Sirach · WEB-C
Sirach
41
Bible textSynthetic voice (AI)
O death, how bitter is the memory of you to a man who is at peace in his possessions, to the man who has nothing to distract him and has prosperity in all things, and who still has strength to enjoy food! O death, your sentence is acceptable to a man who is needy and who fails in strength, who is in extreme old age, is distracted about all things, is perverse, and has lost patience! Don’t be afraid of the sentence of death. Remember those who have been before you and who come after. This is the sentence from the Lord over all flesh. And why do you refuse when it is the good pleasure of the Most High? Whether life lasts ten, or a hundred, or a thousand years, there is no inquiry about life in Hades. The children of sinners are abominable children and they frequent the dwellings of the ungodly. The inheritance of sinners’ children will perish and with their posterity will be a perpetual disgrace. Children will complain of an ungodly father, because they suffer disgrace because of him. Woe to you, ungodly men, who have forsaken the law of the Most High God! If you are born, you will be born to a curse. If you die, a curse will be your portion. All things that are of the earth will go back to the earth; so the ungodly will go from a curse to perdition. The mourning of men is about their bodies; but the evil name of sinners will be blotted out. Have regard for your name, for it continues with you longer than a thousand great treasures of gold. A good life has its number of days, but a good name continues forever. My children, follow instruction in peace. But wisdom that is hidden and a treasure that is not seen, what benefit is in them both? Better is a man who hides his foolishness than a man who hides his wisdom. Therefore show respect for my words; for it is not good to retain every kind of shame. Not everything is approved by all in good faith. Be ashamed of sexual immorality before father and mother, of a lie before a prince and a mighty man, of an offense before a judge and ruler, of iniquity before the congregation and the people, of unjust dealing before a partner and friend, and of theft in the place where you sojourn. Be ashamed in regard of the truth of God and his covenant, of leaning on your elbow at dinner, of contemptuous behavior in the matter of giving and taking, of silence before those who greet you, of looking at a woman who is a prostitute, of turning away your face from a kinsman, of taking away a portion or a gift, of gazing at a woman who has a husband, of meddling with his maid—and don’t come near her bed, of abusive speech to friends—and after you have given, don’t insult, of repeating and speaking what you have heard, and of revealing of secrets. So you will be ashamed of the right things and find favor in the sight of every man.
Reflections
No reviewed reflections for this passage yet.
Notes · Haydock (1859, public domain)19 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 41:1
Ver. 1. Death is terrible to all, but most to those who live comfortably. C. --- O
vita misero longa, felici brevis. Sen.
↑ 1Sirach 41:3
Ver. 3. Sentence, pronounced on Adam and all his posterity. C.
↑ 3Sirach 41:5
Ver. 5. Flesh. "It is a great consolation to share the fate of all." Sen. Provid. v.
↑ 5Sirach 41:6
Ver. 6. What. Gr. "why wouldst thou refuse to submit to the?" &c. H.
↑ 6Sirach 41:7
Ver. 7. Life. Thou wilt not be asked how long, but how well thou hast lived. No one will then envy thy long life. C. --- It will be in vain to plead that the length or shortness of life has occasioned thy sins; for God does all with justice and for the best, if men would use rightly his benefits. W. --- Thou wilt not repine at having lived too short a time. M. --- An evil life will be alone condemned. Wisd.
v. D.
↑ 7Sirach 41:8
Ver. 8. Ungodly. They adopt the wicked manners of their parents (C.) and companions, and thus become still more criminal. H.
Œtas parentum pejor avis tulit
Nos nequiores, mox daturos
Progeniem vitiosiorem. Hor. ii. ode 6.
--- This was terribly verified in the three French assemblies, which overturned the Church and state. A. 1793. See Barruel. H.
↑ 8Sirach 41:10
Ver. 10. Father. He is rather their executioner, (C.) and would have been less cruel, if he had murdered them while they were innocent. Wisd. xii. 10. H.
↑ 10Sirach 41:12
This 19th-century note uses polemical language; read it in the light of the note at the top of this panel.
Ver. 12. Portion. It would have been better for them never to have existed. Mat.
xxvi. 24. This the case of heresiarchs. C.
↑ 12Sirach 41:13
Ver. 13. From. Gr. "go to destruction." H. --- It is their destination (C. xl. 11. C.) and choice.
H.
↑ 13Sirach 41:14
Ver. 14. Body. The death of the body is bewailed in the just, but that of the soul also of wicked people calls for our tears. They will soon perish. Ps. ix. 7.
↑ 14Sirach 41:15
Ver. 15. Great. The concern which all have for a good name, is one of the strongest proofs of the souls' immortality. Prov. xxii. 11.
↑ 15Sirach 41:17
Ver. 17. Peace, with docility, (Mat. xi. 25.) or in the midst of prosperity, be on your guard. C.
xx. 32. C.
↑ 17Sirach 41:19
Ver. 19. Have a shame, &c. That is to say, be ashamed of doing any of these things, which I am now going to mention: for though sometimes shamefacedness is not to be indulged, yet it is often good and necessary; as in the following cases. Ch. --- Disciples ought to esteem what their masters teach, though they do not perceive the reasonableness of what they assert. W.
↑ 19Sirach 41:20
Ver. 20. Opinion. Grotius corrects the Gr. "It is not laudable to be incredulous in all."
↑ 20Sirach 41:21
Ver. 21. Mother. Thy misconduct seems to redound to their dishonour, as if they had not given thee a proper education.
↑ 21Sirach 41:22
Ver. 22. People. They will stone thee. Remember the fate of Roboam. 3 K. xii. C.
↑ 22Sirach 41:24
Ver. 24. And of. Lit. "out of respect for the," &c. De veritate Dei & testamento.
H. --- The same words occur C. xlii. 2.; whence Jansenius thinks they have been transferred hither. Most refer them to what goes before. Blush for lying, which is contrary to the truth of God; and for the other sins which injure his covenant. --- Meat. This posture betrays idleness or pride.
↑ 24Sirach 41:25
Ver. 25. Harlot. The eyes must be chaste. Jer. ix. 21. Mat. v. 28. --- Kinsman, when he is poor, and refusing to assist him. C.
↑ 25Sirach 41:26
Ver. 26. Turn. Gr. "of taking away a portion and gift," made already to God or men; (27) "of considering attentively another's wife; of being too busy about his," &c. H.
↑ 26License: 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