章节研读
Sirach 13 — Caution Regarding Associates
Sirach 13 warns against unequal association with the proud and the rich, grounds companionship in the principle that like clings to like, and closes with sayings on how rich and poor are received and on the heart that shows in the face.
经文
- 1.关于交友的警告 谁若沾染了沥青，必然会被玷污，谁若与骄傲的人交往，也必然会变得像他一样。Caution Regarding Associates Whoever touches pitch will be defiled, and whoever associates with a proud man will become like him.
- 2.不要超过你能力的负担，也不要与比你强大和富有的人来往。泥壶怎么能与铁锅相比，泥壶一旦碰到铁锅，必然会破碎。Do not lift a weight beyond your strength, nor associate with a man mightier and richer than you. How can the clay pot associate with the iron kettle? The pot will strike against it, and will itself be broken.
- 3.有钱的人作恶，还要辱骂；穷人受冤，还要道歉。A rich man does wrong, and he even adds reproaches; a poor man suffers wrong, and he must add apologies.
- 4.有钱人会利用你如果你对他有用，但如果你需要帮助他会抛弃你。A rich man will exploit you if you can be of use to him, but if you are in need he will forsake you.
- 5.如果你拥有某样东西，他就会和你同住；他会耗尽你的资源，并且他不会在乎。If you own something, he will live with you; he will drain your resources and he will not care.
- 6.当他需要你的时候，他会欺骗你，他会对你微笑并给你希望。他会和蔼地对你说话，说：“你需要什么？”When he needs you he will deceive you, he will smile at you and give you hope. He will speak to you kindly and say, “What do you need?”
- 7.他会用他的食物让你感到羞耻，直到他三番五次地榨取你；最后他会嘲笑你。如果他以后再看到你，他会抛弃你，并对你摇头。He will shame you with his foods, until he has drained you two or three times; and finally he will deride you. Should he see you afterwards, he will forsake you, and shake his head at you.
- 8.要谨慎，不要被引入歧途，也不要在宴乐中蒙羞。Take care not to be led astray, and not to be humiliated in your feasting.
- 9.当有权势的人邀请你的时候，要谦虚一些，他就会更加频繁地邀请你。When a powerful man invites you, be reserved; and he will invite you the more often.
- 10.切勿过于逼近，以免遭到拒绝；也不要过于疏远，以免被遗忘。Do not push forward, lest you be repulsed; and do not remain at a distance, lest you be forgotten.
- 11.不要试图把他当作平等的人对待，也不要相信他那些花言巧语，因为他会通过很多话来考验你，而且当他微笑的时候，他实际上是在考察你。Do not try to treat him as an equal, nor trust his abundance of words; for he will test you through much talk, and while he smiles he will be examining you.
- 12.残忍的人不把话藏在心里，他不会犹豫伤害或监禁他人。Cruel is he who does not keep words to himself; he will not hesitate to injure or to imprison.
- 13.把话藏在心里，非常谨慎，因为你正带着自己的灭亡在行走。Keep words to yourself and be very watchful, for you are walking about with your own downfall.
- 15.每个生物都爱它的同类，每个人都爱他的邻居；Every creature loves its like, and every person his neighbor;
- 16.所有的活物都以类相聚，人也与同类相依附。all living beings associate by species, and a man clings to one like himself.
- 17.狼与羔羊有什么交往呢，恶人与义人也无所共处What fellowship has a wolf with a lamb? No more has a sinner with a godly man.
- 18.狮子和狗之间有什么和平可言呢？富人和穷人之间又有什么和平可言呢？What peace is there between a hyena and a dog? And what peace between a rich man and a poor man?
- 19.荒野中的野驴是狮子的猎物，同样穷人是富人的财产来源。Wild asses in the wilderness are the prey of lions; likewise the poor are pastures for the rich.
- 20.谦逊在骄傲的人眼中是可憎的，同样穷人在富人眼中也是可憎的。Humility is an abomination to a proud man; likewise a poor man is an abomination to a rich one.
- 21.当富人踉跄时，有朋友扶持他，但当谦逊的人跌倒时，朋友反而推开他。When a rich man totters, he is steadied by friends, but when a humble man falls, he is even pushed away by friends.
- 22.如果一个富人失足，他有很多帮助他的人；他说出不雅的话，他们为他辩护。如果一个谦逊的人失足，他们甚至责备他；他说出明智的话，却没有人理会。If a rich man slips, his helpers are many; he speaks unseemly words, and they justify him. If a humble man slips, they even reproach him; he speaks sensibly, and receives no attention.
