Sirach · WEB-C
Sirach
15
Bible textSynthetic voice (AI)
He who fears the Lord will do this. He who has possession of the law will obtain her. She will meet him like a mother, and receive him like a wife married in her virginity. She will feed him with bread of understanding and give him water of wisdom to drink. He will be stayed upon her, and will not be moved. He will rely upon her, and will not be confounded. She will exalt him above his neighbors. She will open his mouth in the midst of the congregation. He will inherit joy, a crown of gladness, and an everlasting name. Foolish men will not obtain her. Sinners will not see her. She is far from pride. Liars will not remember her. Praise is not attractive in the mouth of a sinner; for it was not sent to him from the Lord. For praise will be spoken in wisdom; The Lord will prosper it. Don’t say, “It is through the Lord that I fell away;” for you shall not do the things that he hates. Don’t say, “It is he that caused me to err;” for he has no need of a sinful man. The Lord hates every abomination; and those who fear him don’t love them. He himself made man from the beginning and left him in the hand of his own counsel. If you choose, you can keep the commandments. To be faithful is a matter of your choice. He has set fire and water before you. You will stretch forth your hand to whichever you desire. Before man is life and death. Whichever he likes, it will be given to him. For the wisdom of the Lord is great. He is mighty in power, and sees all things. His eyes are upon those who fear him. He knows every act of man. He has not commanded any man to be ungodly. He has not given any man license to sin.
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Notes · Haydock (1859, public domain)10 notes
Notes in English 19th-century Catholic commentary by Fr. George Leo Haydock, shown as published.
These notes keep the polemics of their time: some speak harshly of the Jewish people or of other Christians. The Church teaches otherwise today. The Jewish people may not be blamed for the death of Christ (Nostra Aetate 4; Catechism 597–598), and Christians of other communities are our brothers and sisters in the Lord (Unitatis Redintegratio 3). Christian unity
Sirach 15:1
Ver. 1. Good. Gr. "these things, and he who possess the knowledge of the law will find her," (C.) or, "he who keeps the law, will receive her." Grabe. 1 Cor. iv.
20. H. --- All who resolve to be virtuous, will have God's grace, which preventeth them, and continueth to afford them assistance.
W.
↑ 1Sirach 15:2
Ver. 2. Married. Lit. "from virginity." H. --- Those who have been espoused in youth have the most durable love for one another. Prov. ii. 17. Mal. ii. 14. C.
↑ 2Sirach 15:5
Ver. 5. She. Or Gr. "he shall open his mouth, (6.) he shall find joy and a crown of exultation, and shall inherit," &c. H. --- Church, or assembly of the people. In both, the wise shall be heard with respect. C.
↑ 5Sirach 15:9
Ver. 9. Praise. Or Gr. "a proverb," Prov. xvii. 7. and xxvi. 7. C. --- David invites even dragons to praise God, but sinners never. S. Chrys. orat. prebyt. Ps. xlix.
16. --- The person who preaches will, and lives not accordingly, injures God. W.
↑ 9Sirach 15:10
Ver. 10. Wisdom. Gr. "it was not sent to him, (C.) or he was not commissioned by the Lord. For praise shall be spoken in wisdom, and the Lord will give him success."
↑ 10Sirach 15:11
Ver. 11. She. Ignorance and vice are defects, and consequently not the work of God, but of the perversion of free-will. See Jam. i. 13. Ezec. xxxiii. 11. S. Aug.
Grat. &. lib. ii. C. --- Beza says, that God ordained Adam's fall, but for a good end; and decreed justly what men unjustly perform, (ref. Castel. ii.) which is refuted here, and Deut. vii. 11. &c. W.
↑ 11Sirach 15:14
Ver. 14. Counsel. Many explain this of Adam, before his fall, when he stood not in need of asking continually for God's assistance. S. Aug. correp. ii. n. 35. ---
But if we examine the context, it shews that man, in his present state, is declared inexcusable if he yield to sin, as he has still free-will, which may avoid it, with the grace of God, (C.) which is always ready to support us. Gr.
subjoins, (v. 16.) "if thou wilt, thou shall keep the commandments, even to execute faithfully the good pleasure. (17.) He." &c. H.
↑ 14Sirach 15:15
Ver. 15. Precepts. These would never be imposed, if man were not free. C.
↑ 15Sirach 15:17
Ver. 17. And fire. Or, good and evil, as the Vulg. explains it, (v. 18.) though the Gr. be silent. H.
--- The law written on the heart, as well as on the tables of stone, shews man his duty; and he has free-will to comply with it. Deut. xxx. 15. Jer. xxi. 8. C. ---
He may enjoy every advantage of life, denoted by these two elements. Lyr.
An quod in his vitæ causa est, hæc perdidit exul
His nova fit conjux; hæc duo magna putant. Ovid, Fast. 4.
↑ 17Sirach 15:21
Ver. 21. Commanded. He only permitted the wickedness of Semei, (2 K. xvi. 10.) and the persecutors of his people, whose hearts are already bent on evil. S.
Aug. Grat. & lib. xx.
↑ 21License: Notes by Fr. George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), from the Douay-Rheims Bible with Haydock's commentary (first ed. Thomas Haydock, Manchester/Dublin, 1811–1814; New York: Edward Dunigan & Brother, 1859); New Testament notes compiled with Fr. Benedict Rayment. Public domain. Digital text: "The Haydock Bible", Internet Archive (archive.org/details/TheHaydockBible), uploaded 2011 under the Public Domain Mark. · Credits and licenses