King James Version · Under the Greeks
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 13
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1He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled therewith; and he that hath fellowship with a proud man shall be like unto him. 2Burden not thyself above thy while thou livest; and have no fellowship with one that is mightier and richer than thyself: for how agree the kettle and the earthen pot together? for if the one be smitten against the other, it shall be broken. 3The rich man hath done wrong, and yet he threateneth withal: is wronged, and he must intreat also. 4If thou be for his profit, he will use thee: but if thou have nothing, he will forsake thee. 5If thou have any thing, he will live with thee: yea, he will make thee , and will not be sorry for it. 6If he have need of thee, he will deceive thee, and smile upon thee, and put thee in ; he will speak thee fair, and say, What wantest thou? 7And he will thee by his meats, until he have drawn thee dry twice or thrice, and at the last he will laugh thee to scorn afterward, when he seeth thee, he will forsake thee, and shake his head at thee. 8Beware that thou be not deceived and brought down in thy jollity. 9If thou be invited of a mighty man, withdraw thyself, and so much the more will he invite thee. 10Press thou not upon him, lest thou be put back; stand not far off, lest thou be forgotten. 11Affect not to be made equal unto him in talk, and not his many words: for with much communication will he thee, and smiling upon thee will get out thy secrets: 12But cruelly he will lay up thy words, and will not spare to do thee hurt, and to put thee in prison. 13Observe, and take good heed, for thou walkest in peril of thy overthrowing: when thou hearest these things, awake in thy sleep. 14Love all thy life, and call upon him for thy . 15Every beast loveth his like, and every man loveth his neighbor. 16 consorteth according to kind, and a man will cleave to his like. 17What fellowship hath the wolf with ? so the with the godly. 18What agreement is there between the hyena and a dog? and what peace between the rich and ? 19As the wild ass is the lion’s prey in : so the rich eat up . 20As the proud hate humility: so doth the rich abhor . 21A rich man beginning to fall is held up of his friends: but a man being down is thrust away by his friends. 22When a rich man is fallen, he hath many helpers: he speaketh things not to be spoken, and yet men him: man slipped, and yet they rebuked him too; he spake wisely, and could have no place. 23When a rich man speaketh, every man holdeth his , and, look, what he saith, they extol it to the clouds: but if man speak, they say, What fellow is this? and if he stumble, they will help to overthrow him. 24Riches are good unto him that hath no , and is evil in the of the ungodly. 25 of a man changeth his countenance, whether it be for good or evil: and a merry maketh a cheerful countenance. 26A cheerful countenance is a token of a that is in prosperity; and the finding out of parables is a wearisome labour of .
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)