Sirach 14

¹ Blessed is the man who does not blunder with his lips and need not suffer grief for sin.

² Blessed is he whose heart does not condemn him, and who has not given up his hope.

³ Riches are not seemly for a stingy man; and of what use is property to an envious man?

⁴ Whoever accumulates by depriving himself, accumulates for others; and others will live in luxury on his goods.

⁵ If a man is mean to himself, to whom will he be generous? He will not enjoy his own riches.

⁶ No one is meaner than the man who is grudging to himself, and this is the retribution for his baseness;

⁷ even if he does good, he does it unintentionally, and betrays his baseness in the end.

⁸ Evil is the man with a grudging eye; he averts his face and disregards people.

⁹ A greedy man's eye is not satisfied with a portion, and mean injustice withers the soul.

¹⁰ A stingy man's eye begrudges bread, and it is lacking at his table.

¹¹ My son, treat yourself well, according to your means, and present worthy offerings to the Lord.

¹² Remember that death will not delay, and the decree of Hades has not been shown to you.

¹³ Do good to a friend before you die, and reach out and give to him as much as you can.

¹⁴ Do not deprive yourself of a happy day; let not your share of desired good pass by you.

¹⁵ Will you not leave the fruit of your labors to another, and what you acquired by toil to be divided by lot?

¹⁶ Give, and take, and beguile yourself, because in Hades one cannot look for luxury.

¹⁷ All living beings become old like a garment, for the decree from of old is, "You must surely die!"

¹⁸ Like flourishing leaves on a spreading tree which sheds some and puts forth others, so are the generations of flesh and blood: one dies and another is born.

¹⁹ Every product decays and ceases to exist, and the man who made it will pass away with it.

²⁰ Blessed is the man who meditates on wisdom and who reasons intelligently.

²¹ He who reflects in his mind on her ways will also ponder her secrets.

²² Pursue wisdom like a hunter, and lie in wait on her paths.

²³ He who peers through her windows will also listen at her doors;

²⁴ he who encamps near her house will also fasten his tent peg to her walls;

²⁵ he will pitch his tent near her, and will lodge in an excellent lodging place;

²⁶ he will place his children under her shelter, and will camp under her boughs

²⁷ he will be sheltered by her from the heat, and will dwell in the midst of her glory.