Sirach 12
Study resource: not ScriptureKing James Version Apocrypha (1769 standardized text) · public domain
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 the most High.
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 sinner.
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 the most High hateth sinners, and will repay vengeance unto the ungodly, and keepeth them against the mighty day of their punishment.
7Give unto the good, and help not the sinner.
8A friend cannot be known in prosperity: and an enemy cannot be hidden in adversity.
9In the prosperity of a man enemies will be grieved: but in his adversity even a friend will depart.
10Never trust 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 right hand, lest he seek to take thy seat, and thou at the last remember my words, and be pricked therewith.
13Who will pity a charmer that is bitten with a serpent, or any such as come nigh wild beasts?
14So one that goeth to a sinner, and is defiled with him in his sins, who will pity?
15For a while he will abide with thee, but if thou begin to fall, he will not tarry.
16An enemy speaketh sweetly with his lips, but in his heart 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 blood.
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.
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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 the most High.
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 sinner.
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 the most High hateth sinners, and will repay vengeance unto the ungodly, and keepeth them against the mighty day of their punishment.
7Give unto the good, and help not the sinner.
8A friend cannot be known in prosperity: and an enemy cannot be hidden in adversity.
9In the prosperity of a man enemies will be grieved: but in his adversity even a friend will depart.
10Never trust 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 right hand, lest he seek to take thy seat, and thou at the last remember my words, and be pricked therewith.
13Who will pity a charmer that is bitten with a serpent, or any such as come nigh wild beasts?
14So one that goeth to a sinner, and is defiled with him in his sins, who will pity?
15For a while he will abide with thee, but if thou begin to fall, he will not tarry.
16An enemy speaketh sweetly with his lips, but in his heart 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 blood.
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 language it was written in
Hebrew, by Yeshua ben Sira (c. 180 BC, hedged); translated into Greek by his grandson (after 132 BC, per the prologue).
What survives, and where
Hebrew: recovered
About two-thirds of the Hebrew came back to light: Cairo Genizah manuscripts (1896), Masada scroll (1964), Qumran fragments.
Greek: complete
The grandson's translation in the Septuagint tradition, the base of the church's text.
What you are reading here
The KJV Apocrypha (1611), translated from the Greek — public domain.
No tagged word floor; the Hebrew recovery story is told on the book page.