The Book of Sirach — which the Latin tradition also calls the Ecclesiasticus, “the book of the Church” — is the largest and one of the most beloved wisdom books of the Bible. Across fifty-one chapters, a scribe from Jerusalem in the early 2nd century BC gathers the best of Israel’s tradition: how to fear God, honor one’s parents, choose friends, guard one’s tongue, give alms, raise children, endure trials, grow old, and die in peace. It is a book where the highest theology of divine Wisdom stands alongside the most practical advice on money, the table, illness, or the physician. For centuries, the Church made it its preferred manual for forming souls: hence its name Ecclesiasticus, “the book read in the church.”
Sirach holds a unique place in Scripture for at least three reasons. First, it is the only book of the Old Testament to bear its author's signature in an explicit colophon: he names himself — “Jesus, son of Sirach” (Sir 50:27). Second, it is preceded by a unique prologue, written by the author’s grandson, who recounts how he translated his grandfather’s work into Greek: this prologue offers, moreover, one of the oldest surviving testimonies to the division of the Hebrew Bible into “the Law, the Prophets, and the other books.” Finally, Sirach has had an extraordinary textual history: its original Hebrew, lost for nearly a thousand years and known only through Greek and Latin, resurfaced beginning in 1896 in a synagogue in Cairo, then at Masada and Qumran.
This article presents: (1) the book’s identity — its three names, its signed author, its prologue, its place in the canon, and the rediscovery of its Hebrew text; (2) its composition, date, and context — Jerusalem facing Hellenism; (3) its structure and content — from the fear of the Lord to the praise of the Fathers; (4) its major doctrinal and moral lessons — free will, family, almsgiving, medicine, friendship; (5) its reception in Tradition, liturgy, and the controversy with the Reformation; (6) its spiritual reading for today. For an overview of the biblical collection, see the article The Bible; for the broader framework, see the Old Testament; and to avoid confusion between the two similarly named books, see below the clarification on Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth).
Identity of the Book: Names, Author, Canon, and Text
Three Names for One Book
Few biblical books bear as many names, and this plurality has long caused confusion.
- Sirach: the modern title derived from the Greek Sirach (Σιράχ), the family name of the author. This is the title now used by most Catholic Bibles[3].
- Ecclesiasticus (Latin Liber Ecclesiasticus): the proper title in the Latin tradition, which must not be confused with Ecclesiastes. The word means “the book of the Church”: attested as early as the mid-3rd century in the writings of Saint Cyprian, this title has remained attached to this one book, par excellence, because it served as a manual of moral reading for the formation of catechumens and the faithful[4]. It should not be confused with the broader category of Rufinus of Aquileia's libri ecclesiastici (end of the 4th century), which encompasses all the deuterocanonical books.
- Wisdom of Ben Sira (or Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach): the most accurate title, naming the author. It is under this name — Ben Sira — that the book is cited in rabbinic literature[5].
⚠️ Do not confuse. Ecclesiasticus (= Sirach, Ben Sira) and Ecclesiastes (= Qoheleth) are two different books. Ecclesiastes is the brief protocanonical book (received into the canon without dispute) of “Vanity of vanities” (see Ecclesiastes). Ecclesiasticus is the long deuterocanonical book (received later, see § Place in the Canon) of Ben Sira. The similarity of the Latin names (Ecclesiastes / Ecclesiasticus) is a constant source of errors[6].
The Author: The Only “Signed” Book of the Old Testament
Sirach here presents a precious distinctive feature: its author names himself at the end of his work, in a kind of colophon (a note placed at the end of a book, in which the author signs his name):
“This teaching, full of understanding and knowledge, has been engraved in this book by Jesus, son of Sirach, son of Eleazar, of Jerusalem, who has poured out the wisdom of his heart like a shower.” — Sirach 50:27[7]
He is a scribe from Jerusalem, a professional sage — of the reconstructed name Yeshua (Jesus) ben Eleazar ben Sirach, hence the shortened name Ben Sira (see note)[8]: a cultured man, versed in the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings, who likely ran a school of wisdom where he trained young men (cf. Sir 51:23: “Draw near to me, you who lack instruction, and take your place in my school”). He traveled extensively, mingled with the great, meditated on Scripture, and recorded in his book the fruit of a long life of observation and prayer[9].
That the author of a biblical book is thus identifiable and dated is precious: it anchors Sirach in a concrete history, that of Jerusalem in the 2nd century BC, and allows it to be situated with rare precision.
The Grandson’s Prologue: A Unique Document
Sirach opens with a text unlike any other in the Bible: a prologue written not by the author, but by his grandson, the Greek translator. This grandson explains that having found in Egypt a copy of his grandfather’s Hebrew work, he undertook to translate it into Greek to make it accessible to Jews of the diaspora:
“The Law, the Prophets, and the books that follow have handed down to us many and great lessons [...]. It was in the thirty-eighth year of the reign of Ptolemy Evergetes that I went to Egypt.” — Prologue of the Greek Translator[10]
This short text is doubly valuable. On the one hand, it dates the work: the “thirty-eighth year” of Ptolemy VIII Evergetes II corresponds to the year 132 BC, the date of the grandson’s arrival in Egypt — an arrival to be distinguished from the translation work itself, carried out afterwards at the cost of long labor and whose completion date remains unknown; the grandfather therefore wrote one to two generations earlier, around 180 BC[11]. On the other hand, it offers one of the oldest surviving testimonies to the division of the Hebrew Bible into three parts — “the Law, the Prophets, and the other books” (the Torah, the Nebiim, the Ketuvim) — a structure that Judaism and the Church would later recognize[12]. The prologue also contains a remarkably honest admission from the translator: “What was originally expressed in Hebrew no longer has the same force once translated into another language”, one of the oldest surviving reflections on the limits of translation[13].
Place in the Canon: A Deuterocanonical Book
Sirach is one of the seven so-called deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament — along with Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Baruch, and the two books of the Maccabees — to which are added deuterocanonical sections of Esther and Daniel[14].
