Sirach — Chapter 12 — Hebrew–Greek comparison
Giving Wisely and Guarding against Enmity
| Hebrew–English · Literal-Smooth | Greek–English · Literal-Smooth | Classification & Notes |
|---|---|---|
Hebrew 12:1 · translated If you do good, know to whom you do good, and there will be hope for your goodness. | If you do good, know to whom you do it, and there will be gratitude for your good deeds. | Similar · Hebrew 12:1 — Greek gratitude differs from Hebrew hope. |
Hebrew 12:2 · translated Do good to the righteous, and find repayment: if not from him, from YHWH. | Do good to a godly person, and you will find repayment; if not from him, then from the Most High. | Similar · Hebrew 12:2 — Same repayment teaching; Greek Most High corresponds to LORD. |
Hebrew 12:3 · translated There is no good for the repose of a wicked man, who also has not done righteousness. | There will be no good things for the one who persists in evil or the one who gives no alms. | Different · Hebrew 12:3 — Hebrew repose is difficult; Greek speaks of persisting in evil and failing to give alms. |
Hebrew 12:4 · translated Give to the good and withhold from the evil. | Give to the godly person, and do not support the sinner. | Similar · Hebrew 12:4 — A places this after 12:6; the parallel also corresponds to Greek 12:7. Inherited Greek note12:4 The restriction is explicit in this wisdom text; it is not harmonized with later commands about generosity to enemies. |
Hebrew 12:5 · translated Double evil will overtake you in a time of need for every good thing you bring him. Do not give him provisions of bread: why should he confront you with them? Honor the lowly, and do not give to the arrogant. Hebrew witness A · A V Rectoפי שנים רעה תשיג בעת צורך בכל טובה תגיע אליו ׃ כלי לחם אל תתּן לו למה בם יקביל אליך ׃ ׄהקיר מך ואל תתן לזׄ ד ׃ | Do good to the humble person, and do not give to the ungodly. Hold back his loaves and do not give them to him, so that he does not use them to overpower you. For you will receive double evils for all the good things you do to him. | Similar · Hebrew 12:5 — Same restrictive counsel and double evil; A divides and reorders the material around 12:4 and 12:6. Inherited Greek note12:5 The stated rationale and the double repayment are retained; the source’s exclusion is not softened into a different instruction. |
Hebrew 12:6 · translated For God also hates evildoers and returns vengeance upon the wicked. | For the Most High Himself has hated sinners and will repay the ungodly with retribution. | Similar · Hebrew 12:6 — Same warning; Hebrew God corresponds to Greek Most High. Inherited Greek note12:6 Hated renders ἐμίσησεν directly; its object is sinners, not an unprinted substitution of sin alone. |
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission. | Give to the good person, and do not support the sinner. | Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied. |
Hebrew 12:8 · translated A friend is not known in prosperity, nor is an enemy concealed in adversity. | A friend will not be vindicated in prosperity, and an enemy will not remain hidden in adversity. | Different · Hebrew 12:8 — Hebrew known corresponds to a Greek variant, while the inherited Greek main text says vindicated. Inherited Greek note12:8 “Vindicated” retains ἐκδικηθήσεται, confirmed in Swete, p. 667. His printed apparatus also reports a reading meaning “will not be known”; this can explain a different translation without being silently substituted into the declared publisher text. The actual manuscript images were not collated. [SWETE-SIR] |
Hebrew 12:9 · translated In a person's prosperity even an enemy is a friend; in his adversity even a friend separates himself. | When a man prospers, his enemies are in grief; when he suffers adversity, even his friend will separate himself. | Different · Hebrew 12:9 — Greek describes enemies grieving during prosperity, whereas Hebrew calls even an enemy a friend. |
Hebrew 12:10 · translated Never trust an enemy, for his evil corrodes like copper. | Never trust your enemy, for as copper corrodes, so does his wickedness. | Similar · Hebrew 12:10 — Same copper-corrosion image. Inherited Greek note12:10 Copper renders χαλκός; the corrosion image is not replaced by rusting iron. |
