Chapter Six

Be faithful in friendship. Do not exalt yourself. Keep away from your enemies and be cautious with your friends. From your youth devote yourself to learning, and you will find wisdom until your old age.

Sirach 6:1. Do not become an enemy out of friendship, for the wicked person obtains a bad name as their lot, shame and disgrace; so too does the double-tongued sinner. Sirach 6:2. Do not exalt yourself in the thoughts of your soul, lest your soul be torn apart like an ox: Sirach 6:3. you will destroy your leaves and ruin your fruits, and you will remain like a dried-out tree. Sirach 6:4. A wicked soul will destroy its master and make him a mockery of his enemies. 2–4. A person who takes pride in their real or imagined virtues exposes themselves to constant danger of being exposed and humiliated.

Sirach 6:5. Sweet lips will multiply friends, and a kind tongue will increase friendship. 5. Gentle treatment and good speech help one to live in peace.

Sirach 6:6. Let those who live in peace with you be many, but let your counselor be one in a thousand. 6. Not everyone who is favorably disposed toward you will be willing or able to be a faithful and wise guide and counselor for you.

Sirach 6:7. If you wish to acquire a friend, acquire him after testing, and do not quickly trust him. Sirach 6:8. There is a friend who is a friend only at a time when he needs you, and will not stand with you in your day of sorrow; Sirach 6:9. and there is a friend who changes into an enemy and will reveal a quarrel to your shame. Sirach 6:10. There is a friend who shares your table, and will not stand with you in your day of sorrow. Sirach 6:11. In your wealth he will be like yourself, and will deal boldly with your household; Sirach 6:12. but if you are humbled, he will be against you and will hide from your face. Sirach 6:13. Keep away from your enemies and be cautious with your friends. Sirach 6:14. A faithful friend is a strong protection: whoever has found him has found a treasure. Sirach 6:15. A faithful friend is beyond price, and there is no measure for his goodness. Sirach 6:16. A faithful friend is a healing medicine for life, and those who fear the Lord will find him. 16. Compare verse 17. A faithful friend will counsel and insist for your good.

Sirach 6:17. The one who fears the Lord orders his friendship rightly, that just as he is, so his friend becomes like him. Sirach 6:18. My son! From your youth devote yourself to learning, and you will find wisdom until your old age. Sirach 6:19. Come to her as one who plows and sows, and wait for her good fruits: Sirach 6:20. for you will toil only a short time in tilling her, and soon you will eat her fruits. Sirach 6:21. For to the ignorant she is very harsh, and the fool will not remain with her: Sirach 6:22. she will be upon him like a heavy stone of testing, and he will not delay in throwing her off. Sirach 6:23. Wisdom is in accordance with her name, and she is not revealed to many. Sirach 6:24. Hear, my son, and accept my opinion, and do not reject my counsel. Sirach 6:25. Put her fetters on your feet and her chain on your neck. Sirach 6:26. Bend your shoulder and carry her, and do not be vexed by her chains. Sirach 6:27. Draw near to her with all your soul, and keep her ways with all your strength. Sirach 6:28. Search her and seek, and she will be known to you; and once you have taken possession of her, do not abandon her; Sirach 6:29. for in the end you will find rest in her, and she will become joy for you. Sirach 6:30. Her fetters will be a strong protection for you, and her chains will be a glorious garment; Sirach 6:31. for upon her is golden ornament, and her bonds are threads of blue. Sirach 6:32. You will be clothed with her as with a garment of glory, and you will place her on yourself as a crown of joy. Sirach 6:33. My son! If you desire her, you will learn, and if you devote yourself to her with your soul, you will be capable of all things. Sirach 6:34. If you listen to her with love, you will understand her, and if you incline your ear, you will become wise. Sirach 6:35. Stand in the assembly of the elders, and whoever is wise, cling to him; love to listen to every sacred story, and do not let wise sayings escape you. Sirach 6:36. If you see a wise person, visit him from early morning, and let your foot wear out the thresholds of his doors. Sirach 6:37. Meditate on the commandments of the Lord and always study his precepts: He will strengthen your heart, and the desire for wisdom will be given to you. 18–37. Do not falter in acquiring wisdom. True wisdom and its blessings are given only to one who desires them and persistently strives for them, paying no attention to labors, deprivations, and obstacles that lie on the path to achieving them.