Sirach — Chapter 18
Divine Mercy and Human Forethought
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Hebrew–Greek comparison and notes · III. Wisdom
18:1 He who lives forever created all things together.
18:2 The Lord alone will be justified.
18:4 He has empowered no one to declare His works fully; who will trace out His mighty deeds?
18:5 Who will count the might of His greatness? Who will go on to recount His mercies?
18:6 It is impossible to diminish or to add, and impossible to trace out the Lord’s wonders.
18:7 When a person finishes, then he begins; when he stops, then he will be at a loss.
18:8 What is a human being, and what is his use? What is his good, and what is his evil?
18:9 The number of a person’s days, in many years, is a hundred.
18:10 Like a drop of water from the sea or a grain of sand, so are a few years in a day of eternity.
18:11 Therefore the Lord was patient with them and poured His mercy upon them.
18:12 He saw and knew that their end was grievous; therefore He multiplied His atonement.
18:13 A person’s mercy is toward his neighbor, but the Lord’s mercy is upon all flesh: rebuking, disciplining, teaching, and bringing back like a shepherd his flock.
18:14 He has mercy on those who receive discipline and those who hasten eagerly toward His judgments.
18:15 Child, do not add reproach to good deeds, or the grief of words to any gift.
18:16 Does not dew bring relief from scorching heat? So a word is better than a gift.
18:17 Look, is not a word beyond a good gift? Yet both are found with a gracious man.
18:18 A fool will reproach gracelessly, and a grudging person’s gift makes eyes waste away.
18:19 Learn before speaking, and attend to your health before illness.
18:20 Examine yourself before judgment, and at the hour of visitation you will find atonement.
18:21 Humble yourself before you fall ill, and show repentance at the time of sins.
18:22 Do not be held back from repaying a vow at the right time, and do not wait until death to be justified.
18:23 Prepare yourself before making a vow, and do not become like a person testing the Lord.
18:24 Remember wrath in the days of death, and the time of retribution when the face is turned away.
18:25 Remember a time of famine in a time of fullness, poverty and need in days of wealth.
18:26 From morning until evening the time changes, and all things are swift before the Lord.
18:27 A wise person will be cautious in everything, and in days of sins will guard against wrongdoing.
18:28 Every understanding person has known wisdom and will give acknowledgment to the one who finds her.
18:29 Those understanding in words have themselves become wise and rained down precise proverbs.
18:30 Do not walk after your desires, and restrain your appetites.
18:31 If you supply your soul with the satisfaction of desire, it will make you an object of your enemies’ gloating.
18:32 Do not rejoice in great luxury, lest you be bound to its contribution.
18:33 Do not become poor by feasting on borrowed money when you have nothing in your purse.
Source and editorial notes
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.
18:1 Together renders κοινῇ without imposing a theory of the elapsed duration of creation.
18:2 The next printed label is 4; label 3 is absent.
18:4 Fully is implicit in the question about comprehending the whole, not a claim that no one can mention any divine work.
18:7 The paradox of finishing and beginning is retained.
18:9 The compressed number statement is retained; a precise universal lifespan is not asserted beyond the source’s proverbial expression.
18:10 Both scale comparisons and the phrase day of eternity are preserved.
18:13 All four actions explain the Lord’s mercy; its scope is all flesh.
18:18 The bodily effect on eyes is retained as the image for a painful gift.
18:22 Vow renders εὐχή in the context of repaying it; the justification language remains explicit.
18:23 Making a vow follows the preceding context; εὔξασθαι can also mean praying.
18:24 The Greek does not expressly name the possessor of face in the final phrase; no new subject is inserted.
18:29 The rain image is retained.
18:32 Contribution renders συμβολή, the share paid into a common feast or expenditure; the financial restraint is retained.