Sirach — Chapter 37
Counsel, Wisdom, and Moderation
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Hebrew–Greek comparison and notes · III. Wisdom
37:1 Every friend will say, “I too have shown friendship,” but there is a friend who is a friend in name alone.
37:2 Is there not grief to the point of death when a companion and friend turns to enmity?
37:3 O evil thought, from where did you roll in to cover the dry land with deceit?
37:4 A companion enjoys his friend’s gladness but will stand against him in a time of affliction.
37:5 A companion labors with a friend for his belly’s sake; before battle he will take up a shield.
37:6 Do not forget a friend in your soul or be unmindful of him in your wealth.
37:7 Every counselor exalts counsel, but there is someone who counsels for himself.
37:8 Guard your soul against a counselor, and know beforehand what he needs—for he too will counsel for himself—lest he cast a lot against you
37:9 and say to you, “Your road is good,” then stand opposite to see what happens to you.
37:10 Do not take counsel with someone who looks suspiciously at you, and hide your counsel from those who envy you.
37:11 Do not consult a woman about her rival, a coward about war, a merchant about exchange, a buyer about selling, a grudging person about gratitude, a merciless person about kindness, a lazy person about any work, a yearly hired worker about completing it, or an idle household slave about much labor. Do not rely on these for any counsel.
37:12 Instead, remain with a godly man whom you know to keep commandments, whose soul is in accord with your soul, and who will share your pain if you stumble.
37:13 Establish the counsel of your heart, for you have nothing more trustworthy than it.
37:14 For a man’s soul is sometimes accustomed to report more than seven watchmen seated high upon a watchtower.
37:15 Besides all these things, petition the Most High to make your road straight in truth.
37:16 A word is the beginning of every work, and counsel precedes every action.
37:17 The trace of a heart’s change brings forth four parts:
37:18 good and evil, life and death; the tongue continually rules them.
37:19 There is a skillful man who instructs many, yet is useless to his own soul.
37:20 There is someone who displays wisdom in words but is hated; this person will lack all food,
37:21 for grace was not given him from the Lord, because he was deprived of all wisdom.
37:22 There is someone wise for his own soul, and the fruits of his understanding are trustworthy upon his mouth.
37:23 A wise man will instruct his own people, and the fruits of his understanding are trustworthy.
37:24 A wise man will be filled with blessing, and all who see him will call him happy.
37:25 A man’s life is a number of days, but Israel’s days are beyond numbering.
37:26 The wise person will inherit trust among his people, and his name will live forever.
37:27 Child, in your life test your soul; see what is bad for it and do not give it that.
37:28 For not everything benefits everyone, and not every soul takes pleasure in everything.
37:29 Do not be insatiable in every luxury, and do not abandon yourself to dishes of food.
37:30 For with much food there will be illness, and insatiability will approach the point of bilious vomiting.
37:31 Many have died through insatiability, but the one who takes care will add life.
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.
37:5 The shield clause is retained without inserting an unprinted statement that he deserts his friend.
37:11 All nine pairings are preserved. The counsel is characterized by conflicts of interest or inclination; no pair is silently omitted.
37:14 More supplies the comparative force of ἤ; seven watchmen remains explicit.
37:17 The terse heart-change expression is retained, with the four parts specified next.
37:30 The ancient χολέρα term is rendered consistently with 31:20, without identifying a modern infection.