1883 Haydock Douay Rheims Bible
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| Sirach 19:1 | A workman that is a drunkard shall not be rich: and he that contemneth small things, shall fall by little and little. | Little. Small expenses, often repeated, will ruin an estate, (Haydock) and the neglect of venial sins is of the most dangerous consequence. (Calmet) --- The best way to avoid great faults, is to guard against small ones. (Worthington) |
| Sirach 19:2 | *Wine and women make wise men fall off, and shall rebuke the prudent: Genesis 19:33.; 3 Kings 11:1. | Off. From God (Calmet) and religion. See Genesis 19:33., and 2 Kings 11:1., and Osee 4:11. |
| Sirach 19:3 | And he that joineth himself to harlots, will be wicked. Rottenness and worms shall inherit him, and he shall be lifted up for a greater example, and his soul shall be taken away out of the number. | Number. Of the living. (Haydock) --- The venereal disease seems to be described. |
| Sirach 19:4 | *He that is hasty to give credit, is light of heart, and shall be lessened: and he that sinneth against his own soul, shall be despised. Josue 9:15.; Josue 22:11. | Credit. To harlots, 1 Corinthians 6:18. (Calmet) |
| Sirach 19:5 | He that rejoiceth in iniquity, shall be censured, and he that hateth chastisement, shall have less life: and he that hateth babbling, extinguisheth evil. | Hateth. Greek, "resisteth pleasure, shall crown his life. He who guardeth his tongue, shall live without contention: and he," etc. (Haydock) |
| Sirach 19:6 | He that sinneth against his own soul, shall repent: and he that is delighted with wickedness, shall be condemned. | He. Greek omits this explication of the preceding verse. |
| Sirach 19:7 | Rehearse not again a wicked and harsh word, and thou shalt not fare the worse. | |
| Sirach 19:8 | Tell not thy mind to friend or foe: and if there be a sin with thee, disclose it not. | Not. Only to God and his minister. Friends do not require to be informed of such things. Greek, "disclose not the conduct of others." --- Be. Greek, "be not." Do not boast of sins which thou hast not committed, (Calmet) as St. Augustine did before his conversion. (Haydock) --- But the Vulgate seems preferable. (Calmet) --- In ordinary conversation to reveal our faults would be dangerous, but not in confession, or in religious orders, for advancement in virtue. (Worthington) |
| Sirach 19:9 | For he will hearken to thee, and will watch thee, and as it were defending thy sin he will hate thee, and so will he be with thee always. | Hate thee. Whether thou hast spoken of thy own or of others' faults, he will distrust thee. |
| Sirach 19:10 | Hast thou heard a word against thy neighbour? let it die within thee, trusting that it will not burst thee. | Burst thee. Like poison, or as new wine (Calmet) does a leathern bottle. (Haydock) --- This expression well implies the eagerness which some manifest to divulge a secret injurious to their neighbour. (Calmet) |
| Sirach 19:11 | At the hearing of a word the fool is in travail, as a woman groaning in the bringing forth a child. | |
| Sirach 19:12 | As an arrow that sticketh in a man's thigh: so is a word in the heart of a fool. | |
| Sirach 19:13 | *Reprove a friend, lest he may not have understood, and say; I did it not: or if he did it, that he may do it no more. Leviticus 19:17.; Matthew 18:15.; Luke 17:3. | Understood. Greek, "done it." (Haydock) --- For want of coming to a timely explanation, many friendships are broken, owing to groundless surmises. |
| Sirach 19:14 | Reprove thy neighbour, for it may be he hath not said it: and if he hath said it, that he may not say it again. | |
| Sirach 19:15 | Admonish thy friend: for there is often a fault committed. | Committed. Or "a false report," commissio. (Calmet) --- Greek, "a foolish calumny." (Haydock) --- Monere et moneri proprium est verae amicitiae. (Cicero) |
| Sirach 19:16 | And believe not every word. There is one, that slippeth with the tongue, but not from his heart. | |
| Sirach 19:17 | *For who is there that hath not offended with his tongue? Admonish thy neighbour before thou threaten him. James 3:8. | Him. Gentle means must be first tried, Matthew 18:15., and Galatians 6:1. (Haydock) |
| Sirach 19:18 | And give place to the fear of the Most High: for the fear of God is all wisdom, and therein is to fear God, and the disposition of the law is in all wisdom. | Place. Love true piety. (Calmet) --- Disposition. Greek, "complying with." (Haydock) --- The Complutensian has several additions which are not in the Roman edition. (Calmet) --- Grabe inserts them. But it is not necessary to mark here every such variation. (Haydock) |
| Sirach 19:19 | But the learning of wickedness is not wisdom: and the device of sinners is not prudence. | |
| Sirach 19:20 | There is a subtile wickedness, and the same is detestable: and there is a man that is foolish, wanting in wisdom. | |
| Sirach 19:21 | Better is a man that hath less wisdom, and wanteth understanding, with the fear of God, than he that aboundeth in understanding, and transgresseth the law of the Most High. | |
| Sirach 19:22 | There is an exquisite subtilty, and the same is unjust. | Unjust. St. James 3:15. describes true and false wisdom, Romans 16:19. (Calmet) |
| Sirach 19:23 | And there is one that uttereth an exact word, telling the truth. There is one that humbleth himself wickedly, and his interior is full of deceit. | Wickedly. Greek, "in black," (Haydock) wearing the robes of mourning. (Grotius) |
| Sirach 19:24 | And there is one that submitteth himself exceedingly with a great lowliness: and there is one that casteth down his countenance, and maketh as if he did not see that which is unknown: | And. Greek, "there," etc. (Haydock) --- The hypocrite abstains from exterior crimes, only through fear. (Calmet) --- False pretence of piety, is hypocrisy; and it is wrong for a superior to reveal his secret faults to his subjects. Reason must direct. (Worthington) |
| Sirach 19:25 | And if he be hindered from sinning for want of power, if he shall find opportunity to do evil, he will do it. | |
| Sirach 19:26 | A man is known by his look, and a wise man, when thou meetest him, is known by his countenance. | Countenance. Yet this is not always the case, ver. 28. We may sometimes condemn a person unjustly, on such outward appearances. (Calmet) |
| Sirach 19:27 | The attire of the body, and the laughter of the teeth, and the gait of the man, shew what he is. | |
| Sirach 19:28 | There is a lying rebuke in the anger of an injurious man: and there is a judgment that is not allowed to be good: and there is one that holdeth his peace, and he is wise. | Lying. Greek, "a reproof which is not seemly; and there is one," etc. (Haydock) |