Sirach

The Holy Bible · III. Wisdom

Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · 51 chapters and translator’s prologue · Working translation

Sirach forms the heart through reverence for God, patient learning, faithful friendship, and mercy toward our neighbors. Within the Wisdom division, it brings discernment into the ordinary work of living. Read in the light of Christ, its instruction invites His people to grow in humility, generosity, and faithful love.

The reading journey

Sirach carries the search for wisdom into friendship, family, worship, and service. Its praise of Israel’s ancestors and closing prayer lead us toward Providence, where Isaiah opens the prophetic call to justice, repentance, and hope. These connections guide this edition’s reading journey.

Begin Sirach’s Prologue → · Compare source readings

← Wisdom of Solomon · III. Wisdom · Isaiah · IV. Providence →

Chapters

Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

Editorial guide

Included in the Old Testament, Division III: Wisdom, in this selected edition. Catholic Scripture; received in many Orthodox Old Testaments; generally classed as Apocrypha outside the Protestant Old Testament canon. This placement is the editor’s selection, not a claim of agreement among all churches.

Working translation preserved from the recovered manuscript of 8 September 2026. Declared source: Septuaginta, Rahlfs–Hanhart, 2006, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, publisher’s Greek main text. Independent linguistic and critical-apparatus review remains outstanding. Source-access and reception claims in the inherited notes have not been freshly revalidated. Chapter and section headings are editorial.

The translator’s prologue is separate from the 51 chapters. Its eight source units map to publisher labels 1, 1a–1g; main-text 1:1 maps to 1h. Source 5:15 includes material often numbered 6:1, so chapter 6 begins at 6:2. Source label gaps are preserved; no text is invented.

Chapter headings

• Translator’s Prologue
• Chapter 1 — Wisdom and the Fear of the Lord
• Chapter 2 — Faithfulness under Trial
• Chapter 3 — Parents, Humility, and Mercy
• Chapter 4 — Care for the Needy and Fidelity to Wisdom
• Chapter 5 — Do Not Presume on Mercy
• Chapter 6 — Faithful Friends and Wisdom’s Discipline
• Chapter 7 — Duties toward God and Neighbor
• Chapter 8 — Prudence in Human Dealings
• Chapter 9 — Guarded Desire and Wise Companionship
• Chapter 10 — Rule, Pride, and Honor
• Chapter 11 — Reversals of Fortune
• Chapter 12 — Giving Wisely and Guarding against Enmity
• Chapter 13 — The Unequal Power of Wealth
• Chapter 14 — Generosity, Mortality, and the Pursuit of Wisdom
• Chapter 15 — Wisdom and Human Choice
• Chapter 16 — Judgment and the Order of Creation
• Chapter 17 — Creation, Covenant, and Return to God
• Chapter 18 — Divine Mercy and Human Forethought
• Chapter 19 — Discretion in Speech and Genuine Wisdom
• Chapter 20 — The Right Time to Speak
• Chapter 21 — Sin, Wisdom, and Foolish Speech
• Chapter 22 — Folly and the Preservation of Friendship
• Chapter 23 — Prayer for Discipline and Warnings against Adultery
• Chapter 24 — Wisdom’s Dwelling in Israel
• Chapter 25 — Concord, Age, and Household Discord
• Chapter 26 — A Good Wife and Difficult Partnerships
• Chapter 27 — Words Reveal the Heart
• Chapter 28 — Forgiveness and the Destructive Tongue
• Chapter 29 — Loans, Surety, and a Home of One’s Own
• Chapter 30 — Discipline, Health, and Gladness
• Chapter 31 — Wealth, Food, and Wine
• Chapter 32 — Conduct at a Feast and Attentiveness to the Law
• Chapter 33 — God’s Ordering and Household Authority
• Chapter 34 — Dreams, Experience, and Just Worship
• Chapter 35 — The Offering of Obedience and the Prayer of the Lowly
• Chapter 36 — Prayer for Israel’s Restoration
• Chapter 37 — Counsel, Wisdom, and Moderation
• Chapter 38 — Physicians, Mourning, and Skilled Work
• Chapter 39 — The Scribe and the Goodness of God’s Works
• Chapter 40 — Human Toil and Enduring Good
• Chapter 41 — Death, a good name, and proper shame
• Chapter 42 — Discernment and the works of the Lord
• Chapter 43 — The heavens, the seasons, and the sea
• Chapter 44 — Praise of the ancestors
• Chapter 45 — Moses, Aaron, and Phinehas
• Chapter 46 — Joshua, the judges, and Samuel
• Chapter 47 — David, Solomon, and the divided kingdom
• Chapter 48 — Elijah, Elisha, Hezekiah, and Isaiah
• Chapter 49 — Josiah, the prophets, and the restorers
• Chapter 50 — Simon the high priest and the blessing of Israel
• Chapter 51 — Thanksgiving and the pursuit of wisdom

← Wisdom of Solomon · III. Wisdom · Isaiah · IV. Providence →