ChaplainHealthy gladness

Sirach — Chapter 30 — Hebrew–Greek comparison

Discipline, Health, and Gladness

Saints Translation · V2 · Hebrew–Greek working comparison

Sirach 30 · 25 source units
Hebrew–English · Literal-Smooth	Greek–English · Literal-Smooth	Classification & Notes
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	30:1 The one who loves his son will continually give him lashes, so that he may rejoice at his last days.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied. Inherited Greek note 30:1 The ancient author’s corporal-discipline language is translated directly; the rendering does not substitute the broader word guidance.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	30:2 The one who disciplines his son will benefit from him and boast about him among acquaintances.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	30:3 The one who teaches his son will make his enemy envious and rejoice over him before friends.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	30:4 His father died, yet it is as though he did not die, for he left someone like himself after him.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	30:5 During his life he saw him and rejoiced, and at his death he was not grieved.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	30:6 He left an avenger against enemies and one who would repay kindness to friends.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	30:7 The one who pampers a son will bind up his wounds, and at every cry his inward parts will be troubled.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied. Inherited Greek note 30:7 The Greek pronouns leave whose wounds is meant compressed; the parent’s inward distress is not removed.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	30:8 An untamed horse turns out stubborn, and an unrestrained son turns out headstrong.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	30:9 Pamper a child, and he will terrify you; play with him, and he will grieve you.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	30:10 Do not laugh together with him, so that you do not suffer together and at the last gnash your teeth.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied.
Hebrew 30:11 · translated Do not give him rule in his youth, and do not bear with his corrupt ways. Hebrew witness B · B III Recto >אל תמשילהו בנעוריו ]] [[ ואל תשא לשחיתותיו <מש׳ ׃ Manuscript transcription	30:11 Do not give him authority in youth.	Different · Hebrew 30:11 — Hebrew adds the prohibition against tolerating corrupt conduct.
Hebrew 30:12 · translated Bend his head in his youth and beat his loins while he is little, lest he grow hardened and rebel against you, and anguish of soul come to you from him. Hebrew witness B · B III Recto כפתן על חי תפגע ]] [[ רציץ מתניו שעודנו נער ׃ / כיף ראשו בנערותו ]] [[ ובקע מתניו כשהוא קטן ׃ / למה ישקה <יקשיח> <ישקיח> ומרה בך ]] [[ ונולד <<ולך>> ממנו <ולוד ממך> מפח נפש ׃ Manuscript transcription	30:12 Bruise his sides while he is little, lest he become hardened and disobey you.	Different · Hebrew 30:12 — Selects B 3r:3–4 and the annotated reading יקשיḥ (יקשיח); 3r:2 is a difficult alternate formulation. Hebrew adds the parent’s resulting anguish. Inherited Greek note 30:12 The strong verb θλάσον and bodily sides, πλευράς, are retained as the source’s ancient punitive image; no extra method of punishment is supplied.
Hebrew 30:13 · translated Discipline your son and make his yoke heavy, lest in his folly he mock you. Hebrew witness B · B III Recto >יסר בנך והכבד עולו ]] [[ פן באולתו יתלעבך <יתעל ׃ Manuscript transcription	30:13 Discipline your son and work upon him, so that you do not stumble through his shamelessness.	Different · Hebrew 30:13 — Hebrew heavy yoke and mockery differ from Greek work upon him and stumbling through shamelessness.
Hebrew 30:14 · translated Better a poor man alive in his strength than a rich man stricken in his flesh. Hebrew witness B · B III Recto טוב מסכן וחי בעצמו ]] [[ מעשיר ונגע בבשרו ׃ Manuscript transcription	30:14 Better a poor person who is healthy and strong in constitution than a rich person scourged in his body.	Similar · Hebrew 30:14 — Core sense agrees; independent Hebrew rendering of the selected primary witness. No claim of letter-for-letter identity.
Hebrew 30:15 · translated I desire bodily life more than fine gold, and a good spirit more than pearls. Hebrew witness B · B III Recto ]] חיי שר <בשר> <שאר> אויתי מפז [[ ורוח טובה מפנינים ׃ Manuscript transcription	30:15 Health and soundness are better than all gold, and a robust body than immeasurable wealth.	Different · Hebrew 30:15 — Reads annotated בשר; Hebrew first-person desire and good spirit contrast Greek bodily robustness.
Hebrew 30:16 · translated There is no wealth above the wealth of bodily strength, and no good above a good heart. Hebrew witness B · B III Recto >אין עושר על עושר שר <שאר> עצם ]] [[ ואין טובה על טוב לבב <שאר ׃ Manuscript transcription	30:16 There is no wealth better than bodily health, and no gladness beyond joy of heart.	Similar · Hebrew 30:16 — Core sense agrees; independent Hebrew rendering of the selected primary witness. No claim of letter-for-letter identity.
Hebrew 30:17 · translated Better to die than to live a futile life, and everlasting rest than enduring pain. Hebrew witness B · B III Recto >טוב למות מחיי שוא ]] [[ ונוחת עולם מכאב נאמן <מחיים רעים ׃ / טוב למות מחיים רעים ]] [[ ולירד שאול <ולוד שא׳> <ולרד לשאול> מכאב עומד ׃ Manuscript transcription	30:17 Death is better than a bitter life, and eternal rest than persistent illness.	Similar · Hebrew 30:17 — First B formulation; a second formulation reads “than an evil life … to descend to Sheol.” Inherited Greek note 30:17 The stark ancient comparison is preserved as a textual statement, not expanded into an instruction to cause death.
