Sirach 13

1He that toucheth pitch, shall be defiled with it: and he that hath fellowship with the proud, shall put on pride.

2He shall take a burden upon him that hath fellowship with one more honourable than himself. And have no fellowship with one that is richer than thyself.

3What agreement shall the earthen pot have with the kettle? for if they knock one against the other, it shall be broken.

4The rich man hath done wrong, and yet he will fume: but the poor is wronged and must hold his peace.

5If thou give, he will make use of thee: and if thou have nothing, he will forsake thee.

6If thou have any thing, he will live with thee, and will make thee bare, and he will not be sorry for thee.

7If he have need of thee he will deceive thee, and smiling upon thee will put thee in hope; he will speak thee fair, and will say: What wantest thou?

8And he will shame thee by his meats, till he have drawn thee dry twice or thrice, and at last he will laugh at thee: and afterward when he seeth thee, he will forsake thee, and shake his head at thee.

9Humble thyself to God, and wait for his hands.

10Beware that thou be not deceived into folly, and be humbled.

11Be not lowly in thy wisdom, lest being humbled thou be deceived into folly.

12If thou be invited by one that is mightier, withdraw thyself: for so he will invite thee the more.

13Be not troublesome to him, lest thou be put back: and keep not far from him, lest thou be forgotten.

14Affect not to speak with him as an equal, and believe not his many words: for by much talk he will sift thee, and smiling will examine thee concerning thy secrets.

15His cruel mind will lay up thy words: and he will not spare to do thee hurt, and to cast thee into prison.

16Take heed to thyself, and attend diligently to what thou hearest: for thou walkest in danger of thy ruin.

17When thou hearest those things, see as it were in sleep, and thou shalt awake.

18Love God all thy life, and call upon him for thy salvation.

19Every beast loveth its like: so also every man him that is nearest to himself.

20All flesh shall consort with the like to itself, and every man shall associate himself to his like.

21If the wolf shall at any time have fellowship with the lamb, so the sinner with the just.

22What fellowship hath a holy man with a dog, or what part hath the rich with the poor?

23The wild ass is the lion's prey in the desert: so also the poor are devoured by the rich.

24And as humility is an abomination to the proud: so also the rich man abhorreth the poor.

25When a rich man is shaken, he is kept up by his friends: but when a poor man is fallen down, he is thrust away even by his acquaintance.

26When a rich man hath been deceived, he hath many helpers: he hath spoken proud things, and they have justified him.

27The poor man was deceived, and he is rebuked also: he hath spoken wisely, and could have no place.

28The rich man spoke, and all held their peace, and what he said they extol even to the clouds.

29The poor man spoke, and they say: Who is this? and if he stumble, they will overthrow him.

30Riches are good to him that hath no sin in his conscience: and poverty is very wicked in the mouth of the ungodly.

31The heart of a man changeth his countenance, either for good, or for evil.

32The token of a good heart, and a good countenance thou shalt hardly find, and with labour.

1Qui tetigerit picem inquinabitur ab ea : et qui communicaverit superbo induet superbiam.

2Pondus super se tollat qui honestiori se communicat, et ditiori te ne socius fueris.

3Quid communicabit cacabus ad ollam? quando enim se colliserint, confringetur.

4Dives injuste egit, et fremet : pauper autem læsus tacebit.

5Si largitus fueris, assumet te : et si non habueris, derelinquet te.

6Si habes, convivet tecum, et evacuabit te : et ipse non dolebit super te.

7Si necessarius illi fueris, supplantabit te, et subridens spem dabit, narrans tibi bona, et dicet : Quid opus est tibi?

8Et confundet te in cibis suis, donec te exinaniat bis et ter : et in novissimo deridebit te, et postea videns derelinquet te, et caput suum movebit ad te.

9Humiliare Deo, et exspecta manus ejus.

10Attende ne seductus in stultitiam humilieris.

11Noli esse humilis in sapientia tua, ne humiliatus in stultitiam seducaris.

12Advocatus a potentiore, discede : ex hoc enim magis te advocabit.

13Ne improbus sis, ne impingaris : et ne longe sis ab eo, ne eas in oblivionem.

14Ne retineas ex æquo loqui cum illo, nec credas multis verbis illius : ex multa enim loquela tentabit te, et subridens interrogabit te de absconditis tuis.

15Immitis animus illius conservabit verba tua : et non parcet de malitia, et de vinculis.

16Cave tibi, et attende diligenter auditui tuo, quoniam cum subversione tua ambulas :

17audiens vero illa, quasi in somnis vide, et vigilabis.

18Omni vita tua dilige Deum, et invoca illum in salute tua.

19Omne animal diligit simile sibi, sic et omnis homo proximum sibi.

20Omnis caro ad similem sibi conjungetur, et omnis homo simili sui sociabitur.

21Si communicabit lupus agno aliquando, sic peccator justo.

22Quæ communicatio sancto homini ad canem? aut quæ pars diviti ad pauperem?

23Venatio leonis onager in eremo : sic et pascua divitum sunt pauperes.

24Et sicut abominatio est superbo humilitas, sic et execratio divitis pauper.

25Dives commotus confirmatur ab amicis suis : humilis autem cum ceciderit, expelletur et a notis.

26Diviti decepto multi recuperatores : locutus est superbia, et justificaverunt illum.

27Humilis deceptus est, insuper et arguitur : locutus est sensate, et non est datus ei locus.

28Dives locutus est, et omnes tacuerunt, et verbum illius usque ad nubes perducent.

