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Sirach 19-23 - The Mouth and the Passions

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Sirach 19-23 is one of the book’s strongest ascetical units. It shows that wisdom must govern appetite, secrecy, laughter, rebuke, shame, oaths, and lust, because the mouth and the passions reveal the heart.

Overview

Here the mouth becomes the visible battlefield of the hidden heart. Gossip, oath-making, lust, anger, and foolish speech are not small social flaws; they reveal whether desire is under the fear of God. Sirach teaches watchfulness before the lips because the tongue can either guard communion or burn it down.

After Sirach has called the sinner to return, these chapters ask what return looks like in the mouth and body. The unit is pastorally important because speech and desire are common sins that often hide behind personality, humor, privacy, or religious respectability.

These chapters belong together because they share one spiritual center: the disciplined inner life made visible through words and desires. The next unit, Sirach 24, pauses the moral sequence to contemplate Wisdom speaking in the congregation.

Wine, Lust, and Gossip Break Judgment (Sirach 19:1-17)

1 A labouring man that is given to drunkenness shall not be rich: and he that contemneth small things shall fall by little and little. 2 Wine and women will make men of understanding to fall away: and he that cleaveth to harlots will become impudent. 3 Moths and worms shall have him to heritage, and a bold man shall be taken away.

4 He that is hasty to give credit is light-minded; and he that sinneth shall offend against his own soul. 5 Whoso taketh pleasure in wickedness shall be condemned: 6 but he that hateth babbling hath less of evil.

7 Rehearse not unto another that which is told unto thee, and thou shalt fare never the worse. 8 Whether it be to friend or foe, talk not of other men’s lives; and if thou canst not without offence, reveal them not. 9 For he heard and observed thee, and when time cometh he will hate thee. 10 If thou hast heard a word, let it die with thee; and be bold, it will not burst thee. 11 A fool travaileth with a word, as a woman in labour of a child. 12 As an arrow that sticketh in a man’s thigh, so is a word within a fool’s belly. 13 Admonish a friend, it may be he hath not done it: and if he have done it, that he do it no more. 14 Admonish thy friend, it may be he hath not said it: and if he have, that he speak it not again. 15 Admonish a friend: for many times it is a slander, and believe not every tale.

16 There is one that slippeth in his speech, but not from his heart; and who is he that hath not offended with his tongue?

17 Admonish thy neighbour before thou threaten him; and give place to the law of the most High.

Sirach joins wine, lust, gossip, and rumor because all of them weaken judgment. The one who is hasty to repeat a matter becomes servant to another person’s sin. The wise person tests speech before carrying it further.

This is essential for parish life. Gossip often disguises itself as concern, prayer request, or truth-telling. Sirach teaches that the first act of healing may be silence, then honest correction if correction is required.

Gems from the Fathers 💎

John Chrysostom’s call for the hearer to cleanse the ear before receiving divine teaching is a thematic help here. A polluted ear spreads pollution. A purified ear refuses to become a channel for another person’s harm.

For our life

Before repeating a story, ask whether love, truth, necessity, and courage are all present.

Verses 13-17 prevent two opposite sins: broadcasting an accusation without knowledge, and refusing private correction when love requires it. In the Gospel pattern of Matthew 18, correction starts near, truthful, and restorative; it is not a prayer-request pipeline.

There Is a Time to Speak and a Time to Be Silent (Sirach 20:1-8)

1 There is a reproof that is not comely: again, some man holdeth his tongue, and he is wise.

2 It is much better to reprove, than to be angry secretly: 3 and he that confesseth his fault shall be preserved from hurt. 4 As is the lust of an eunuch to deflower a virgin; so is he that executeth judgment with violence.

5 There is one that keepeth silence, and is found wise: and another by much babbling becometh hateful. 6 Some man holdeth his tongue, because he hath not to answer: and some keepeth silence, knowing his time. 7 A wise man will hold his tongue till he see opportunity: but a babbler and a fool will regard no time. 8 He that useth many words shall be abhorred; and he that taketh to himself authority therein shall be hated.

Sirach says some silence is wisdom and some silence is cowardice. Some speech is timely and some speech is foolish. The spiritual task is not simply to talk less, but to speak under discernment.

Servants need this distinction. A class, meeting, family conversation, or conflict can be damaged both by impulsive speech and by fearful silence. Wisdom asks what love requires now.

For our life

Practice pausing before hard speech, then do not use the pause to avoid obedience.

Sin as a Serpent and the Fool’s Mouth (Sirach 21:1-10, 23-28)

1 My son, hast thou sinned? do so no more, but ask pardon for thy former sins. 2 Flee from sin as from the face of a serpent: for if thou comest too near it, it will bite thee: the teeth thereof are as the teeth of a lion, slaying the souls of men. 3 All iniquity is as a two edged sword, the wounds whereof cannot be healed. 4 To terrify and do wrong will waste riches: thus the house of proud men shall be made desolate. 5 A prayer out of a poor man’s mouth reacheth to the ears of God, and his judgment cometh speedily. 6 He that hateth reproof is in the way of sinners: but he that feareth the Lord will repent from his heart.

7 An eloquent man is known far and near; but a man of understanding knoweth when he slippeth. 8 He that buildeth his house with other men’s money is like one that gathereth himself stones for the tomb of his burial. 9 The congregation of the wicked is like tow wrapped together: and the end of them is a flame of fire to destroy them. 10 The way of sinners is made plain with stones, but at the end thereof is the pit of hell.