Hebrew 30:18 · translated Good things poured out before a closed mouth are an offering set before an idol. Hebrew witness B · B III Recto >טובה שפוכה על פה <פום> סתום ]] [[ תנופה מצגת לפני גלול <מצגת גלול ׃ Manuscript transcription	30:18 Good things poured out before a closed mouth are like offerings of food set beside a tomb.	Different · Hebrew 30:18 — Hebrew idol contrasts Greek tomb.
Hebrew 30:19 · fragmentary What [benefit] is there for the [idols] of the nations, which neither eat nor [smell]? So is one who possesses wealth and takes no pleasure in it. Hebrew witness B · B III Recto מה יט֯ ]ב לאליל[י הגוים אשר לא יאכלון ולא י֯ר֯ ]יחון[ כן מי ש֯ י֯ש֯ לו עושר ואין נהנה ממנו ׃ >> << בעינו << Manuscript transcription	30:19 What benefit is an offering to an idol? For it neither eats nor smells; so is the one pursued by the Lord.	Different · Hebrew 30:19 — B interlinear addition; Hebrew wealthy non-enjoyer contrasts Greek person pursued by the Lord. Some Hebrew letters restored by transcription. Classification assesses only the surviving/readable wording, not lost portions. Inherited Greek note 30:19 Pursued retains ἐκδιωκόμενος rather than naming an illness absent from the clause.
Hebrew 30:20 · fragmentary As [a eunuch?] embraces a maiden and sighs, so is one who acts with violence in judgment. So a trusted man lodges with a virgin, and YHWH calls him to account. Hebrew witness B · B III Recto כאשר סירים יחבק נערה ומתאנח כן עושה באונס <בגזל> משפט ׃ / >>>כן נאמן לן עם בתולה ]] [[ וייי מבקש מידו <ביד}}ן{{<<ו ׃ Manuscript transcription	30:20 He sees with his eyes and groans, like a eunuch embracing a virgin and groaning.	Divergent · Hebrew 30:20 — B reads סירים (pots/thorns), not the normal סריס (eunuch); the bracketed rendering is a conjectural contextual correction, not extant Hebrew. Two B formulations retained; Greek emphasizes frustrated enjoyment. Classification assesses only the surviving/readable wording, not lost portions. Inherited Greek note 30:20 The source’s comparison of frustrated enjoyment is retained without added detail.
Hebrew 30:21 · translated Do not give your soul over to sorrow, and do not stumble through your guilt. Hebrew witness B · B III Recto אל תתן לדין נפשך ]] [[ ואל תכשל בעונך ׃ <בעצתך ׃> <ואל תכשילך עצתך ׃< Manuscript transcription	30:21 Do not give your soul over to grief, and do not afflict yourself with your deliberation.	Different · Hebrew 30:21 — Main B reading בעונך, “your guilt”; annotation בעצתך, “your counsel,” is closer to Greek deliberation.
Hebrew 30:22 · translated Gladness of heart is a man’s life, and human rejoicing lengthens his patience. Hebrew witness B · B III Recto [[ ]] שמחת לבב הם חיי איש וגיל אדם האריך אפו ׃ Manuscript transcription	30:22 Gladness of heart is a person’s life, and a man’s rejoicing is length of days.	Different · Hebrew 30:22 — Main B אפו literally his anger/patience rather than Greek days.
Hebrew 30:23 · translated Entice your soul and soothe your heart, and put vexation far from you; for sorrow has killed [many], and there is no profit in vexation. Hebrew witness B · B III Recto פת נפשׄ ך ופייג לבך ]] [[ וקצפון הרחק ממך ׃ / כיׄ ]רבים[ הרׄ ג דין ]] [[ ואין תעלה בקצפון ׃ Manuscript transcription	30:23 Beguile your soul, comfort your heart, and put grief far from you; for grief has destroyed many, and there is no benefit in it.	Similar · Hebrew 30:23 — Core sense agrees; independent Hebrew rendering of the selected primary witness. No claim of letter-for-letter identity. Inherited Greek note 30:23 Beguile follows ἀπάτα in the context of consolation, as at 14:16; it is not expanded into deception of others.
Hebrew 30:24 · translated Jealousy and anger shorten days, and anxiety makes one old before the time. Hebrew witness B · B III Recto קנאה וא֯ ף֯ ]ת[קצ֯ ר֯ ימים ]] [[ ובלא עת תזקין דאגה ׃ Manuscript transcription	30:24 Jealousy and anger shorten days, and anxiety brings old age before its time.	Similar · Hebrew 30:24 — Core sense agrees; independent Hebrew rendering of the selected primary witness. No claim of letter-for-letter identity.
Hebrew 30:25 · translated The years of a good heart are in place of delicacies, and its food will prosper with it. Hebrew witness B · B III Verso שנות לב טוב תחת מטעמים ]] [[ ומאכלו יעלה עליו ׃ Manuscript transcription	30:25 A bright and good heart will take care over the dishes it eats.	Different · Hebrew 30:25 — B wording שנות … תחת is difficult; provisional literal rendering, not harmonized to Greek care over dishes. Inherited Greek note 30:25 The concise food-attention clause is retained without turning it into a modern dietary prescription.

Source and numbering

Hebrew English is newly translated from the manuscript-specific transcriptions in The Book of Ben Sira portal. Each translated unit identifies its selected witness and folio. This is a selected-witness working edition, not an exhaustive collation of every manuscript or a reconstruction of lost Hebrew. Brackets and fragmentary status identify uncertainty; no Greek text has been back-translated to fill Hebrew gaps.

The Greek-source English and its notes are inherited from the existing Sirach edition. The comparison categories are provisional editorial assessments against that English; this update is not a fresh verification of every Greek reading or its apparatus.

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.