A reflection on death -- bitter to the prosperous, welcome to the suffering -- followed by the fate of the wicked whose memory perishes. The chapter then develops a nuanced catalog of shame: certain things are rightly shameful (sin, dishonesty, injustice), while other things are wrongly considered shameful (as explored in chapter 42).
The opening meditation on death (vv. 1-7) is among the most philosophically mature passages in Sirach, acknowledging that death's meaning depends entirely on the life it ends. The shame catalog (vv. 14-27) functions as a kind of moral inventory, inviting self-examination across the full range of social and private conduct.
The text's view of death as final ('in Sheol there is no reproof of life,' v. 7 in some numberings) sits uneasily alongside later Jewish and Christian resurrection theology. Ben Sira's anthropology here is firmly pre-resurrection.
Ecclesiastes 7:1 (the day of death better than the day of birth); Job 3 (Job's wish that he had never been born); Proverbs 10:7 (the memory of the righteous is a blessing); Psalm 49 (the futility of wealth before death).
O mors quam amara est memoria tua homini pacem habenti in substantiis suis.
O death, how bitter is the thought of you to a man at peace amid his possessions.
Not merely recollection but the present awareness of death's approach; the mind's anticipation of its own ending.
Viro quieto et cuius viae directae sunt in omnibus et adhuc valenti accipere cibum.
To a man who is at rest, whose ways are prosperous in all things, and who still has the strength to enjoy food.
O mors bonum est iudicium tuum homini indigenti et qui minoratur viribus.
O death, your sentence is welcome to a man in want and whose strength is failing.
Death's decree; here experienced as merciful judgment rather than punishment.
Defecto aetate et cui de omnibus cura est et incredibili qui perdit patientiam.
To the aged and failing, consumed with worry over all things, to the despairing one who has lost all patience.
Noli metuere iudicium mortis memento quae ante te fuerunt et quae superventura sunt tibi hoc iudicium a Domino omni carni.
Do not fear the sentence of death; remember those who went before you and those who will come after. This is the Lord's decree for all flesh.
Death is not random fate but divinely appointed; accepting it as God's decree transforms resignation into submission.
Et quid superveniet tibi in beneplacito Altissimi sive decem sive centum sive mille anni.
And what will come upon you is according to the pleasure of the Most High, whether ten or a hundred or a thousand years.
Non est enim in inferno accusatio vitae.
For in the grave there is no reproof of life.
Infernus renders Sheol, the shadowy underworld of the dead in Hebrew thought -- not the later Christian concept of hell as a place of punishment.
Filii abominationum fiunt filii peccatorum et qui conversantur secus domos impiorum.
The children of sinners become children of abomination, as do those who dwell near the houses of the ungodly.
Those whose character has been deformed by the influence of wicked parents or neighbors; the moral contagion of sin.
Filiorum peccatorum periet hereditas et cum semine illorum adsiduitas obprobrii.
The inheritance of sinners' children will perish, and with their offspring enduring reproach.
De patre impio queruntur filii quoniam propter illum sunt in obprobrio.
Children complain about an ungodly father, because on his account they bear reproach.
Vae vobis viri impii qui dereliquistis legem Dei Altissimi.
Woe to you, ungodly men, who have abandoned the law of God Most High!
Et si nati fueritis in maledictionibus nascemini et si mortui fueritis in maledictionibus erit pars vestra.
When you are born, you are born under a curse, and when you die, a curse will be your portion.
The covenant curse (Deuteronomy 28:15-68) that falls upon those who abandon the Torah.
Omnia quae de terra sunt in terram convertentur sic impii a maledicto in perditionem.
Everything that comes from the earth returns to the earth; so the ungodly go from curse to destruction.
Luctus hominum in corpore ipsorum nomen autem impiorum delebitur.
The grief of mankind is over their bodies, but the name of the ungodly will be blotted out.
Curam habe de bono nomine hoc enim magis permanebit tibi quam mille thesauri pretiosi et magni.
Take care of your good name, for it will endure for you longer than a thousand great and precious treasures.
Shem tov in Hebrew: a reputation for integrity that survives the person who built it.
Bonae vitae numerus dierum boni autem nominis permanebunt in aevum.
A good life has its number of days, but a good name endures forever.
Disciplinam in pace conservate filii sapientia enim abscondita et thesaurus invisus quae utilitas in utrisque.
Preserve discipline in peace, my children; for hidden wisdom and an unseen treasure -- what use is there in either?
Training and instruction in wisdom; something to be preserved and transmitted, not merely possessed.
Melior est homo qui abscondit stultitiam suam quam homo qui abscondit sapientiam suam.
Better is the one who hides his foolishness than the one who hides his wisdom.
Ergo reveremini in his quae procedunt de ore meo.
Therefore have reverence for what proceeds from my mouth.
Non est enim omnem reverentiam observare bonum et non omnia omnibus bene placent in fide.
For it is not good to observe every kind of shame, and not all things are approved by all in good faith.
Erubescite a patre et a matre de fornicatione et a praesidente et a potente de mendacio.
Be ashamed before father and mother of sexual immorality, and before a ruler and a powerful person of lying.
Broad term for illicit sexual conduct; the shame is heightened by its occurrence before one's parents.
A principe et a iudice de delicto a synagoga et plebe de iniquitate.
Before a prince and a judge, be ashamed of an offense; before the assembly and the people, of wrongdoing.
The gathered community for judicial and religious purposes; in this period, not yet the dedicated building of later Judaism.
A socio et amico de iniustitia et de loco in quo habitas.
Before a companion and friend, be ashamed of injustice, and before the place where you dwell.
De furto a veritate Dei et testamento de discubitu in panibus ab obfuscatione dati et accepti.
Be ashamed of theft before the truth of God and his covenant; of leaning on your elbows over bread; of stinginess in giving and receiving.
A salutantibus de silentio de respectu mulieris fornicariae et ab aversione vultus cognati.
Be ashamed of silence before those who greet you, of gazing at a woman of loose morals, and of turning away from a kinsman.
Ne avertas faciem a proximo tuo et ab auferendo partem et non restituendo.
Do not turn your face from your neighbor; be ashamed of taking a portion and not returning it.
Ne respicias mulierem alieni viri et ne scruteris ancillam eius ne steteris ad lectum eius.
Do not gaze at another man's wife, and do not meddle with his maidservant; do not stand by her bed.
Ab amicis de sermonibus inproperii et cum dederis ne inproperes.
Be ashamed before friends of insulting words, and when you have given, do not reproach.
To cast the gift back in the recipient's face by reminding them of their debt; a social vice that destroys the relationship the gift was meant to build.