King James Version · Under the Greeks
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 12
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1When thou wilt do good know to whom thou doest it; so shalt thou be thanked for thy benefits. 2Do good to the godly man, and thou shalt find a recompence; and if not from him, yet from . 3There can no good come to him that is always occupied in evil, nor to him that giveth no alms. 4Give to the godly man, and help not a . 5Do well unto him that is lowly, but give not to the ungodly: hold back thy bread, and give it not unto him, lest he overmaster thee thereby: for else thou shalt receive twice as much evil for all the good thou shalt have done unto him. 6For hateth , and will repay unto the ungodly, and keepeth them against the mighty day of their punishment. 7Give unto the good, and help not the . 8A friend cannot be known in prosperity: and an enemy cannot be hidden in adversity. 9In the prosperity of a man will be grieved: but in his adversity even a friend will depart. 10Never thine enemy: for like as iron rusteth, so is his wickedness. 11Though he humble himself, and go crouching, yet take good heed and beware of him, and thou shalt be unto him as if thou hadst wiped a lookingglass, and thou shalt know that his rust hath not been altogether wiped away. 12Set him not by thee, lest, when he hath overthrown thee, he stand up in thy place; neither let him sit at thy , lest he seek to take thy seat, and thou at the last remember my words, and be pricked therewith. 13Who will a charmer that is bitten with a , or any such as come nigh wild ? 14So one that goeth to a , and is defiled with him in his , who will ? 15For a while he will with thee, but if thou begin to fall, he will not tarry. 16An enemy speaketh sweetly with his , but in he imagineth how to throw thee into a pit: he will weep with his eyes, but if he find opportunity, he will not be satisfied with . 17If adversity come upon thee, thou shalt find him there first; and though he pretend to help thee, yet shall he undermine thee. 18He will shake his head, and clap his hands, and whisper much, and change his countenance.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under the Greeks, 332 BC to 63 BC ›
Alexander's conquest and the kingdoms of his successors. Greek language and custom press in everywhere, and the crisis under Antiochus IV provokes the Maccabean revolt.
- The successors
- Alexander dies at thirty-two and his generals carve up the empire. Judea sits on the border between the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria, and is fought over by both for a century and a half, which is the ordinary condition of the corridor.
- Hellenism
- Not just conquest but a culture: the gymnasium, the theatre, Greek names, Greek dress, Greek as the language of anyone with ambitions. Some Jews embraced it, some resisted it, and the argument between them is the real subject of the Maccabean books. In Alexandria the Hebrew scriptures are translated into Greek, producing the Septuagint, which is the Bible most New Testament writers quote.
- The crisis
- Antiochus IV bans the practice of Judaism, plunders the temple, and sets up a pagan altar in it in 167 BC. The revolt under the Maccabees wins, the temple is rededicated in 164 BC, which is the origin of Hanukkah, and Judea has about eighty years of independence under the Hasmoneans before Rome arrives.
- Further afield
- Rome fights Carthage three times and ends up master of the Mediterranean. Euclid writes the Elements and Archimedes does his work at Syracuse. In China the Qin unify the country in 221 BC and the Han follow, opening what becomes the Silk Road.
All of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)