| Sirach 27:1
| Through poverty many have sinned: and he that seeketh to be enriched, turneth away his eye.
| Poverty. Greek, "the indifferent thing," as the Stoics represented money, Ecclesiasticus 7:20. --- Sinned. Hence proceeds the danger to which little merchants are exposed. Involuntary povery is very miserable, Proverbs 30:9
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| Sirach 27:2
| As a stake sticketh fast in the midst of the joining of stones, so also in the midst of selling and buying, sin shall stick fast.
| Fast. Anacharsis styled "the market-place the receptacle of mutual cheating." (Laertius 1.) --- The seller praises his goods to get them off: (Horace) the buyer says it is bad, Proverbs 20:14. The next verse is a gloss omitted in Greek. (Calmet)
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| Sirach 27:3
| Sin shall be destroyed with the sinner.
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| Sirach 27:4
| Unless thou hold thyself diligently in the fear of the Lord, thy house shall quickly be overthrown.
| Fear. By this the soul is preserved in a good state. (Worthington)
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| Sirach 27:5
| As when one sifteth with a sieve, the dust will remain: so will the perplexity of a man in his thoughts.
| Thoughts. The more he thinks on some things, the more is he perplexed. (Calmet) --- After sin is purged away, there remains some defects like dust, Psalm 50:4. (Worthington)
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| Sirach 27:6
| The furnace trieth the potter's vessels, and the trial of affliction just men.
| Affliction. Greek, "thought," (Haydock) or speech. (Calmet) --- A young man being brought to Socrates, that he might pass judgment on his dispositions, the philosopher ordered him to "speak." (Cicero)
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| Sirach 27:7
| As the dressing of a tree sheweth the fruit thereof, so a word out of the thought of the heart of man.
| As. Greek, "the fruit shews the dressing," etc.
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| Sirach 27:8
| Praise not a man before he speaketh, for this is the trial of men.
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| Sirach 27:9
| If thou followest justice, thou shalt obtain her: and shalt put her on as a long robe of honour, and thou shalt dwell with her: and she shall protect thee for ever, and in the day of acknowledgment thou shalt find a strong foundation.
| Honour. The desire of justice is the sure method to obtain it. The rest is not in Greek. (Haydock)
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| Sirach 27:10
| Birds resort unto their like: so truth will return to them that practise her.
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| Sirach 27:11
| The lion always lieth in wait for prey: so do sins for them that work iniquities.
| Iniquities. They fall deeper, or sin entails punishment. (Calmet)
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| Sirach 27:12
| A holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun: but a fool is changed as the moon.
| A. Greek, "the speech of the wise man is wisdom throughout: but," etc. (Haydock) --- The fool always mixes something improper with what good he speaks. (Calmet) --- Sun. The wise man preserves his virtue, whether it appear or not. (Worthington)
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| Sirach 27:13
| In the midst of the unwise keep in the word till its time: but be continually among men that think.
| Keep. Greek, "wait an opportunity." (Haydock) --- Go but seldom. Their discourse tends to promote iniquity, (ver. 14.) and blasphemous oaths, (ver. 15.) and bloodshed, ver. 16. (Calmet)
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| Sirach 27:14
| The discourse of sinners is hateful, and their laughter is at the pleasures of sin.
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| Sirach 27:15
| The speech that sweareth much shall make the hair of the head stand upright: and its irreverence shall make one stop his ears.
| Ears. The Jews did so, when they heard blasphemy, Acts 7:56. (Menochius)
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| Sirach 27:16
| In the quarrels of the proud is the shedding of blood: and their cursing is a grievous hearing.
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| Sirach 27:17
| He that discloseth the secret of a friend, loseth his credit, and shall never find a friend to his mind.
| Mind. In Egypt, those who disclosed a secret to the enemy, were condemned to have their tongues cut out. (Diodorus 2:2.)
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| Sirach 27:18
| Love thy neighbour, and be joined to him with fidelity.
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| Sirach 27:19
| But if thou discover his secrets, follow no more after him.
| Him. He will never trust thee more, ver. 22.
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| Sirach 27:20
| For as a man that destroyeth his friend, so also is he that destroyeth the friendship of his neighbour.
| Friend. Roman and Alexandrian Septuagint, "enemy." (Haydock) --- This crime is like murder. The Romans sometimes solemnly renounced the friendship of those who had offended them, as Germanicus and Caius did that of Piso. (Tacitus, An. 2.; Suetonius 3.)
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| Sirach 27:21
| And as one that letteth a bird go out of his hand, so hast thou let thy neighbour go, and thou shalt not get him again.
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| Sirach 27:22
| Follow after him no more, for he is gone afar off, he is fled, as a roe escaped out of the snare: because his soul is wounded.
| Because. Greek, "for one may bind up a wound, and an insult may be pardoned. But he who hath revealed secrets, hath lost all hope," (Haydock) or "confidence," ver. 24, Ecclesiasticus 22:27.
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| Sirach 27:23
| Thou canst no more bind him up. And of a curse there is reconciliation:
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| Sirach 27:24
| But to disclose the secrets of a friend leaveth no hope to an unhappy soul.
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| Sirach 27:25
| He that winketh with the eye forgeth wicked things, and no man will cast him off:
| Off. Some Greek copies have, "he who knows him will depart from him." It is difficult to guard against a false friend, who winks as if he desired to please us, (Calmet) while he really seeks our ruin, ver. 26.
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| Sirach 27:26
| In the sight of thy eyes he will sweeten his mouth, and will admire thy words: but at the last he will writhe his mouth, and on thy words he will lay a stumbling-block.
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| Sirach 27:27
| I have hated many things, but not like him, and the Lord will hate him.
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| Sirach 27:28
| If one cast a stone on high, it will fall upon his own head: and the deceitful stroke will wound the deceitful.
| Wound. Greek, "deal wounds. He," etc. (Haydock) --- Traitors, in the dark, often wound their fellows, (Calmet) or themselves. (Menochius)
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| Sirach 27:29
| He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it: and he that setteth a stone for his neighbour, shall stumble upon it: and he that layeth a snare for another, shall perish in it.
| Setteth. Greek, "layeth a snare, shall perish in it."
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| Sirach 27:30
| A mischievous counsel shall be rolled back upon the author, and he shall not know from whence it cometh to him.
| Him. God will punish, when the sinner has perhaps forgotten his offence. (Calmet) --- Such are often chastised here, and always hereafter. (Worthington)
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| Sirach 27:31
| Mockery and reproach are of the proud, and vengeance as a lion shall lie in wait for him.
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| Sirach 27:32
| They shall perish in a snare that are delighted with the fall of the just: and sorrow shall consume them before they die.
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| Sirach 27:33
| Anger and fury are both of them abominable, and the sinful man shall be subject to them.
| Them. He shall feel the indignation of God, (Calmet) and shall repine. (Haydock)
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