The prefix deutero- (“second”) does not mean that these books are inspired “to a second degree”: it only indicates that their canonicity was discussed longer before being definitively accepted. For the Catholic Church, the deuterocanonical books are fully inspired and canonical, on the same level as the others[15]. The Council of Trent solemnly confirmed this in response to the Reformation:
“[...] the same holy council receives and venerates [...] all the books of the Old Testament as well as of the New Testament [...]: Tobit, Judith, [...] Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Isaiah, Jeremiah [...]. If anyone does not receive these books as sacred and canonical in their entirety, with all their parts [...], let him be anathema.” — Council of Trent, decree De canonicis Scripturis, April 8, 1546[16]
Trent did not add Sirach to the Bible in 1546: it confirmed a canon already received in the ancient Church, attested by the regional councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) and by constant liturgical use[17]. For the canon controversy with the Reformers, see Responses to Protestantism.
Read and Honored, Even Where Not “Canonical” in the Strict Sense
Remarkably, even the Fathers who reserved a lower status for Sirach read and recommended it. Saint Athanasius, in his famous Festal Letter 39 of 367 — the first list to give, no more and no less, the twenty-seven books of the New Testament received today (earlier catalogues exist, notably that of Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History III, 25) — places Sirach not among the “canonical” books in the strict sense, but among those the Fathers “prescribed to be read” to catechumens for their edification[18]. Saint Augustine, on the other hand, fully includes it in the canon of Scripture[19]. Saint Jerome, more reserved about the Hebrew canon, did not translate Sirach for his Vulgate: the Latin text of Ecclesiasticus is actually the old pre-Jerome Latin version (Vetus Latina), which explains its peculiarities and additions compared to the Greek[20]. On the Jewish side, although Ben Sira was excluded from the canon, he was never forgotten: the Talmud and rabbinic writings cite him several times, sometimes almost as Scripture[21].
The Adventure of the Hebrew Text: From Lost Hebrew to Rediscovery
The material history of Sirach is one of the most romantic of all biblical criticism. Written in Hebrew around 180 BC, the book was subsequently transmitted mainly through the Greek of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, made in Alexandria for Greek-speaking Jews), through Latin and — in the East — through the Syriac of the Peshitta. In the Christian West, knowledge of the Hebrew original was lost during the Middle Ages: Sirach was then known there only through these translations, and some scholars even came to doubt that it had ever existed in Hebrew[22]. But the Hebrew text had not disappeared everywhere: it continued to circulate in the Jewish tradition — the Talmud cites it, Saadia Gaon (10th century) comments on it and quotes several verses from it, and medieval Hebrew copies survived through the centuries.
The situation changed in 1896. Two Scottish sisters, Agnes Lewis and Margaret Gibson, brought back from Cairo a manuscript leaf that the scholar Solomon Schechter identified with emotion as a Hebrew fragment of Ben Sira. It came from the Genizah — the sacred “storeroom” — of the old Ben Ezra synagogue in Cairo, where Jews deposited worn manuscripts bearing the name of God. Gradually, about two-thirds of the Hebrew text was recovered, spread over several medieval manuscripts (mss A to F)[23]. But these copies dated from the 10th–12th centuries: were they a faithful echo of the original, or a late retroversion — that is, a re-translation into Hebrew made from the Greek? The controversy raged for half a century.
It reached its decisive turning point in 1964. Excavating the fortress of Masada — which fell to Rome in 73/74 AD — the archaeologist Yigael Yadin unearthed a Hebrew scroll of Sirach (chapters 39 to 44), more than a thousand years older than the Cairo manuscripts. Its comparison was decisive: the Masada text largely coincides with that of the Genizah, which led specialists to widely accept that the medieval copies indeed transmitted an authentic and ancient Hebrew[24]. To these witnesses are added the fragments from Qumran: a tiny piece (2Q18) and especially the large Psalms Scroll (11QPsa), which includes the acrostic poem of chapter 51[25].
| Witness | Date | Content | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greek (Septuagint) | after 132 BC (translator's arrival in Egypt in 132; translation completed afterwards, date unknown) | Entire book | Reference text, basis for translations |
| Latin (Vetus Latina / Vulgate) | 2nd–4th century AD | Entire book | Source of Latin liturgy; own additions |
| Cairo Genizah | mss 10th–12th century (discovered 1896) | ≈ 2/3 of Hebrew text | Return to the original language |
| Masada | 1st century BC (discovered 1964) | Sir 39–44 | Proves authenticity of Genizah Hebrew |
| Qumran (2Q18) | so-called Herodian script (Herodian period) | Sir 6 | Confirms antiquity of Hebrew text |
| Qumran (11QPsa) | copied around 30–50 AD | Sir 51 (final poem, in the great Psalms Scroll) | Hebrew witness from the 1st century AD |
Composition, Date, and Historical Context
A Work from Jerusalem, around 180 BC
Thanks to the prologue and internal clues, Sirach is one of the biblical books dated most precisely. Ben Sira writes in Jerusalem, in the first quarter of the 2nd century BC, probably around 190–180 BC[26]. An internal clue confirms this: the long praise of the high priest Simon II, son of Onias (Sir 50), is written with such vivid eyewitness detail that it is thought Ben Sira personally knew him; Simon II held the high priesthood from about 219 to 196 BC. Above all, the book bears no trace of the great crisis that would shake Israel: the persecution by Antiochus IV Epiphanes (from 167 BC) and the revolt of the Maccabees. Ben Sira therefore writes before the storm, in the apparent calm that precedes it[27].
The Scribe and His School
Ben Sira belongs to a very specific social figure of Second Temple Judaism: the scribe (sofer), heir of the sages and preparer of the teachers of the Law. He himself describes this ideal in a magnificent portrait (Sir 38:24 – 39:11): the scribe is one who “will seek to know the wisdom of all the ancients” (Sir 39:1), who “will travel in foreign lands” (Sir 39:4) and “will devote himself with all his heart to serving the Lord who created him, from early morning” (Sir 39:5). To this intellectual profession, Ben Sira opposes — without despising them — manual trades (ploughman, blacksmith, potter), necessary for the city but which do not allow leisure for wisdom[28]. The book likely originated from his teaching: a school where, like the Greek sages of the same era, he transmitted to disciples the art of living well according to God.
