Sirach — Chapter 15 — Hebrew–Greek comparison
Wisdom and Human Choice
| Hebrew–English · Literal-Smooth | Greek–English · Literal-Smooth | Classification & Notes |
|---|---|---|
Hebrew 15:1 · translated For one who fears YHWH does this, and one who grasps Torah attains her. | The one who fears the Lord will do this, and the one who holds fast to the law will gain her. | Similar · Hebrew 15:1 — Same connection of wisdom, reverence, and Torah. Inherited Greek note15:1 Her is wisdom, continuing the preceding chapter. |
Hebrew 15:2 · translated She meets him like a mother and receives him like a wife of youth. | She will meet him like a mother and welcome him like a wife of his youth. | Similar · Hebrew 15:2 — Same maternal and marital images. Inherited Greek note15:2 Wife of his youth renders literally wife of virginity; both maternal and marital comparisons are retained. |
Hebrew 15:3 · translated She feeds him bread of insight and gives him waters of understanding to drink. Hebrew witness A · A VI Rectoוהאכילתהו לחם שכל ומי }} תבואה{{ <<תבונה>> תשקנו ׃ | She will feed him bread of understanding and give him water of wisdom to drink. | Similar · Hebrew 15:3 — Same wisdom nourishment; corrected תבונה is followed. |
Hebrew 15:4 · translated He leans upon her and does not totter; he trusts in her and is not ashamed. | He will lean upon her and certainly not be shaken; he will hold to her and certainly not be put to shame. | Similar · Hebrew 15:4 — Same stability and trust. |
Hebrew 15:5 · translated She raises him above his companion and opens his mouth within the assembly. | She will raise him above his neighbors and open his mouth in the midst of the assembly. | Similar · Hebrew 15:5 — Same exaltation and public speech. |
Hebrew 15:6 · translated He finds joy and gladness, and she bequeaths him an everlasting name. | He will find gladness and a crown of rejoicing, and inherit an everlasting name. | Different · Hebrew 15:6 — Greek adds crown and makes him inherit, while Hebrew makes wisdom the giver. |
Hebrew 15:7 · translated Worthless people do not attain her, and arrogant men do not see her. | People without understanding will certainly not gain her, and sinful men will certainly not see her. | Similar · Hebrew 15:7 — Greek uses people without understanding and sinful men. |
Hebrew 15:8 · translated She is far from scoffers, and lying men do not remember her. | She is far from pride, and lying men will certainly not remember her. | Similar · Hebrew 15:8 — Hebrew scoffers differs from Greek pride. |
Hebrew 15:9 · translated Praise is not fitting in a wicked person's mouth, for it was not apportioned to him by God. | Praise is not fitting in a sinner’s mouth, because it was not sent from the Lord. | Similar · Hebrew 15:9 — Greek sent from the Lord corresponds to Hebrew apportioned by God. A marks this as an insertion. Inherited Greek note15:9 It provisionally refers to praise, rather than making the sinner the unstated messenger. |
Hebrew 15:10 · translated Praise is spoken by a wise mouth, and one who rules over it teaches it. | For praise will be spoken in wisdom, and the Lord will cause it to prosper. | Different · Hebrew 15:10 — Hebrew second clause has a ruler or master teaching, rather than the Greek Lord making praise prosper. |
Hebrew 15:11 · translated Do not say, My transgression comes from God, for what He hates He does not do. | Do not say, “Because of the Lord I fell away,” for He will not do the things He hates. | Similar · Hebrew 15:11 — Same rejection of attributing sin to God; Hebrew names transgression explicitly. Inherited Greek note15:11 The publisher prints third-person οὐ ποιήσει, He will not do; this is not silently changed into a second-person command. |
Hebrew 15:12 · translated Do not say, He caused me to stumble, for He has no need of violent men. | Do not say, “He Himself led me astray,” for He has no need of a sinful man. | Similar · Hebrew 15:12 — Greek sinful man corresponds to Hebrew violent men. |
