Sirach — Chapter 5
Do Not Presume on Mercy
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Hebrew–Greek comparison and notes · III. Wisdom
5:1 Do not rely on your possessions, and do not say, “They are sufficient for me.”
5:2 Do not follow your soul and your strength in walking according to the desires of your heart.
5:3 Do not say, “Who will have power over me?” For the Lord will certainly exact retribution.
5:4 Do not say, “I sinned, and what happened to me?” For the Lord is patient.
5:5 Do not become fearless about atonement, adding sin upon sins.
5:6 Do not say, “His compassion is great; He will atone for the multitude of my sins.” For mercy and wrath are with Him, and His anger will settle upon sinners.
5:7 Do not delay turning to the Lord, and do not put it off from day to day. For the Lord’s wrath will go out suddenly, and at the time of retribution you will perish.
5:8 Do not rely on unjust possessions, for they will be of no benefit to you on the day of calamity.
5:9 Do not winnow in every wind or walk on every path; that is how the double-tongued sinner acts.
5:10 Be firm in your understanding, and let your word be one.
5:11 Be quick in listening, and give your answer with patience.
5:12 If you have understanding, answer your neighbor; if not, let your hand be over your mouth.
5:13 Glory and dishonor are in speech, and a person’s tongue can bring about his fall.
5:14 Do not be called a whisperer, and do not set an ambush with your tongue. For shame rests upon a thief, and harsh condemnation upon someone double-tongued.
5:15 In great and small matters do not act ignorantly, and do not become an enemy in place of a friend. For a bad name will inherit shame and reproach; that is how it is with the double-tongued sinner.
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.
5:3 The emphatic repeated retribution verb is represented by certainly.
5:5 The warning concerns presuming on forgiveness, without deleting the source’s atonement term.
5:9 The agricultural image and double tongue are retained.
5:10 The concise unity-of-speech image is not expanded into an unprinted oath.
5:14 Whisperer is retained in the sense of a covert slanderer; the two comparisons remain explicit.
5:15 This entire paragraph is printed under source 5:15, including material commonly assigned to 6:1. The publisher’s next chapter begins at 6:2; this boundary difference is not a translation omission.