Hebrew 12:11 · translated Even if he obeys you and walks gently, set your heart to fear him. Be toward him like one uncovering a secret, so that he finds no way to ruin you; know the end of envy. Hebrew witness A · A V Rectoוגם אם ישמע לך ויהלך בנחת ׃ תן לבך להתירא ממנו היה לו כמגלה רז ׃ ולא ימצא להשחיתך ודע אחרית קנאה ׃ | Even if he humbles himself and walks bowed down, keep your soul alert and guard against him. You will be toward him like someone who has wiped a mirror, and you will know that it has not completely corroded. | Different · Hebrew 12:11 — A's secret, ruin, and envy differ from Greek wiped mirror and corrosion. Inherited Greek note12:11 The final negative clause follows οὐκ εἰς τέλος κατίωσεν. Swete, p. 668, confirms the same wording. Its relationship to the wiped mirror and hidden wickedness remains difficult; the note does not claim that the rust is wholly gone. [SWETE-SIR] |
Hebrew 12:12 · translated Do not station him beside you, lest he push you aside and stand in your place. Do not seat him at your right hand, lest he seek your seat; afterward you will understand my words and groan at my lament. Hebrew witness A · A V Rectoאל תעמידהו אצלך למה יהדפך ויעמד תחתיך · אל תושיבהו לימינך למה יבקש מושבך ׃ ולאחור תשיג אמרי ולאנחתי תתאנח ׃ | Do not station him beside yourself, lest he overthrow you and stand in your place. Do not seat him at your right hand, lest he seek your seat; then at the last you will recognize my words and be pierced by my sayings. | Similar · Hebrew 12:12 — Same displacement warning; Hebrew lament differs from Greek being pierced by sayings. Inherited Greek note12:12 All seating, displacement, and final recognition clauses are retained. |
Hebrew 12:13 · translated Who pities a bitten charmer, or anyone approaching a beast with a strong tooth? Hebrew witness A · A V Recto{{מ}}ה ^י^ יוחן חובר נשוך וכל הקרב אל ח ^י^ ת <עז> שן ׃ | Who will pity a snake-charmer bitten by a serpent, or all those who approach wild beasts? | Similar · Hebrew 12:13 — Greek gives a serpent explicitly; Hebrew describes the dangerous tooth. |
Hebrew 12:14 · translated So one joining himself to a woman of arrogance and wallowing in his sins will not depart until fire burns in him. Hebrew witness A · A V Rectoכן חובר אל אשת זדון ומתגלל בעונתיו לא יעבר ׃ עד תבער בו אש · | So it is with the one who approaches a sinful man and becomes entangled in his sins. | Different · Hebrew 12:14 — A reads woman of arrogance, not Greek sinful man, and adds the burning-fire conclusion. |
Hebrew 12:15 · translated When he comes with you, he does not reveal himself; if you fall, he will not fall to rescue you. At the time of standing he will not appear; if one totters he will not be sustained. Hebrew witness A · A V Rectoכאשר יבוא עמך · לא יתגלה לך ואם תפול לא יפול להצילך עד עת עמד לא יופיע ואם נמוט לא יתכלכל · | He will stay with you for an hour, but if you turn aside, he will certainly not hold firm. | Different · Hebrew 12:15 — A has expanded, difficult clauses about concealment and non-assistance; Greek is a shorter warning about a companion's impermanence. |
Hebrew 12:16 · translated With his lips an adversary delays, while in his heart he plans deep pits. Even if an enemy sheds tears with his eyes, when he finds an opportunity he is not sated with blood. Hebrew witness A · A V Rectoבשפתיו יתמהמה צר ובלבו יחשוב מהמרות עמוקות ׃ וגם אם בעיניו ידמיע אויב אם מצא עת לא ישבע דם | An enemy will make his lips sweet, but in his heart he will plan to throw you into a pit. An enemy will weep with his eyes, but if he finds the occasion, he will not be satisfied with blood. | Similar · Hebrew 12:16 — The main contrast is shared, but A's opening delays differs from Greek makes sweet. Inherited Greek note12:16 The outward tears and inward murderous intent are both explicit. |
Hebrew 12:17 · translated If evil befalls you, he is found there; like one supporting you he grasps your heel. | If evil things meet you, you will find him there before you; as though helping, he will undermine your heel. | Similar · Hebrew 12:17 — Same false-help and heel imagery. Inherited Greek note12:17 The pretense of help and the heel image are retained. |
Hebrew 12:18 · translated He shakes his head and waves his hand, and with much whispering changes his face. | He will shake his head and clap his hands, whisper many things, and change his expression. | Similar · Hebrew 12:18 — Greek claps hands where Hebrew waves his hand. Inherited Greek note12:18 All four gestures or actions are preserved. |
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.