A chapter of prudential wisdom about navigating dangerous social relationships. Do not contend with the powerful, the rich, the loud-mouthed, the hot-tempered, or the reckless. Respect the aged and the penitent. Learn from the wise. Do not lend to the stronger, guarantee for the unreliable, or travel with the reckless. Guard your counsel carefully.
This is Ben Sira at his most worldly-wise. The advice reads almost like a courtier's manual: how to survive in a hierarchical society without being destroyed by those above you or dragged down by those below. The counsel to learn from the aged (vv. 8-9) reflects the oral-tradition culture in which the elders carry the community's memory.
The pragmatism borders on self-interested calculation. The advice to avoid contending with the rich 'lest he weigh his gold against you' (v. 2) could be read as acquiescence to unjust social structures rather than prophetic challenge. Ben Sira's wisdom tradition coexists with but does not replace the prophetic demand for justice.
Proverbs 22:24-25 (do not associate with an angry man); Proverbs 25:6-7 (do not exalt yourself before the king); Ecclesiastes 8:2-4 (obey the king's command); Leviticus 19:32 (rise before the aged).
Non litiges cum homine potente ne forte incidas in manus illius.
Do not contend with a powerful man, lest you fall into his hands.
Litigare means to quarrel or go to law; the warning covers both legal and personal conflict.
Non contendas cum viro locuplete ne forte contra te constituat litem suam.
Do not quarrel with a rich man, lest he bring a lawsuit against you.
Multos enim perdidit aurum et argentum et usque ad cor regum extendit et convertit.
For gold and silver have destroyed many, and have reached even to the hearts of kings and turned them.
Non litiges cum homine linguato et non struas in ignem illius ligna.
Do not contend with a loudmouthed man, and do not pile wood on his fire.
Linguatus means 'tongued' in the sense of having an unrestrained mouth; a verbal bully.
Non communices homini indocto ne male de progenie tua loquatur.
Do not jest with an uneducated man, lest he speak ill of your ancestors.
Ne despicias hominem avertentem se a peccato neque inproperes ei memento quoniam omnes in correptione sumus.
Do not despise a person who is turning away from sin, and do not reproach him; remember that we are all deserving of correction.
Correptio means both reproof and the state of needing reproof; the universal human condition.
Ne spernas hominem in sua senectute etenim ex nobis senescunt.
Do not despise a person in his old age, for some of us too are growing old.
Noli de mortuo gaudere sciens quoniam omnes morimur.
Do not rejoice over a dead person, knowing that we all must die.
Ne despicias narrationem presbyterorum sapientium et in proverbiis eorum conversare.
Do not despise the discourse of wise elders, but occupy yourself with their proverbs.
The pairing of age (presbyteros) with wisdom (sapiens) reflects the assumption that experience produces insight.
Ab ipsis enim disces sapientiam et doctrinam intellectus et servire magnatibus sine querella.
For from them you will learn wisdom and the instruction of understanding, and how to serve the great without complaint.
Non te praetereat narratio seniorum ipsi enim didicerunt a patribus suis.
Do not let the teaching of the aged pass you by, for they themselves learned from their fathers.
Quoniam ab ipsis disces intellectum et in tempore necessitatis dare responsum.
For from them you will learn discernment, and how to give an answer in the time of need.
Non incendas carbones peccatoris arguens eum ne incendaris flamma ignis peccatorum illius.
Do not kindle the coals of a sinner by rebuking him, lest you be burned by the flame of his sin-fire.
Non resistas contra faciem contumeliosi ut non sedeat quasi insidiator ori tuo.
Do not stand against the face of an insolent person, lest he sit like an ambusher watching your mouth.
Non feneraveris homini fortiori te quod si feneraveris quasi perditum habe.
Do not lend to one who is more powerful than you; and if you do lend, count it as lost.
Fenerare means to lend at interest; the commercial context is explicit.
Non spondeas super virtutem tuam quod si spoponderis quasi restituens cogita.
Do not guarantee beyond your means; and if you do guarantee, plan as though you must repay.
Non iudices contra iudicem quoniam secundum quod iustum est iudicat.
Do not pass judgment against a judge, for he judges according to what is just.
Cum audace non eas in via ne forte gravet mala sua in te ipse enim secundum voluntatem suam vadit et simul cum stultitia illius peries.
Do not travel with a reckless man, lest he bring his troubles upon you; for he goes according to his own will, and you will perish together with his folly.
Audax means bold in the negative sense -- rash, reckless, without prudent caution.
Cum iracundo non facias rixam et cum audace non eas in desertum quoniam quasi nihil est ante illum sanguis et ubi non est adiutorium elidet te.
Do not pick a fight with an angry man, and do not go into the desert with a reckless one; for blood is as nothing before him, and where there is no help he will strike you down.
Cum fatuis consilium non habeas non enim poterunt diligere nisi quae eis placent.
Do not take counsel with fools, for they can love only what pleases them.
Fatuus means foolish in the sense of tasteless or insipid; the fool lacks the savor of wisdom.
Coram extraneo ne facias consilium nescis enim quid pariet.
Do not take counsel before a stranger, for you do not know what it will give birth to.
Non omni homini cor tuum manifestes ne forte inferat tibi gratiam falsam et convicietur tibi.
Do not reveal your heart to everyone, lest he repay you with false kindness and then revile you.
Counterfeit favor extended to gain trust before betrayal; the social predator's tool.