The Context: Israel Facing Hellenism
Sirach is understood in a moment of tension. Since Alexander the Great (333 BC), Greek culture — language, gymnasiums, philosophy, customs — has penetrated everywhere, including Judea. Part of Jerusalem’s aristocracy is attracted by this Hellenism; others see it as a mortal threat to the faith of the fathers. Without frontal polemic, Ben Sira clearly takes sides: he wants to show that true wisdom is not to be sought among Greek philosophers, but that it resides entirely in the Law of Moses and the tradition of Israel. His book is thus, in its own way, a work of cultural resistance: it offers Jewish youth tempted by Greek fashion a wisdom as refined as that of the nations, but rooted in the fear of God and the Covenant[29].
| Marker | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Conquest of Alexander | 333 BC | Beginning of Hellenization of the East |
| High Priest Simon II | 219–196 BC | Praised by Ben Sira (Sir 50) |
| Hebrew Composition | around 180 BC | Ben Sira writes in Jerusalem |
| Persecution by Antiochus IV | from 167 BC | (after the book) |
| Greek Translation | after 132 BC | Grandson translates in Egypt |
Structure and Content of the Book
A Book of Wisdom, in the Tradition of Proverbs
Sirach belongs to the wisdom literature of Israel, alongside Proverbs, Job, Qoheleth, Wisdom, and some Psalms. Like Proverbs, it mainly proceeds by brief sayings, instructions, and exhortations; but it adds longer developments, true little treatises (on friendship, education, illness, mourning) and grand poetic hymns to Wisdom and to God the Creator. The whole does not have a strictly systematic plan—it follows the freedom of a master who returns to his themes—but a great architecture emerges[30].
| Section | Chapters | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Prologue | — | Preface of the grandson translator (dating, purpose) |
| I. Wisdom and the Fear of God | 1-23 | Praise of Wisdom, fear of the Lord, moral conduct, self-control |
| II. Wisdom and Social Life | 24-43 | Hymn to Wisdom (ch. 24), family, friendship, money, speech, medicine, creation |
| III. The Praise of the Fathers | 44-50 | Gallery of great figures of Israel, up to the high priest Simon |
| Appendices | 51 | Prayer of thanksgiving and final acrostic poem |
The Fear of the Lord, the Beginning of Wisdom
The book opens with a statement that gives its key: all wisdom has a single source, God himself.
“All wisdom comes from the Lord and remains with him forever.” — Sirach 1:1[31]
And this wisdom is not primarily a matter of intellect, but of a religious heart: it begins, grows, and is fulfilled in the fear of the Lord—not servile fear, but loving reverence for the living God.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom [...]. Wisdom is perfected in the fear of the Lord; she fills them with her fruits.” — Sirach 1:14,16[32]
This idea—the “fear of the Lord” as the root of all true wisdom—runs throughout the book and connects it to Proverbs and the Psalms. It immediately commands a morality: whoever fears God keeps his commandments, practices patience, controls anger and speech, and accepts trials with confidence.
“My son, if you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for testing [...]. Accept whatever comes to you, and in times of humiliation be patient. For gold is tested in the fire, and those pleasing to God in the furnace of humiliation.” — Sirach 2:1,4-5[33]
Wisdom Personified and Identified with the Law (ch. 24)
The poetic and theological high point of the book is chapter 24, where Wisdom herself speaks and sings of her own origin. As in Proverbs (Pr 8), she is presented as a person, coming forth from God before creation:
“From the mouth of the Most High I came forth, and like a mist covered the earth [...]. The Creator of all gave me a command, the one who made me fixed my dwelling. He said to me, ‘Come dwell among the children of Jacob; receive your inheritance in Israel; take root in the chosen people.’” — Sirach 24:3,8[34]
Ben Sira here makes a decisive and original theological move: he identifies this cosmic Wisdom, who traverses the heavens and the depths, with the Law of Moses, the Covenant given to Israel. Universal Wisdom has pitched her tent in a specific place—Jerusalem, the Temple, the Torah:
“All this is the book of the covenant of the Most High God, the Law that Moses commanded us, an inheritance left to the assemblies of Jacob.” — Sirach 24:23[35]
This identification Wisdom = Law will have an immense legacy. The Christian tradition has read in it a preparation for the mystery of the Word: the Wisdom who “comes forth from the mouth of the Most High” and “dwells” among men announces the Logos who “became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). This is why chapter 24 has become a major text in the liturgy (see below).
The Praise of the Fathers (ch. 44-50)
The last great section of the book is one of the most famous in all the Bible: the Praise of the Fathers, a long gallery of great figures of Israel, from Enoch and Noah to the high priest contemporary with the author. It opens with a famous verse:
“Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers in their generations. The Lord created great glory; he is renowned throughout all ages.” — Sirach 44:1-2[36]
Ben Sira then surveys sacred history, celebrating Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Phinehas, Joshua, the Judges, Samuel, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Josiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zerubbabel, Nehemiah—a true history of Israel through its saints. The movement culminates in chapter 50 with the dazzling portrait of the high priest Simon, son of Onias (Simon II), described in the glory of his Temple liturgy, compared to the sun, the moon, the rainbow, the olive tree, and the cypress — while his priestly brothers surrounding him are themselves compared to the branches of the cedars of Lebanon[37]. Through this liturgical climax, Ben Sira shows that all Israel’s history converges toward the Temple worship and the holiness of the priesthood.
The Praise of the Fathers also contains a moving meditation on the memory of the just: even those whose names have been lost are not forgotten by God.
“There are some whose memory is not remembered, and who have perished as though they had never been; and they have become as though they had never existed. But the children of the mercy of the Lord will be in their place, and their inheritance will not be forgotten. Their bodies were buried in peace, and their name lives to all generations.” — Sirach 44:9-10,14[38]
It is this passage—“Let us praise famous men” (Laudemus viros gloriosos)—that the Latin tradition has so loved, inspiring centuries of preaching on the communion of saints.
