carelessness is a wound that does not heal. The closing prayer (vv. 27-30) anticipates Psalm 141:3 and is among the most personal passages in Sirach.

Translation Friction

The harsh language about fools -- compared to dung and stones -- reflects an ancient pedagogy of shame that modern readers may find excessive. The gendered language about the 'lazy daughter' (v. 4-5) is particularly pointed and culturally specific.

Connections

Psalm 141:3 (set a guard over my mouth); Proverbs 27:3 (a fool's provocation is heavier than both); Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 (the house of mourning); James 3:2-10 (the untameable tongue).

Sirach 22:1

In lapide luteo lapidatus est piger et omnes loquentur super aspernationem illius.

The lazy person is pelted with a stone of dung, and everyone will speak of his disgrace.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

lapide luteo
"stone of dung"

Literally a 'muddy stone' or dung-ball -- the lowest possible projectile, symbolizing utter contempt.

Translator Notes

  1. A visceral opening image: the sluggard is not merely criticized but pelted with filth -- social contempt made physical.
Sirach 22:2

De stercore boum lapidatus est piger et omnis qui tetigerit eum excutiet manus.

The lazy person is pelted with ox dung, and everyone who touches him will shake off his hands.

Sirach 22:3

Confusio patris est de filio indisciplinato filia autem in deminoratione fiet.

An undisciplined son is the shame of his father, and a foolish daughter will be born to his loss.

Sirach 22:4

Filia prudens hereditas viro suo nam quae confundit in contumeliam fit genitoris.

A prudent daughter is a treasure to her husband, but she who brings shame becomes a disgrace to her father.

Sirach 22:5

Patrem et virum confundit audax et ab impiis non minorabitur ab utrisque autem inhonorabitur.

A brazen woman puts both father and husband to shame; she will not be respected less than the ungodly, and by both she will be dishonored.

Sirach 22:6

Musica in luctu inportuna narratio flagella et doctrina in omni tempore sapientia.

Music in a time of mourning is an ill-timed tale, but the rod and instruction are wisdom at all times.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Timing is everything: music at a funeral is as inappropriate as a lecture at a party. But discipline is always in season.
Sirach 22:7

Qui docet fatuum quasi qui conglutinat testam et quasi qui excitat dormientem de gravi somno.

Whoever teaches a fool is like one who glues a potsherd together, and like one who rouses a sleeper from deep slumber.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

testam
"potsherd"

A broken piece of pottery -- once shattered, it cannot be properly restored. Teaching a fool is attempting to repair the irreparable.

Translator Notes

  1. Two images of futility: the broken pot cannot be reassembled, and the deep sleeper resists waking.
Sirach 22:8

Qui narrat verbum non audienti quasi qui excitat dormientem de gravi somno.

Whoever tells a story to one who does not listen is like one who rouses a sleeper from deep sleep.

Sirach 22:9

Cum dormiente loquitur qui enarrat stulto sapientiam et in fine narrationis dicit quis est hic.

Whoever recounts wisdom to a fool speaks to a sleeping man, and at the end of the account the fool says, 'What was that?'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Dark comedy: the fool listens to an entire discourse and reveals at the end that he has absorbed nothing.
Sirach 22:10

Supra mortuum plora defecit enim lux eius et supra fatuum plora defecit enim sensus.

Weep over the dead, for his light has failed; and weep over the fool, for his understanding has failed.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A parallel between death and folly: both involve the extinction of something essential -- light in one case, sense in the other.
Sirach 22:11

Modicum plora supra mortuum quoniam requievit.

Weep less over the dead, for he has found rest.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A remarkable reversal of expected grief: the dead deserve less mourning because death is rest, but the fool's living death has no such consolation.
Sirach 22:12

Nequissimi enim nequissima vita super mortuum fatui quia defecit.

For the worst of the worst is the life of the fool -- it is worse than death, for understanding has perished.

Sirach 22:13

Luctus mortui septem dies fatui autem et impii omnes dies vitae illorum.

Mourning for the dead lasts seven days, but for a fool and an ungodly person, all the days of their life.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Grief for the dead is bounded by the seven-day mourning period (shiva); grief for a living fool is unending.
Sirach 22:14

Cum stulto ne multum loquaris et cum insensato ne abieris serva te ab illo ut non molestiam habeas et non coinquinaberis in peccato illius.

Do not speak much with a fool, and do not travel with a senseless person. Guard yourself from him so that you may not have trouble, and you will not be defiled by his sin.

Sirach 22:15

Deflecte ab illo et invenies requiem et non acediaberis in stultitia illius.

Turn aside from him and you will find rest, and you will not be wearied by his foolishness.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

acediaberis
"wearied"

Related to acedia -- spiritual weariness or disgust. Prolonged exposure to folly drains not just patience but the soul.

Sirach 22:16

Super plumbum quid gravabitur et quod illi aliud nomen quam fatuus.