29Pauper locutus est, et dicunt : Quis est hic? et si offenderit, subvertent illum.

30Bona est substantia cui non est peccatum in conscientia : et nequissima paupertas in ore impii.

31Cor hominis immutat faciem illius, sive in bona, sive in mala.

32Vestigium cordis boni et faciem bonam difficile invenies, et cum labore.

1ὁ ἁπτόμενος πίσσης μολυνθήσεται καὶ ὁ κοινωνῶν ὑπερηφάνῳ ὁμοιωθήσεται αὐτῷ

2βάρος ὑπὲρ σὲ μὴ ἄρῃς καὶ ἰσχυροτέρῳ σου καὶ πλουσιωτέρῳ μὴ κοινώνει

3τί κοινωνήσει χύτρα πρὸς λέβητα αὕτη προσκρούσει καὶ αὕτη συντριβήσεται

4πλούσιος ἠδίκησεν καὶ αὐτὸς προσενεβριμήσατο πτωχὸς ἠδίκηται καὶ αὐτὸς προσδεηθήσεται

5ἐὰν χρησιμεύσῃς ἐργᾶται ἐν σοί καὶ ἐὰν ὑστερήσῃς καταλείψει σε

6ἐὰν ἔχῃς συμβιώσεταί σοι καὶ ἀποκενώσει σε καὶ αὐτὸς οὐ πονέσει

7χρείαν ἔσχηκέν σου καὶ ἀποπλανήσει σε καὶ προσγελάσεταί σοι καὶ δώσει σοι ἐλπίδα λαλήσει σοι καλὰ καὶ ἐρεῖ τίς ἡ χρεία σου

8καὶ αἰσχυνεῖ σε ἐν τοῖς βρώμασιν αὐτοῦ ἕως οὗ ἀποκενώσῃ σε δὶς ἢ τρίς καὶ ἐπ' ἐσχάτων καταμωκήσεταί σου μετὰ ταῦτα ὄψεταί σε καὶ καταλείψει σε καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ κινήσει ἐπὶ σοί

10πρόσεχε μὴ ἀποπλανηθῇς καὶ μὴ ταπεινωθῇς ἐν ἀφροσύνῃ σου

12προσκαλεσαμένου σε δυνάστου ὑποχωρῶν γίνου καὶ τόσῳ μᾶλλόν σε προσκαλέσεται

13μὴ ἔμπιπτε μὴ ἀπωσθῇς καὶ μὴ μακρὰν ἀφίστω ἵνα μὴ ἐπιλησθῇς

14μὴ ἔπεχε ἰσηγορεῖσθαι μετ' αὐτοῦ καὶ μὴ πίστευε τοῖς πλείοσιν λόγοις αὐτοῦ ἐκ πολλῆς γὰρ λαλιᾶς πειράσει σε καὶ ὡς προσγελῶν ἐξετάσει σε

15ἀνελεήμων ὁ μὴ συντηρῶν λόγους καὶ οὐ μὴ φείσηται περὶ κακώσεως καὶ δεσμῶν

16συντήρησον καὶ πρόσεχε σφοδρῶς ὅτι μετὰ τῆς πτώσεώς σου περιπατεῖς

19πᾶν ζῷον ἀγαπᾷ τὸ ὅμοιον αὐτῷ καὶ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ

20πᾶσα σὰρξ κατὰ γένος συνάγεται καὶ τῷ ὁμοίῳ αὐτοῦ προσκολληθήσεται ἀνήρ

21τί κοινωνήσει λύκος ἀμνῷ οὕτως ἁμαρτωλὸς πρὸς εὐσεβῆ

22τίς εἰρήνη ὑαίνῃ πρὸς κύνα καὶ τίς εἰρήνη πλουσίῳ πρὸς πένητα

23κυνήγια λεόντων ὄναγροι ἐν ἐρήμῳ οὕτως νομαὶ πλουσίων πτωχοί

24βδέλυγμα ὑπερηφάνῳ ταπεινότης οὕτως βδέλυγμα πλουσίῳ πτωχός

25πλούσιος σαλευόμενος στηρίζεται ὑπὸ φίλων ταπεινὸς δὲ πεσὼν προσαπωθεῖται ὑπὸ φίλων

26πλουσίου σφαλέντος πολλοὶ ἀντιλήμπτορες ἐλάλησεν ἀπόρρητα καὶ ἐδικαίωσαν αὐτόν

27ταπεινὸς ἔσφαλεν καὶ προσεπετίμησαν αὐτῷ ἐφθέγξατο σύνεσιν καὶ οὐκ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ τόπος

28πλούσιος ἐλάλησεν καὶ πάντες ἐσίγησαν καὶ τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ ἀνύψωσαν ἕως τῶν νεφελῶν

29πτωχὸς ἐλάλησεν καὶ εἶπαν τίς οὗτος κἂν προσκόψῃ προσανατρέψουσιν αὐτόν

30ἀγαθὸς ὁ πλοῦτος ᾧ μή ἐστιν ἁμαρτία καὶ πονηρὰ ἡ πτωχεία ἐν στόματι ἀσεβοῦς

31καρδία ἀνθρώπου ἀλλοιοῖ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐάν τε εἰς ἀγαθὰ ἐάν τε εἰς κακά

32ἴχνος καρδίας ἐν ἀγαθοῖς πρόσωπον ἱλαρόν καὶ εὕρεσις παραβολῶν διαλογισμοὶ μετὰ κόπων