Major Doctrinal and Moral Lessons
Free Will Against Fatalism (ch. 15)
One of the most important texts in the entire Old Testament on human freedom is found in chapter 15. Against the ancient and still current temptation to shift the responsibility for evil onto God — “If I have sinned, it is because God willed it” — Ben Sira strongly affirms that God is never the author of sin, and that man is created free and responsible:
“Do not say, ‘It was the Lord who led me astray,’ for he does not do what he hates [...]. It is he who created man at the beginning and left him free to choose. If you wish, you can keep the commandments; it is in your power to remain faithful. The Lord has placed before you fire and water; stretch out your hand to whichever you prefer. Life and death are set before mankind, whichever they choose shall be given to them.” — Sirach 15:11, 14-17[39]
This passage is so clear that the Catechism of the Catholic Church explicitly cites it to ground the doctrine of freedom: “God has ‘left man to his own counsel’ (Sir 15:14) so that he may of himself seek his Creator and, by freely adhering to Him, attain full and blessed perfection”[40]. Its doctrine is the one defined by the Council of Trent against any deterministic reading of predestination: man is not a puppet; his free will, moved and stirred by God, truly cooperates with grace (6th session, Decree on Justification, can. 4). Sirach holds together, without opposition, the omnipotence of God and the true freedom of man[41].
The Family: Honoring Father and Mother
Sirach devotes pages of rare beauty to family piety. The commandment to honor one’s parents receives one of its deepest commentaries in all Scripture, extending to the tender and demanding duty to care for a father or mother who has grown old and frail:
“My son, support your father in his old age; do not grieve him as long as he lives. Even if his mind should fail, be considerate of him; do not despise him, though you grow old.” — Sirach 3:12-13[42]
The pericope Sir 3:2-6,12-14 (“Whoever fears the Lord honors his parents”), which includes this passage, is proclaimed as the first reading at the Mass of the Holy Family in Year A[43]: this text remains one of the great Christian references on respect for the elderly and care for aging parents.
Almsgiving, Mercy, and Forgiveness of Sins
Sirach emphasizes everywhere active mercy: forgiving one’s neighbor in order to be forgiven by God (Sir 28:2), helping the poor, practicing almsgiving. He states a principle that Christian tradition will constantly reprise:
“Water quenches a blazing fire, and almsgiving atones for sins.” — Sirach 3:30[44]
This theology of almsgiving that “wipes away sins” — close to the words of Tobit (Tb 12:9) and echoed by Saint Peter (“love covers a multitude of sins,” 1 Pet 4:8) — was one of the points discussed during the Reformation, with Protestants seeing a risk of “salvation by works.” Catholicism, on the contrary, reads here the fruit of grace: charity does not buy forgiveness, it is its sign and dispositional condition — that is, a disposition that prepares the soul to receive forgiveness, without producing it by itself —, in the evangelical logic of mercy (cf. Lk 7:47).
The Physician and Medicine (ch. 38)
In a passage of striking modernity, Ben Sira defends medicine as a gift from God, against a misunderstood piety that would oppose prayer and care:
“Honor the physician for his services, for the Lord created him too [...]. The Lord created medicinal plants, and the sensible person will not despise them.” — Sirach 38:1,4[45]
The sage admirably articulates faith and science: in the face of illness, one must first pray, repent, offer sacrifice — “then call the physician: the Lord created him too” (Sir 38:12). Healing comes from God, but God uses the remedies he himself placed in creation and the skill he gave to men. From the earliest centuries, the Fathers read here the scriptural authorization of Christian medicine and care of the sick[46].
Friendship, Speech, Money, Education
Finally, Sirach is a compendium of practical wisdom with remarkable psychological insight, from which anyone can draw. On friendship, it has unforgettable tones:
“A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; whoever finds one has found a treasure. A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance their worth.” — Sirach 6:14-15[47]
On control of the tongue, it warns against slander, lies, and words that wound more than a sword (Sir 28:17-18). On money, it denounces greed and disordered love of wealth, while recognizing the just use of possessions. On child education, table manners, modesty, proper use of wine, mourning, lending, and surety, Ben Sira offers concrete advice, sometimes harsh, always imbued with common sense and fear of God. It is this practical richness that made the book, for centuries, the manual of wisdom par excellence for Christian families.
Sirach in Tradition, Liturgy, and Controversy
"The Book of the Church": A Treasure for Moral Catechesis
If the Latin tradition reserved the name Ecclesiasticus for this single book, it is no accident: it ranks among the books most used to form souls. Its wealth of moral maxims, its balance, and its concrete piety made it the ideal instrument for the catechesis of catechumens and the instruction of the faithful. As early as the mid-3rd century, Saint Cyprian cites it several times in his Testimonia; and the Imitation of Christ seems to borrow an image from it, without ever naming it (see note). Sirach thus nourished daily Christian morality like few other books of the Old Testament[48].
Chapter 24 in the Liturgy: O Antiphons and Marian Reading
The great hymn to Wisdom (ch. 24) has enjoyed a dual liturgical fortune. On the one hand, its opening words — “I came forth from the mouth of the Most High” (Latin: Ego ex ore Altissimi prodivi) — gave rise to the first of the great “O” antiphons of Advent, sung from December 17 to 23:
“O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth of the Most High, who reach from one end to the other and dispose all things with strength and gentleness: come teach us the way of prudence.” — Antiphon “O Sapientia,” December 17 (faithful translation of the Latin)[49]
On the other hand — and this is one of the most beautiful applications of all of Sirach — the Church has placed the song of Wisdom “upon the lips of the Virgin Mary.” Because Mary is the creature in whom the Wisdom of God dwelt most perfectly, and through whom the Word came “to dwell among us,” the liturgy applies the words of Sir 24 — “I grew tall like a cedar of Lebanon [...]. Draw near to me, you who desire me”: the lectionary retains Sir 24 among the Old Testament readings of the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary — Mary, “Seat of Wisdom” (Sedes Sapientiae)[50]. This Marian reading of the wisdom book aligns with the typology of Mary as the “Seat of Wisdom” (Sedes Sapientiae).
