Chapter 28 is divided into two major sections. The first (vv. 1-11) is a powerful exhortation to forgive one's neighbor, arguing that one who refuses to forgive cannot expect forgiveness from God. The second (vv. 12-30) is an extended meditation on the destructive power of the tongue -- the third tongue that destroys peace between nations, casts down the strong, and burns like fire.
The forgiveness passage (vv. 1-7) anticipates the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 6:14-15 and 18:21-35 (the parable of the unforgiving servant) with striking precision. 'Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray' (v. 2) is essentially the logic of the Lord's Prayer petition. The 'third tongue' section (vv. 14-26) is one of the most sustained and vivid treatments of harmful speech in all of ancient literature, surpassing even James 3 in its rhetorical intensity.
The retributive framework ('remember your end and cease from enmity,' v. 6) grounds forgiveness partly in self-interest rather than in unconditional grace -- a tension with later Christian teaching on forgiveness. The destruction attributed to the 'third tongue' (the gossiper who speaks to a third party about a second) is described in almost apocalyptic terms that some readers may find hyperbolic.
Matthew 6:12-15 (forgive as you wish to be forgiven); Matthew 18:21-35 (parable of the unforgiving servant); James 3:1-12 (the tongue as fire); Proverbs 16:28 (a perverse person sows strife); Leviticus 19:18 (do not bear a grudge).
Qui vindicari vult a Domino inveniet vindictam et peccata illius servans servabit.
Whoever seeks vengeance will find vengeance from the Lord, and the Lord will keep a strict account of his sins.
Relinque proximo tuo nocenti te et tunc deprecanti tibi peccata solventur.
Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done you, and then when you pray, your sins will be pardoned.
Relinquere means to release, let go -- forgiveness is an act of releasing one's claim against another, not merely an emotion.
Homo homini servat iram et a Deo quaerit medelam.
A person harbors anger against another, yet seeks healing from God?
In hominem similem sibi non habet misericordiam et de peccatis suis deprecatur.
He shows no mercy to a person like himself, yet he prays for his own sins?
Ipse cum caro sit reservat iram et propitiationem petit a Deo quis exorabit pro delictis illius.
He himself, being mere flesh, holds on to wrath and seeks atonement from God -- who will intercede for his sins?
Memento novissimorum et desine inimicari.
Remember your end, and cease from enmity.
The 'last things' -- death, judgment, the final accounting. Awareness of mortality relativizes all earthly grievances.
Tabitudo enim et mors inminent mandatis eius.
For corruption and death hang over his commandments.
Memorare timorem Dei et non irascaris proximo.
Remember the fear of God, and do not be angry with your neighbor.
Memorare testamentum Altissimi et despice ignorantiam proximi.
Remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook the offense of your neighbor.
The covenant is invoked as the basis for forgiving: you cannot honor your relationship with God while nursing hostility toward those who share that covenant.
Abstine te a lite et minues peccata.
Refrain from strife, and you will diminish your sins.
Homo enim iracundus incendit litem et vir peccator turbabit amicos et in medio pacem habentium immittit inimicitiam.
For an angry person kindles strife, and a sinful man disturbs friends and casts enmity among those who are at peace.
Secundum enim ligna silvae sic ignis exardescit et secundum virtutem hominis sic iracundia illius erit et secundum substantiam suam exaltabit iram suam.
For as fuel feeds a forest fire, so anger blazes according to a person's strength; and according to his resources he will heighten his wrath.
Certamen festinatum incendit ignem et lis festinans effundit sanguinem et lingua testificans adducet mortem.
A hasty quarrel kindles fire, and a hasty dispute sheds blood; and a tongue that bears witness brings death.
Si sufflaveris in scintillam quasi ignis exardebit et si expueris super illam extinguetur utraque ex ore proficiscuntur.
If you blow on a spark, it will blaze up; and if you spit on it, it will be quenched -- and both come from the mouth.
Susurro et bilinguis maledictus multos enim turbabit pacem habentes.
The whisperer and the double-tongued are cursed, for they have disturbed many who were at peace.
Literally 'two-tongued' -- the person who says one thing to one person and another to the next, sowing discord through duplicity.
Lingua tertia multos commovit et dispersit illos de gente in gentem.
A third tongue has shaken many and scattered them from nation to nation.
A distinctive Sirach concept: the tongue of the third party -- the gossip who intervenes between two people and destroys their relationship.
Civitates muratas divitum destruxit et domos magnatorum effodiet.
It has destroyed walled cities of the wealthy and uprooted the houses of the great.
Virtutes populorum concidit et gentes fortes dissolvit.
It has cut down the strength of peoples and dissolved mighty nations.
Lingua tertia mulieres viratas eiecit et privavit illas laboribus suis.
A third tongue has cast out strong women and deprived them of their labors.
Qui respicit illam non habebit requiem nec habebit amicum in quo requiescat.
Whoever pays attention to it will have no rest, nor will he have a friend in whom to find repose.
Flagelli plaga livorem facit plaga autem linguae comminuet ossa.
A blow from a whip raises a welt, but a blow from the tongue will shatter bones.
Multi ceciderunt in ore gladii sed non sic quasi qui interierunt per linguam suam.
Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have perished by the tongue.
Beatus qui tectus est a lingua nequam qui in iracundiam illius non transiit et qui non attraxit iugum illius et in vinculis eius non est ligatus.
Blessed is the one who is sheltered from the wicked tongue, who has not passed through its anger, who has not dragged its yoke, and who has not been bound in its chains.
Iugum enim illius iugum ferreum est et vinculum illius vinculum aereum est.
For its yoke is a yoke of iron, and its chain is a chain of bronze.
Mors illius mors nequissima et utilis potius infernus quam illa.
Its death is the most wicked of deaths, and the grave would be more profitable than it.
Perseverantia illius non permanebit sed obtinebit vias iniustorum et in flamma sua non conburet iustos.
Its endurance will not last, but it will take hold of the ways of the unjust; and in its flame it will not burn the just.
Qui relinquunt Deum incident in illam et exardebit in illis et non extinguetur et inmittetur in illos quasi leo et quasi pardus laedet illos.
Those who forsake God will fall into its power; it will blaze among them and will not be quenched. It will be sent against them like a lion, and like a leopard it will maul them.
Saepi aures tuas spinis linguam nequam noli audire et ori tuo facito ostia et seras.
Hedge your ears with thorns, and do not listen to the wicked tongue; and make doors and bars for your mouth.
Aurum tuum et argentum tuum confla et verbis tuis facito stateram et frenos ori tuo rectos.
Smelt your gold and your silver, and make a balance for your words and a right bridle for your mouth.
The commercial balance for weighing precious metals becomes a metaphor for the careful weighing of words before they are spoken.
Et adtende ne forte labaris in lingua et cadas in conspectu inimicorum insidiantium tibi et sit casus tuus insanabilis in mortem.
And take care lest you slip with your tongue and fall before enemies who lie in wait for you, and your fall be beyond healing, unto death.