Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 10
1A wise ruler will educate his people, and his government will be orderly. 2All the officials and all the citizens will be like their ruler. 3An uneducated king will ruin his people, but a government will grow strong if its rulers are wise. 4The Lord sees to the government of the world and brings the right person to power at the right time. 5The success of that person is in the Lord's hands. The Lord is the source of the honour given to any official.Pride
6Don't be angry with someone for every little thing he does wrong. Don't do anything out of injured pride. 7Arrogance and injustice are hated by both the Lord and human beings. 8Injustice, arrogance, and wealth cause nations to fall from power, and others then rise to take their place. 9We are only dust and ashes; what have we got to be proud of? Our body decays even while we are alive. 10A long illness puzzles the doctor. Even a king may be alive today and dead tomorrow. 11When a person dies, all he then possesses is worms, flies, and maggots.
12Pride has its beginning when a person abandons the Lord, his maker. 13Pride is like a fountain pouring out sin, and whoever persists in it will be filled with wickedness. That is why the Lord brought terrible punishments on some people and completely destroyed them. 14The Lord has overthrown kings and put humbler people in their place. 15The Lord has pulled up nations by the roots and established humbler ones in their place. 16The Lord has overthrown empires and completely devastated their lands. 17He destroyed some of them so completely that they are not even remembered any more. 18The Creator never intended human beings to be arrogant and violent.
People Who Should Be Honoured
19Who deserves honour? The human race does, because people fear the Lord. Who does not deserve honour? The human race does not, because people break the Lord's commands. 20A leader should be honoured by those who follow him, and the Lord honours those who fear him.
22Rich people, famous people, and poor people all take pride in their fear of the Lord. 23It is not right to refuse honour to a poor person who is intelligent, and is not right to give honour to a sinner. 24People of influence, rulers, and judges will be honoured, but none of them is greater than a person who fears the Lord. 25A slave who is wise will have free citizens serving him; and if they are sensible, they will not resent it.
Humility and Self-respect
26When you do your work, don't make a show of your skill, and don't try to put on an act when you are in trouble. 27It is better to work and have more than you need than to go about boasting but hungry.
28My child, keep your self-respect, but remain modest. Value yourself at your true worth. 29There is no excuse for a person who runs himself down. No one respects a person who has no respect for himself. 30Poor people can be honoured for their good sense, and rich people can be honoured for their wealth. 31If someone is honoured while he is poor, think how much he will be honoured if he becomes rich! If someone is despised while he is rich, think how much more he will be despised if he becomes poor!
Good News Translation® with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Anglicisation © The British and Foreign Bible Society 1976, 1994, 2004
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