Sirach 29 — ASVBT

29Verse 1He that showeth mercy will lend unto his neighbor;
And he that strengtheneth him with his hand keepeth the commandments.
^{Verse 2}Lend to thy neighbor in time of his need;
And pay thou thy neighbor again in due season.
^{Verse 3}Confirm thy word, and keep faith with him;
And at all seasons thou shalt find what thou needest.
^{Verse 4}Many have reckoned a loan as a windfall,
And have given trouble to those that helped them.
^{Verse 5}Till he hath received, he will kiss a man’s hands;
And for his neighbor’s money he will speak humbly:
And when payment is due, he will prolong the time,
And return words of heaviness, and complain of the times.
^{Verse 6}If he prevail, he shall hardly receive the half;
And he will count it as a windfall:
If not, he hath deprived him of his money,
And he hath gotten him for an enemy without cause:
He will pay him with cursings and railings;
And for honor he will pay him disgrace.
^{Verse 7}Many on account of men’s ill-dealing have turned away;
They have feared to be defrauded for nought.
^{Verse 8}Howbeit with a man in poor estate be long-suffering;
And let him not wait for thine alms.
^{Verse 9}Help a poor man for the commandment’s sake;
And according to his need send him not empty away.
^{Verse 10}Lose thy money for a brother and a friend;
And let it not rust under the stone to be lost.
^{Verse 11}Bestow thy treasure according to the commandments of the Most High;
And it shall profit thee more than gold.
^{Verse 12}Shut up alms in thy store-chambers;
And it shall deliver thee out of all affliction:
^{Verse 13}It shall fight for thee against thine enemy
Better than a mighty shield and a ponderous spear.^{Verse 14}A good man will be surety for his neighbor;
And he that hath lost shame will fail him.
^{Verse 15}Forget not the good offices of thy surety;
For he hath given his life for thee.
^{Verse 16}A sinner will overthrow the good estate of his surety;
^{Verse 17}And he that is of an unthankful mind will fail him that delivered him.
^{Verse 18}Suretyship hath undone many that were prospering,
And shaken them as a wave of the sea:
Mighty men hath it driven from their homes;
And they wandered among strange nations.
^{Verse 19}A sinner that falleth into suretyship,
And undertaketh contracts for work, shall fall into lawsuits.
^{Verse 20}Help thy neighbor according to thy power,
And take heed to thyself that thou fall not to the same.^{Verse 21}The chief thing for life is water, and bread,
And a garment, and a house to cover shame.
^{Verse 22}Better is the life of a poor man under a shelter of logs,
Than sumptuous fare in another man’s house.
^{Verse 23}With little or with much, be well satisfied.
^{Verse 24}It is a miserable life to go from house to house:
And where thou art a sojourner, thou shalt not dare to open thy mouth.
^{Verse 25}Thou shalt entertain, and give to drink, and have no thanks:
And besides this thou shalt hear bitter words.
^{Verse 26}Come hither, thou sojourner, furnish a table,
And if thou hast aught in thy hand, feed me with it.
^{Verse 27}Go forth, thou sojourner, from the face of honor;
My brother is come to be my guest; I have need of my house.
^{Verse 28}These things are grievous to a man of understanding;
The upbraiding of houseroom, and the reproaching of the moneylender.