Hebrew 15:13 · translated YHWH hates evil and abomination, and does not bring it upon those who fear Him. | The Lord has hated every abomination, and it is not loved by those who fear Him. | Different · Hebrew 15:13 — Hebrew says God does not cause it to happen to the faithful; Greek says the faithful do not love it. |
Hebrew 15:14 · translated God created the human being from the beginning, placed him in the hand of his snatcher, and gave him into the hand of his inclination. Hebrew witness A · A VI Rectoאלהים מבראשית }} א{{ ברא אדם וישתיהו ביד חותפו ויתנהו ביד יצרו ׃ | He Himself made the human being from the beginning and left him in the hand of his own deliberation. | Different · Hebrew 15:14 — A adds the difficult hand of his snatcher clause, absent in the Greek; inclination is not automatically identified with a later theological concept. Inherited Greek note15:14 The hand-of-deliberation image is retained; the verse is not expanded into an entire philosophical account of freedom. |
Hebrew 15:15 · translated If you desire, you will keep the commandment, and understanding is to do His will. If you trust in Him, you too will live. Hebrew witness A · A VI Rectoאם תחפץ תשמר מצוה ותבונה לעשות רצונו ׃ אם תאמין בו גם אתה תחיה | If you are willing, you will keep the commandments; to act faithfully is a matter of good will. | Different · Hebrew 15:15 — A adds the explicit trust-and-life sentence and differs in its formulation of understanding and God's will. Inherited Greek note15:15 The second clause is compressed Greek, καὶ πίστιν ποιῆσαι εὐδοκίας; a matter of supplies the implied relationship. Its precise construction remains open. Verified reception: Augustine, On Grace and Free Will 3, cites 15:11–17 as affirming human choice. In chapters 31–32 he joins this commandment saying to Sirach’s prayers for help, arguing that grace strengthens the will to obey. This is his interpretation, read in the identified English translation. [AUG-GRACE] |
Hebrew 15:16 · translated Fire and water are set before you; stretch your hands toward whichever you desire. | He has placed fire and water before you; toward whichever you wish, you will stretch out your hand. | Similar · Hebrew 15:16 — Same choice imagery; Hebrew has plural hands. |
Hebrew 15:17 · translated Before a person are life and death; whichever he desires will be given him. | Before human beings are life and death, and whichever a person chooses will be given to him. | Similar · Hebrew 15:17 — Same moral alternatives and choice. Inherited Greek note15:17 The move from plural human beings to a singular person reflects the source. |
Hebrew 15:18 · translated YHWH's wisdom is abundant; He is mighty in power and sees them all. | For the Lord’s wisdom is great; He is strong in dominion and sees all things. | Similar · Hebrew 15:18 — Same divine wisdom, power, and sight. |
Hebrew 15:19 · translated God's eyes see His works, and He knows every human deed. Hebrew witness A · A VI Recto; A VI Versoעיני אל יראו מעשיו והו יכיר }}על{{ כל מפעל איש ׃ Additional folio transcriptions: 2 | His eyes are upon those who fear Him, and He Himself will know every human deed. | Different · Hebrew 15:19 — Hebrew His works differs from Greek those who fear Him. |
Hebrew 15:20 · translated He has not commanded a mortal to sin, nor strengthened lying men; He does not pity one who does falsehood or one who reveals a secret. Hebrew witness A · A VI Versoלא צוה אנוש לחטא ולא החלים אנשי כזב ׃ ולא מרחם על עושה שוא ועל מגלה סוד ׃ | He commanded no one to act ungodly, and He gave no one license to sin. | Different · Hebrew 15:20 — A adds the final refusal of pity and the disclosure-of-secrets warning; Greek has only two prohibitions. Inherited Greek note15:20 Both negatives are preserved without qualification or harmonizing additions. |
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.