- 23.当富人说话时，所有人都默默无语，并将他所说的话赞扬到云霄。 当穷人说话时，他们说：“这个人是谁？” 如果他跌倒，他们甚至会把他推倒。When the rich man speaks all are silent, and they extol to the clouds what he says. When the poor man speaks they say, “Who is this fellow?” And should he stumble, they even push him down.
- 24.财富如果没有罪恶是好的，贫穷在不虔诚的人看来是邪恶的。Riches are good if they are free from sin, and poverty is evil in the opinion of the ungodly.
- 25.一个人的心灵会改变他的面容，不管是向善还是向恶。A man’s heart changes his countenance, either for good or for evil.
- 26.快乐的心灵的标志是欢乐的面容，但编造谚语需要痛苦的思考The mark of a happy heart is a cheerful face, but to devise proverbs requires painful thinking.
这段经文的意思
The chapter opens under the heading 'Caution Regarding Associates' at verse 1. Verse 1 states the principle: whoever touches pitch will be defiled, and whoever associates with a proud man will become like him. Verses 2–7 make the danger concrete through an unequal pairing — a weight beyond your strength, a clay pot set against an iron kettle that strikes it and is itself broken, a rich man who exploits you while you are useful and forsakes you in need, who lives off your resources, deceives with kind words, shames you with his foods, and finally derides you and shakes his head. Verses 8–13 turn to conduct in that setting: do not be led astray or humiliated in your feasting, be reserved when a powerful man invites you, do not push forward nor remain at a distance, do not treat him as an equal or trust his abundance of words, keep words to yourself — for you are walking about with your own downfall.
Verses 15–20 state a second principle: like associates with like. Every creature loves its like, all living beings associate by species, and a man clings to one like himself. The comparisons are deliberately stark: a wolf and a lamb, a sinner and a godly man; a hyena and a dog, a rich man and a poor man. Wild asses in the wilderness are the prey of lions, and likewise the poor are pastures for the rich. Humility is an abomination to a proud man, and a poor man is an abomination to a rich one.
Verses 21–26 observe how people actually behave. When a rich man totters he is steadied by friends, but when a humble man falls he is pushed away by friends. If a rich man slips his helpers are many and his unseemly words are justified; if a humble man slips he is reproached and his sensible words receive no attention. When the rich man speaks all are silent and his words are extolled to the clouds; when the poor man speaks they ask, 'Who is this fellow?' and push him down if he stumbles. The chapter's verdict follows: riches are good if they are free from sin, and poverty is evil in the opinion of the ungodly. It ends on the face as the outward mark of the inner state — a man's heart changes his countenance for good or for evil, the mark of a happy heart is a cheerful face, while to devise proverbs requires painful thinking.
背景
The provided text is a continuous series of wisdom sayings rather than a narrative. It carries the heading 'Caution Regarding Associates' at verse 1 and then proceeds in verse order through three movements: warnings about associating with a proud or rich man (13:1–13), the principle that like associates with like (13:15–20), and observations on how rich and poor are received by others, closing with sayings about the heart and the face (13:21–26).
Two features of the supplied material are worth noting. Verse 14 is not present in the provided verses, so the chapter's numbering here runs directly from verse 13 to verse 15. No cross references and no original-language word data were supplied with this chapter, so this page makes no claim about the Greek or Hebrew wording and cites no other passages. The chapter note accompanying the data describes this chapter only as one of the remaining chapters of Sirach outside an earlier selection.
常见问题
What is the point of the clay pot and the iron kettle in Sirach 13:2?
It pictures an unequal partnership and shows who absorbs the damage. Verse 2 says, 'Do not lift a weight beyond your strength, nor associate with a man mightier and richer than you. How can the clay pot associate with the iron kettle? The pot will strike against it, and will itself be broken.' The weaker party is the one that breaks.
Does Sirach 13 condemn riches themselves?
Verse 24 gives the chapter's own qualification: 'Riches are good if they are free from sin, and poverty is evil in the opinion of the ungodly.' The criticism in verses 1–13 falls on the proud man and the exploitative rich man, and the grievance in verses 21–23 is the double standard that justifies the rich man's unseemly words while ignoring the humble man's sensible ones — not wealth as such.
Why does the chapter end with sayings about the face?
Verses 25–26 tie the inner state to the outward appearance: 'A man's heart changes his countenance, either for good or for evil,' and 'The mark of a happy heart is a cheerful face, but to devise proverbs requires painful thinking.' The closing couplet sets the visible face alongside the cost of wisdom speech, ending the chapter on what can and cannot be read from a person.