Sirach and the Reformation
The rejection of Sirach by the Reformers of the 16th century fits within their general rejection of the deuterocanonical books, following the principle of a return to the Hebrew Bible alone. But the case of Sirach is particular: its chapter 15 was a central piece in the great debate on free will — Erasmus made it his master proof in favor of human freedom (De libero arbitrio, 1524, citing Sir 15:14-17: “God […] left him to his own free choice”), and Luther answered him point by point (De servo arbitrio, 1525). A distinction is needed here: the gratuity of grace (salvation is an unmerited gift of God, which Catholicism also affirms: sola gratia in the sense of “by grace alone” as its source) is not denied by Sirach; what was contested is the real cooperation of man with this grace — free will, active charity, almsgiving — which Luther reduced to sola fide (“by faith alone”). Luther placed the book among the “apocrypha,” “useful and good to read” but not normative; yet he appreciated its practical wisdom[51]. For the Catholic Church, on the contrary, Sirach remains inspired Word of God: its doctrine of freedom and active charity is not a defect to be corrected but an authentic part of Revelation, which the Council of Trent affirmed in response to Protestant innovations. For a full treatment of these issues, see Responses to Protestantism.
Spiritual Reading: What Sirach Teaches Today
The Fear of God, Wisdom of the Heart
The great lesson of the book remains its opening: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” In an age that often reduces wisdom to performance, technique, or self-help, Sirach reminds us that it is first and foremost a matter of heart and relationship: to become wise is to learn to stand before God in loving reverence, to order one’s life according to His will, to receive everything as a gift. This filial fear does not crush the person: it liberates him from self-idolatry and gives him the peace of one who knows to whom he belongs.
Freedom and Responsibility
In a world tempted either by fatalism (“I am this way, I can’t help it”) or by materialistic determinism that denies any real freedom, Sirach chapter 15 retains undiminished force: “If you wish, you can keep the commandments.” Man is not a plaything of his impulses, genes, or environment; he is created capable of choosing good, and therefore responsible. This confidence in human freedom, supported by grace, lies at the heart of Christian anthropology and of all serious spiritual life: one does not become a saint by chance or compulsion, but by a series of free choices responding to God’s call.
Humility and Abandonment
Finally, Sirach teaches a humility that has nothing of a fearful withdrawal: the greater one is, the more one must freely humble oneself before God, and it is in this trusting self-abasement that one finds grace before Him — a greatness received, not a smallness suffered.
“My son, perform all things in humility, and you will be loved more than a benefactor. The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself: you will find favor before the Lord.” — Sirach 3:17-18[52]
This humility is fulfilled in abandonment to God’s will in the midst of trial: “Accept whatever happens to you, and in times of humiliation be patient. Cling to him and do not depart, so that your last days may be prosperous.” (Sir 2:4,6). The sage of Jerusalem here joins, across the centuries, the great spiritual tradition of trust and abandonment that the masters of the Church place at the summit of the interior life. Faced with suffering, doubt, or fear, Sirach proposes neither stoicism nor resignation, but an active peace: fear God, choose good, humble yourself, and entrust everything into the hands of the One from whom “all wisdom” proceeds.
For further reading
On the book itself and other wisdom books:
- The Bible — an overview of Scripture and its formation.
- The Old Testament — the broad framework within which Sirach is situated.
- The Book of Proverbs — the other major collection of sayings, the model for Sirach.
- Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth) — not to be confused with Ecclesiasticus.
- The Book of Wisdom — the other deuterocanonical wisdom book, written in Greek.
- The Book of Job — wisdom confronted with the mystery of suffering.
On questions of canon and typology:
- The Book of Tobit and The Book of Judith — other deuterocanonical books of the same family.
- The Books of the Maccabees — the immediate historical background following Sirach.
- Responses to Protestantism — the controversy over the deuterocanonical books.
Bibliographical references:
- Patrick W. Skehan & Alexander A. Di Lella, The Wisdom of Ben Sira, Anchor Bible 39, Doubleday, New York, 1987.
- Maurice Gilbert, The Five Books of the Wise: Proverbs, Job, Qoheleth, Ben Sira, Wisdom, “Lire la Bible” series 129, Cerf, 2003.
- Yigael Yadin, The Ben Sira Scroll from Masada, Israel Exploration Society, Jerusalem, 1965.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§ 120, 1730.
- The Jerusalem Bible, introduction and notes to the Book of Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), Cerf edition.
Notes and References
Sirach 50:27, liturgical translation (AELF). The colophon names the author: “Jesus, son of Sirach, son of Eleazar, of Jerusalem” (Greek: Ièsous huios Sirach Eleazar ho Hierosolymitès). The only colophon signed with the author's name in the entire Old Testament.
1 7Sirach 15:11,14-17, liturgical translation (AELF). Major text on free will: God is never the author of sin; he created man free and responsible, placed before fire and water, life and death.
2 39“Sirach” is the scholarly French adaptation of the Greek Sirach (Σιράχ), the name of the author’s grandfather. This title is currently used by the Jerusalem Bible, the Ecumenical Translation of the Bible (TOB), and the liturgical translation of the AELF. Cf. introduction to the Jerusalem Bible on Sirach.
3The Latin name Ecclesiasticus (“book of the Church”) is the proper title of this book in the Western Church: Saint Cyprian (mid-3rd century) already cites Sirach as Scripture in his Testimonia — for example III, 35 (Sir 5:4: “Do not say: ‘I have sinned, and nothing has happened to me,’ for the Lord is long in punishing”) and III, 95 (Sir 6:16; 9:13,16; 25:9; 28:24), where Wallis's English translation (ANF, vol. V) introduces these passages with “in Ecclesiasticus.” By contrast, Testimonia III, 86 does not cite Sirach: its first proof (“He who splits wood is exposed to danger”) refers to Eccl 10:9 — a faulty online translation attributes it to Ecclesiasticus, which must not be repeated. Tradition has kept the name Ecclesiasticus for this one book, par excellence, because it was widely read in church and served as a manual of moral instruction for catechumens and the faithful. It must be distinguished from the broader category of Rufinus of Aquileia's libri ecclesiastici (end of the 4th century, Exposition of the Creed, § 38), which encompasses all the deuterocanonical books. Cf. Catholic Encyclopedia, “Ecclesiasticus” (newadvent.org).