What is heavier than lead? And what is its name but 'fool'?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Lead, the heaviest common metal of the ancient world, becomes a metaphor for the dead weight of the fool's company.
Sirach 22:17

Harenam et salem et massam ferri facilius est ferre quam hominem inprudentem et fatuum et impium.

Sand and salt and a mass of iron are easier to bear than a person who is imprudent, foolish, and ungodly.

Sirach 22:18

Loramentum ligneum conligatum in fundamento aedificii non dissolvetur sic et cor confirmatum in cogitatione consilii.

Wooden bracing bound into the foundation of a building will not come apart; so too a heart established in thoughtful counsel.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A construction metaphor: the reinforced foundation resists collapse, just as a mind grounded in wise counsel resists foolish impulse.
Sirach 22:19

Cogitatus sensati in omni tempore metu non depravabitur.

The thought of the sensible person will not be corrupted by fear at any time.

Sirach 22:20

Sicut pali in excelsis et caementa sine inpensa posita contra faciem venti non permanebunt sic et cor timidum in cogitatione stulti contra impetum timoris non resistet.

As stakes on heights and unmortared stones set against the wind will not endure, so a timid heart with the thoughts of a fool will not resist the onslaught of fear.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

caementa sine inpensa
"unmortared stones"

Stones laid without mortar have no binding force -- like the fool's knowledge, which lacks the adhesive of understanding.

Sirach 22:21

Sicut cor trepidum in cogitatione fatui omni tempore non metuet sic et qui in praeceptis Dei permanet semper.

Just as a trembling heart in the thoughts of a fool will fear at all times, so one who abides always in the commandments of God will not fear.

Sirach 22:22

Pungens oculum educit lacrimas et qui pungit cor profert sensum.

Whoever pricks the eye brings forth tears, and whoever pierces the heart brings forth feeling.

Sirach 22:23

Mittens lapidem in volatilia deiciet illa sic et qui conviciatur amico dissolvit amicitiam.

Whoever throws a stone at birds will scatter them; so whoever insults a friend destroys the friendship.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A simple but effective analogy: birds flee from stones, friends flee from insults. Both are instinctive reactions to aggression.
Sirach 22:24

Ad amicum etsi produxeris gladium non desperes est enim regressus ad amicum.

Even if you have drawn a sword against a friend, do not despair, for there is still a way back to friendship.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Remarkably, even violent conflict does not necessarily end a friendship -- reconciliation remains possible.
Sirach 22:25

Ad amicum si aperueris os triste non timeas est enim concordatio excepto convicio et inproperio et superbia et mysterii revelatione et plaga dolosa in his omnibus effugiet amicus.

If you have spoken harsh words to a friend, do not fear -- for reconciliation is possible. But if there has been insult, contempt, pride, the betrayal of a secret, or a treacherous blow -- in all these cases, a friend will flee.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

mysterii revelatione
"betrayal of a secret"

The disclosure of a confidence is listed alongside physical violence as a friendship-ending act -- a powerful statement about the sacred nature of trust.

Translator Notes

  1. A precise taxonomy of friendship-destroying acts: insult, contempt, arrogance, betrayal of confidence, and malicious harm. These cross a threshold from which recovery is unlikely.
Sirach 22:26

Fidem posside cum amico in paupertate illius ut et in bonis illius laeteris.

Keep faith with a friend in his poverty, so that in his prosperity you may also rejoice.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Loyalty tested by a friend's misfortune is the only loyalty that deserves to share in his later success.
Sirach 22:27

In tempore tribulationis illius permane illi fidelis ut et in hereditate illius coheres sis.

In the time of his distress, remain faithful to him, so that in his inheritance you may also share.

Sirach 22:28

Ante ignem camini vapor et fumus ignis inaltatur sic et ante sanguinem maledicta et contumeliae et minae.

Before the fire of a furnace come vapor and smoke; so before bloodshed come curses, contempt, and threats.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Violence is preceded by verbal aggression as reliably as fire is preceded by smoke -- a warning to take hostile speech seriously as a harbinger.
Sirach 22:29

Amicum salutare non confundar a facie illius et si mala mihi evenerint per illum sustinebo.

I will not be ashamed to greet a friend, and I will not hide from his face; and if evil comes to me through him, I will endure it.

Sirach 22:30

Omnis qui audiet cavebit se ab eo.

Everyone who hears of it will beware of him.

Sirach 22:31

Quis dabit ori meo custodiam et super labia mea signaculum certum ut non cadam ab ipsis et lingua mea perdat me.

Who will set a guard over my mouth, and a sure seal upon my lips, so that I may not fall because of them, and my tongue may not destroy me?

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

signaculum certum
"a sure seal"

The seal image suggests not mere restraint but authoritative closure -- only God can effectively seal the lips against harmful speech.

Translator Notes

  1. The chapter's closing prayer is deeply personal -- the speaker asks for divine help to control his own speech. This anticipates Psalm 141:3 and stands as the practical conclusion to three chapters on the power of words.
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