Ben Sira teaches that obedience to the Law is itself a sacrifice pleasing to God: keeping the commandments is equivalent to a peace offering, and acts of charity are as a thank offering. Yet literal sacrifice is not dismissed. The chapter culminates with a powerful declaration that God is the judge who shows no partiality to the rich and who hears the cry of the orphan, the widow, and the oppressed.
This chapter represents one of the most developed pre-Christian theologies of the relationship between cultic sacrifice and ethical obedience. The claim that God 'will not delay' in responding to the oppressed (v. 22) anticipates the Lukan parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8), which explicitly cites Sirach's logic.
The Vulgate numbering differs from the Greek Septuagint in this section. Some modern editions split this material across chapters 34-35 differently. The tension between affirming Temple sacrifice and elevating ethical conduct above it is left deliberately unresolved.
1 Samuel 15:22 (obedience better than sacrifice); Psalm 51:16-17 (broken spirit as sacrifice); Micah 6:6-8 (what the Lord requires); James 1:27 (pure religion as caring for orphans and widows).
Qui conservat legem multiplicat oblationem.
Whoever keeps the Law multiplies offerings.
Lex here denotes the Torah, the full body of divine instruction given through Moses.
Sacrificium salutare est attendere mandatis et discedere ab omni iniquitate.
It is a saving sacrifice to heed the commandments and to depart from all wrongdoing.
Echoes the Hebrew shelamim (peace/well-being offering); the adjective salutare adds a soteriological dimension absent from the Hebrew term.
Et propitiationem litare recedere ab iniustitia.
And to withdraw from injustice is to offer a sacrifice of atonement.
Propitiatio carries the sense of appeasing or making amends; rendered to reflect its cultic resonance with the sin offering.
Retribuet gratiam qui offert similaginem et qui facit misericordiam offert sacrificium.
One who offers fine flour gives thanks, and one who shows mercy offers a sacrifice.
The finest grade of wheat flour, used for the grain offering (minhah) in Levitical worship.
Beneplacitum est Domino recedere ab iniquitate et propitiatio recedere ab iniustitia.
It is well-pleasing to the Lord to depart from wrongdoing, and atonement to withdraw from injustice.
A term of divine acceptance, used in the Vulgate to render the Hebrew ratson (favor, delight).
Non apparebis ante conspectum Domini vacuus.
You shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.
Literally 'empty'; the command assumes pilgrimage festivals where Israelites present themselves at the sanctuary.
Haec enim omnia propter mandatum Dei fiunt.
For all these things are done on account of God's commandment.
Oblatio iusti inpinguat altare et odor suavitatis est in conspectu Altissimi.
The offering of the righteous enriches the altar, and its sweet fragrance rises before the Most High.
Technical sacrificial term: the pleasing aroma that ascends to God, signifying divine acceptance of the offering.
Sacrificium iusti acceptum est et memoriam eius non obliviscetur Dominus.
The sacrifice of the righteous is acceptable, and the Lord will not forget its memorial.
The azkarah portion of the grain offering; here extended metaphorically to encompass the entire life of the righteous person.
Bono animo gloriam redde Deo et non minuas primitias manuum tuarum.
With a willing heart give glory to God, and do not diminish the firstfruits of your hands.
The first and best portion of harvest or income, owed to God as an acknowledgment of divine provision.
In omni dato hilarem fac vultum tuum et in exultatione sanctifica decimas tuas.
In every gift make your face cheerful, and set apart your tithes with gladness.
The tenth part owed from produce and livestock, here connected to the giver's disposition rather than mere compliance.
Da Altissimo secundum datum eius et in bono oculo adinventionem facito manuum tuarum.
Give to the Most High as he has given to you, and with a generous eye offer what your hands have gained.
Hebraic idiom: ayin tovah (good eye) means a generous spirit, contrasted with ayin ra'ah (evil eye) for miserliness.
Quoniam Dominus retribuens est et septies tantum reddet tibi.
For the Lord is one who repays, and he will give back to you sevenfold.
Seven as a number of completeness; divine repayment exceeds the original gift in full measure.
Noli offerre munera prava non enim suscipiet illa.
Do not offer corrupt gifts, for he will not accept them.
Offerings that are defective, dishonest in origin, or given with impure motive.
Et noli inspicere sacrificium iniustum quoniam Dominus iudex est et non est apud illum gloria personae.
And do not rely on an unjust sacrifice, for the Lord is judge, and with him there is no favoritism.
Literally 'glory of person'; renders the Hebrew concept of nasa panim (lifting the face), meaning to show partiality.
Non accipiet Dominus personam in pauperem et deprecationem laesi exaudiet.
The Lord will not show partiality against the poor, and he will hear the plea of the wronged.
Deprecatio is urgent, entreating prayer; laesus denotes one who has been harmed or injured.
Non despiciet preces pupilli nec viduam si effundat loquellam gemitus.
He will not despise the prayers of the orphan, nor the widow when she pours out her words of grief.
Pupillus: a fatherless child, one of the three classes of vulnerable persons (with widows and sojourners) under special divine protection in the Torah.
Nonne lacrimae viduae ad maxillam descendunt et exclamatio eius super deducentem eas.
Do not the tears of the widow run down her cheek, and her cry rise against the one who causes them?
A maxilla enim ascendunt usque ad caelum et Dominus exauditor non delectabitur in illis.
For from her cheek they ascend to heaven, and the Lord who hears will take no pleasure in them.
A title for God emphasizing his active responsiveness to prayer, not mere passive awareness.
Qui adorat Deum in oblectatione suscipietur et deprecatio illius usque ad nubes propinquabit.
One who worships God with delight will be received, and his prayer will reach to the clouds.
Worship rooted in genuine pleasure and devotion, not mere obligation.
Oratio humiliantis se nubes penetrabit et donec propinquet non consolabitur et non discedet donec Altissimus aspiciat.
The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds, and it will not rest until it draws near, nor will it withdraw until the Most High responds.
Literally 'one who humbles himself'; the self-lowering that is prerequisite to being heard by God.
Et Dominus non elongabit sed iudicabit iustos et faciet iudicium et Fortissimus non habebit in illis patientiam ut contribulet dorsum ipsorum.
And the Lord will not delay, but will vindicate the righteous and execute judgment; the Almighty will not be patient with the oppressors, but will break their backs.
A superlative title for God emphasizing irresistible power, used in contexts of divine intervention against injustice.
Et gentibus reddet vindictam donec tollat plenitudinem superborum et sceptra iniquorum contribulat.
And he will repay vengeance upon the nations until he removes the multitude of the arrogant and shatters the scepters of the unjust.
The scepter as symbol of ruling authority; God breaks not merely individuals but structures of unjust power.
Donec retribuat hominibus secundum actus suos et secundum opera Adae et secundum praesumptionem illius.
Until he repays each person according to their deeds, and according to the works of Adam, and according to his presumption.
Adam here functions as a collective for humanity; the phrase evokes both individual accountability and the shared human condition.
Donec iudicet iudicium plebis suae et oblectabit iustos misericordia sua.
Until he judges the case of his people and gladdens the righteous with his mercy.
Renders the Hebrew hesed -- covenant faithfulness and steadfast love -- the fundamental attribute of God's relationship with Israel.
Speciosa misericordia Dei in tempore tribulationis quasi nubes pluviae in tempore siccitatis.
Beautiful is God's mercy in the time of tribulation, like rain clouds in a time of drought.
Speciosa carries connotations of radiant, striking beauty -- mercy is not merely functional but aesthetically glorious.