4The Hebrew title and rabbinic tradition name the book Sefer Ben Sira (“Book of Ben Sira”). This is the most accurate title since it designates the author. Cf. Jewish Encyclopedia (1906), “Sirach, The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of”; P. W. Skehan & A. A. Di Lella, The Wisdom of Ben Sira, Anchor Bible 39, 1987 (reference work, without verified page reference in this note).
5The near-homonymy in Latin is a classic source of confusion: Ecclesiastes = Qoheleth (the short protocanonical Ecclesiastes, “Vanity of vanities”); Ecclesiasticus = Ben Sira (the long deuterocanonical Sirach). Both are wisdom books composed in Hebrew, but with distinct authors, dates, and canonical statuses, and their transmission histories differ.
6Three things must be distinguished. (1) The translation: the liturgical translation (AELF) renders Sir 50:27 as “Jesus, son of Sirach, son of Eleazar, of Jerusalem.” (2) The manuscript variants: the Greek of the Rahlfs edition reads Ἰησοῦς υἱὸς Σιραχ Ελεαζαρ ὁ Ἱεροσολυμίτης (“Jesus son of Sirach, Eleazar, of Jerusalem”), with Eleazar in the nominative — an error for the genitive Ἐλεαζάρου (“son of Eleazar”); the great uncials (Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Venetus) bear this addition of Eleazar (Ἐλεάζαρ or Ἐλεάσαρος), probably the name of the author's grandfather. Hebrew manuscript B from the Genizah and the copy used by Saadia Gaon in the 10th century add a Shim'on at the head: “Shim'on ben Yeshua ben Eleazar ben Sirach.” (3) The critical reconstruction: Yeshua ben Eleazar ben Sirach, hence the common name Ben Sira. Cf. Jewish Encyclopedia (1906), “Sirach, The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of”; Rahlfs, Septuaginta, Sir 50:27.
8Ben Sira presents himself as a professional scribe and sage; his school is mentioned in Sir 51:23, liturgical translation (AELF): “Draw near to me, you who lack instruction, and take your place in my school.” The ideal of the scribe is described at length in Sir 38:24 – 39:11.
9Prologue of the Greek translator of Sirach, liturgical translation (AELF). The author’s grandson explains that he translated his grandfather’s Hebrew work into Greek for the Jews of the diaspora. This prologue is not part of the inspired text in the strict sense but is transmitted with it.
10The “thirty-eighth year of the reign of Ptolemy Evergetes” refers to Ptolemy VIII Evergetes II (who counted his reign from 170 BC), i.e., 132 BC for the grandson's arrival in Egypt — an arrival to be distinguished from the completion of the translation, later and of unknown date (the prologue speaks only of the labor this work cost him). The grandfather therefore composed the work one or two generations earlier, around 190–180 BC. The very text of the prologue (AELF transl.).
11The prologue mentions three times the Law, the Prophets, and the other books that follow them (AELF transl.: “the Law itself, the Prophets, and the other books”). It is one of the oldest surviving testimonies to a tripartite division of the Hebrew Bible (Torah, Nebiim, Ketuvim), predating the fixing of the Jewish canon. The very text of the prologue (prologue of Sirach, AELF transl., available on aelf.org).
12The prologue contains this famous remark (AELF transl.: “what was originally expressed in Hebrew no longer has the same force once translated into another language”), one of the oldest surviving explicit reflections on the limits of translation.
13The seven deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament are: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees; to which are added the deuterocanonical parts of Esther and Daniel. Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 120.
14Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 120: enumeration of the 46 books of the Old Testament received by the Church, including Sirach (text checked word for word on vatican.va, which itself cites DS 179; 1334-1336; 1501-1504). The term “deuterocanonical” (coined by Sixtus of Siena in the 16th century) means “of the second canon” in the chronological sense of reception, not of lesser inspiration.
15Council of Trent, 4th session, decree De canonicis Scripturis (April 8, 1546). Text in Denzinger, nos. 1501-1504 (1501: reception and veneration of the books; 1502: Old Testament list naming Ecclesiasticus; 1503: New Testament; 1504: anathema “Si quis autem libros ipsos integros...”) — the same numbers cited by the Catechism, § 120. Full list at en.wikisource.org (Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, Session IV). Session, date, and list verified (4th session, April 8, 1546).
16The canon including Sirach is attested before Trent: councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397 and 419), and constant liturgical use (dates confirmed). Cf. Catholic Encyclopedia, “Canon of the Old Testament” (newadvent.org).
17Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, Festal Letter 39 (367): he distinguishes the “canonical” books in the strict sense from the books that the Fathers “prescribed to be read” to catechumens for their edification — among which are the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Esther, Judith, and Tobit. A major testimony to the ancient ecclesial use of Sirach.
18Saint Augustine, De doctrina christiana II, 8, 13, includes Ecclesiasticus in his enumeration of the canonical books of Scripture, reflecting the position of the African councils (Hippo, Carthage) which he inspired.
19Saint Jerome did not retranslate Sirach from scratch for the Vulgate: the Latin text of Ecclesiasticus remains essentially the old pre-Jerome Latin version (Vetus Latina), made from the Greek and only marginally retouched before its adoption into the Vulgate; it contains verses and expansions (the long Greek text, “GII”) absent from the shorter text. Cf. Catholic Encyclopedia, “Ecclesiasticus” (newadvent.org); introduction to the Jerusalem Bible (cited without verified page reference in this note).
20Several treatises of the Talmud and midrashim cite Ben Sira, sometimes introduced by formulas similar to those reserved for Scripture, indicating that the book continued to be read and esteemed in Judaism despite its exclusion from the canon. Cf. Jewish Encyclopedia (1906), “Sirach, The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of.”
21In the Christian West, Sirach was for centuries known only through Greek, Latin (and in the East through the Syriac of the Peshitta); some scholars even doubted that a Hebrew original had ever existed. But Ben Sira's Hebrew continued to circulate in the Jewish world: Talmudic citations, seven citations noted in Saadia Gaon (10th century), and medieval copies. Cf. The Book of Ben Sira, Introduction (bensira.org); Jewish Encyclopedia (1906), “Sirach, The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of” (Saadia and Talmudic citations).
22The rediscovery began in 1896, when Agnes Lewis and Margaret Gibson brought back from Cairo a leaf that Solomon Schechter identified as a Hebrew fragment of Ben Sira, originating from the Genizah of the Ben Ezra synagogue (Cairo). About two-thirds of it were later found, spread across several medieval manuscripts (sigla A to F). The word retroversion used in the body of the article designates the then-debated hypothesis of a late re-translation into Hebrew made from the Greek. Cf. Cambridge University Library, Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit.
23Yigael Yadin unearthed on April 8, 1964 at Masada (fortress fallen in 73 or 74 AD), in a casemate of the eastern rampart, a Hebrew scroll of Sirach (Sir 39:27 – 43:30, i.e., chapters 39 to 44), published in The Ben Sira Scroll from Masada, with Introduction, Emendations, and Commentary (Israel Exploration Society and Shrine of the Book, Jerusalem, 1965). Its substantial agreement with the Genizah manuscripts led specialists to widely accept that the latter transmitted an authentic and ancient Hebrew (work cited at volume level, without verified page reference in this note).
24At Qumran, two witnesses of distinct dates: a small fragment (2Q18, remnants of Sir 6) in so-called Herodian script; and the large Psalms Scroll from cave 11 (11QPsa), which includes the final poem (Sir 51:13-30) and which the Library of Congress dates to around 30-50 AD (“Copied ca. 30-50 C.E.”). They confirm the antiquity and continuity of the Hebrew text. Cf. Library of Congress, Scrolls from the Dead Sea exhibition, notice on the Psalms Scroll.
25Majority dating: first quarter of the 2nd century BC, around 190-180 BC — it follows from the prologue (grandson's arrival in Egypt in 132 BC) and the internal clues recalled in the body of the article (reference works cited without verified page reference in this note: Skehan & Di Lella, The Wisdom of Ben Sira, Anchor Bible 39, Doubleday, 1987; introduction to the Jerusalem Bible on Sirach). The pontificate of Simon II (219-196 BC) is the one given in the NABRE notes on Sir 50.
26Two indicators place the book before the Maccabean crisis: the vivid praise of the high priest Simon II (Sir 50), whom Ben Sira seems to have known, and the complete absence of any reference to the persecution by Antiochus IV Epiphanes (from 167 BC) and the Maccabean revolt. The precise dating of Simon II's pontificate (219-196 BC, as given in the body of the article) is that of the NABRE notes on Sir 50 (“Simeon II, in whose time as high priest (219–196 B.C.)”).
27Sirach 38:24 – 39:11: a grand portrait of the ideal scribe, contrasted (without disdain) with artisans (ploughman, engraver, smith, potter) who “ensure the stability of the world” but do not have the leisure for wisdom. The sage’s ideal: to meditate on the Law, scrutinize the wisdom of the elders, travel, pray, advise the great.
28Sirach is read by specialists as a response to the penetration of Greek culture in Judea: Ben Sira opposes Hellenistic wisdom with a fully Jewish wisdom, identified with the Law of Moses (cf. Sir 24) — a reading proposed by the reference works (introduction to the Jerusalem Bible; Maurice Gilbert, The Five Books of the Wise: Proverbs, Job, Qoheleth, Ben Sira, Wisdom, “Lire la Bible” series 129, Cerf, 2003; cited without verified page reference in this note).
29The book does not have a strictly systematic plan; commentators nevertheless distinguish large sections (ch. 1-23; 24-43; 44-50; appendix ch. 51), linked by poems on Wisdom (1; 24) — a division followed by the reference works (including Skehan & Di Lella, The Wisdom of Ben Sira, Anchor Bible 39, 1987, cited without verified page reference in this note).
30Sirach 1:1, liturgical translation (AELF): “All wisdom comes from the Lord, and remains with him forever.” Programmatic verse for the entire book: wisdom has God as its sole source.
31Sirach 1:14 and 16, liturgical translation (AELF). The theme of the “fear of the Lord” (beginning, fullness, root, and crown of wisdom) structures the first poem and the whole book. It corresponds to Pr 1:7 and Ps 110 (111):10.
32Sirach 2:1,4-5, liturgical translation (AELF). On serving God and trial: “Prepare yourself to meet the test [...] for gold is tested by fire, and those pleasing to God by the furnace of humiliation.”
33Sirach 24:3 and 8, liturgical translation (AELF). Personified Wisdom sings of her origin (“I came forth from the mouth of the Most High”) and her establishment in Israel by the Creator’s command. Major parallel: Pr 8:22-31.
34Sirach 24:23, liturgical translation (AELF): cosmic Wisdom is explicitly identified with the Law of Moses — “All this is the book of the covenant of the Most High God, the Law that Moses commanded us, an inheritance left to the assemblies of Jacob.” Central theological gesture of the book. (Greek numbering; Vulgate: Si 24:32-33.)
35Sirach 44:1-2, liturgical translation (AELF). Opening of the Praise of the Fathers (Latin: Laudemus viros gloriosos et parentes nostros in generatione sua).
36Sirach 50:1-21, liturgical translation (AELF): portrait of the high priest Simon, son of Onias (Simon II), celebrated for having repaired and fortified the Temple and for the splendor of his liturgy. Simon himself is compared to the sun, the moon, the rainbow, the olive tree, and the cypress (Sir 50:6-10: “like the cypress rising to the clouds”); the comparison to the cedar of Lebanon (Sir 50:12: “his brothers around him formed a crown, like the branches of the cedars of Lebanon”) concerns his priestly brothers surrounding him. The climax of the section and the entire book.
37Sirach 44:9-10 and 14, liturgical translation (AELF). Meditation on the memory of the just: those whose name has been lost and those, “men of mercy,” whose “works of justice have not been forgotten” and whose “name remains alive for all generations.”
38Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1730: “God created man as a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person endowed with initiative and mastery over his acts. ‘God has “left man to his own counsel” (cf. Si 15:14) so that he may of himself seek his Creator and, by freely adhering to Him, attain full and blessed perfection’” (the second sentence taking up Gaudium et spes, 17). Sirach grounds the Catholic doctrine of freedom here (quotation checked word for word on vatican.va, with the reference “(GS 17)”).
40The Council of Trent, 6th session (January 13, 1547), Decree on Justification, defines against all determinism that man's free will, “moved and stirred by God,” cooperates by giving its assent to the divine call — and may refuse this assent: can. 4 (Denzinger-Hünermann no. 1554, “Si quis dixerit liberum hominis arbitrium a Deo motum et excitatum...”; 6th session, January 13, 1547 — session and date verified). Chapter 15 of Sirach — notably Sir 15:14, cited by the Catechism (§ 1730) following Gaudium et spes, 17 — is the classic scriptural locus of this same doctrine: God is never the author of sin, and man remains free and responsible. Catholicism holds divine sovereignty and human freedom together.
41Sirach 3:12-13, liturgical translation (AELF). Duty to assist the aged father, even diminished (“even if his spirit abandons him”). The lectionary gives for the Mass of the Holy Family, in Year A, the pericope Sir 3:2-6,12-14 (“Whoever fears the Lord honors his parents”) as the first reading (verified against the current AELF lectionary: Holy Family, Year A, first reading Sir 3:2-6,12-14).
42 43Sirach 3:30, liturgical translation (AELF): “Water quenches a blazing fire, and almsgiving atones for sins.” To be compared with Tb 12:9 and 1 Pt 4:8 (“love covers a multitude of sins”).
44Sirach 38:1 and 4, liturgical translation (AELF). Praise of the physician and medicine, gifts of God: honor the physician, do not despise the remedies the Lord has brought forth from the earth.
45Sirach 38:1-15, liturgical translation (AELF), links prayer, conversion, sacrifice, and recourse to the physician (“Then summon the physician: the Lord created him also,” v. 12). Clement of Alexandria cites this passage as a word of Scripture, on the use of ointments (Paedagogus, book II, ch. 8): “Honour the physician for his usefulness, says the Scripture, for the Most High made him; and the art of healing is of the Lord” (Sir 38:1-2, with the continuation on the preparer of ointments, Sir 38:7-8). Text checked against the English translation of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2 (transl. W. Wilson, 1885), online at newadvent.org (Paedagogus, book II, ch. 8, On the Use of Ointments and Crowns).
46Sirach 6:14-15, liturgical translation (AELF): “A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter [...]. A faithful friend is beyond price.” One of the most beautiful biblical praises of friendship (cf. the entire development Si 6:5-17).
47Saint Cyprian genuinely cites Sirach in his Testimonia: II, 1; III, 1, 35 (Sir 5:4), 51 (Sir 10:26) and 95 (Sir 6:16; 9:13,16; 25:9; 28:24) — a list confirmed by the Jewish Encyclopedia (“Ecclesiasticus”) for II, 1 and III, 1, 35, 51, 95, and checked against the text (ANF, vol. V) for III, 35, 51 and 95 — but not in III, 86, whose first proof belongs to Eccl 10:9 (see note nom-ecclesiastique). For the Imitation of Christ, three cases must be distinguished. (1) Allusion: book I, ch. 17 “On the Religious Life” — “here men are tried as gold in the furnace” refers to Sir 2:5 (“for gold is tested by fire”), not to Sir 1:17-18. (2) Note added by an editor: the comparison of book III, ch. 30 (“I am near and will render all things…”) with Sir 35:20 comes from the marginal notes of certain editions, not from the text of the Imitation. (3) Unvalidated comparisons: chs. I, 4 and I, 20 contain no verifiable quotation of Sir 19:16, Sir 14:1 or Sir 2:11 — these references are withdrawn. Above all, the Imitation names Sirach nowhere in its text (the word Ecclesiasticus does not appear in it). Text checked against the Project Gutenberg edition (after the 1893 English edition). On the use of Sirach in moral catechesis and liturgy, which earned it the name Ecclesiasticus, see Catholic Encyclopedia, “Ecclesiasticus” (newadvent.org).
48The first of the great "O" antiphons of Advent (Liturgia Horarum, December 17, antiphon of the Magnificat at Vespers), “O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem, fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae,” is directly inspired by Sir 24:3 (“I came forth from the mouth of the Most High”) and Wisdom 8:1. English rendering above: faithful translation of the Latin. It invokes the Wisdom of God, read in the liturgy as a figure of the coming Christ (attribution verified: AELF, Vespers of December 17, antiphon of the Magnificat “O Wisdom from the mouth of the Most High...”; Sir 24:3 and Wisdom 8:1 checked in the liturgical translation).
49The lectionary retains Sir 24 among the Old Testament readings of the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary: the Ordo Lectionum Missae proposes there, in a single Old Testament option (no. 707, 6th reading), the passage Sir 24:1,3-4,8-12,19-21 (reference from the Latin edition; the common French numbering may differ by one or two verses). The Marian application, for its part, is well attested: the liturgy thus places the song of Wisdom on the lips of the Virgin Mary, the creature in whom Wisdom perfectly dwelt and through whom the Word came to dwell among men. This Marian reading extends the title Sedes Sapientiae (“Seat of Wisdom,” invoked in the Litany of Loreto).
50Martin Luther places Ecclesiasticus among the “apocrypha,” under the heading placed at the head of that section: “Apocrypha. Das sind Bücher, so der heiligen Schrift nicht gleich gehalten, und doch nützlich und gut zu lesen sind” (“books not held equal to the Holy Scriptures, but nevertheless useful and good to read”) — wording from Luther's Bible, apocrypha section (1534 edition, cf. list on bible-researcher.com). The precise doctrinal point on which Sirach was contested is free will: Erasmus had made Sir 15:14-17 the master proof of his De libero arbitrio (1524), and Luther answered it in his De servo arbitrio (1525) by contesting the probative force of the passage — and by recalling that Ecclesiasticus was not in the canon. The gratuity of grace as God's gift is not at issue: it is also Catholic doctrine; what was contested is the real cooperation of human freedom and the value of works of charity.
51Sirach 3:17-18, liturgical translation (AELF): “My son, perform all things in humility, and you will be loved more than a benefactor. The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself: you will find favor before the Lord.” One of the great biblical texts on humility.
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