23 A fool will peep in at the door into the house: but he that is well nurtured will stand without. 24 It is the rudeness of a man to hearken at the door: but a wise man will be grieved with the disgrace. 25 The lips of talkers will be telling such things as pertain not unto them: but the words of such as have understanding are weighed in the balance. 26 The heart of fools is in their mouth: but the mouth of the wise is in their heart. 27 When the ungodly curseth Satan, he curseth his own soul.

28 A whisperer defileth his own soul, and is hated wheresoever he dwelleth.

Sirach describes sin as a serpent and the fool’s mouth as a doorway into ruin. The imagery is vivid because sin is not static. It bites, spreads, and draws the person farther than he meant to go.

The passage warns against casual closeness to sin. The soul should not negotiate with habits that already know how to wound it. The wise person flees early, confesses quickly, and refuses the fool’s habit of speaking before listening.

For our life

Identify the sin you keep treating as manageable. Make distance before it bites again.

Read the serpent image with Genesis 3 and the bronze serpent fulfilled in Christ: wisdom tells us not to study the serpent from curiosity, but to flee its bite and look to the Crucified Physician for healing.

Faithful Friendship and the Guarded Mouth (Sirach 22:19-27)

19 He that pricketh the eye will make tears to fall: and he that pricketh the heart maketh it to shew her knowledge. 20 Whoso casteth a stone at the birds frayeth them away: and he that upbraideth his friend breaketh friendship. 21 Though thou drewest a sword at thy friend, yet despair not: for there may be a returning [to favour]. 22 If thou hast opened thy mouth against thy friend, fear not; for there may be a reconciliation: except for upbraiding, or pride, or disclosing of secrets, or a treacherous wound: for for these things every friend will depart.

23 Be faithful to thy neighbour in his poverty, that thou mayest rejoice in his prosperity: abide steadfast unto him in the time of his trouble, that thou mayest be heir with him in his heritage. 24 As the vapour and smoke of a furnace goeth before the fire; so reviling before blood. 25 I will not be ashamed to defend a friend; neither will I hide myself from him; 26 and if any evil happen unto me by him, every one that heareth it will beware of him. 27 Who shall set a watch before my mouth, and a seal of wisdom upon my lips, that I fall not suddenly by them, and that my tongue destroy me not?

Sirach teaches that a friend can be wounded by speech as by a weapon. Some wounds can heal; betrayal of secrets and contempt can destroy trust. Friendship needs both truth and guarded speech.

This is a needed word for close communities. Familiarity often makes people careless. The wise person protects what was entrusted, apologizes without self-defense, and does not use knowledge of another person as leverage.

For our life

Repair one relationship where careless speech wounded trust.

Set a Watch Before the Mouth (Sirach 23:1-6)

1 O Lord, Father and Governor of my life, leave me not to their counsels, and let me not fall by them. 2 Who will set scourges over my thoughts, and the discipline of wisdom over mine heart? that they spare me not for mine ignorances, and it pass not by my sins: 3 lest mine ignorances increase, and my sins abound to my destruction, and I fall before mine adversaries, and mine enemy rejoice over me, whose hope is far from thy mercy.

4 O Lord, Father and God of my life, give me not a proud look. 5 Turn away concupiscence from me. 6 Let not the greediness of the belly nor lust of the flesh take hold of me; and give me not over into an impudent mind.

Sirach turns warning into prayer. The speaker asks God to set discipline over thoughts, heart, ignorance, and sin. He knows he cannot master the mouth by willpower alone.

This is a model prayer for anyone struggling with speech or desire. Watchfulness begins by asking God to guard the inner movements that become words and actions.

For our life

Pray this passage before entering a hard conversation.

The mouth is healed liturgically before it is healed socially: psalmody, confession, ‘Lord have mercy,’ and reverent silence retrain the tongue to become an instrument of praise.

The Holy Name and the Disciplined Mouth (Sirach 23:7-15)

7 Hear, O ye children, the discipline of the mouth: he that keepeth it shall never be taken in his lips. 8 The sinner shall be left in his foolishness: both the evil speaker and the proud shall fall thereby. 9 Accustom not thy mouth to swearing; neither use thyself to the naming of the Holy One. 10 For as a servant that is continually beaten shall not be without a blue mark: so he that sweareth and nameth God continually shall not be faultless. 11 A man that useth much swearing shall be filled with iniquity, and the plague shall never depart from his house: if he shall offend, his sin shall be upon him: and if he acknowledge not his sin, he maketh a double offence: and if he swear in vain, he shall not be innocent, but his house shall be full of calamities. 12 There is a word that is clothed about with death: God grant that it be not found in the heritage of Jacob; for all such things shall be far from the godly, and they shall not wallow in their sins. 13 Use not thy mouth to intemperate swearing, for therein is the word of sin.

14 Remember thy father and thy mother, when thou sittest among great men. Be not forgetful before them, and so thou by thy custom become a fool, and wish that thou hadst not been born, and curse the day of thy nativity. 15 The man that is accustomed to opprobrious words will never be reformed all the days of his life.

Sirach applies the prayer for the mouth to the Holy Name. The warning is not merely against bad manners, but against training the tongue to use God lightly, manipulatively, or habitually without reverence. A mouth that invokes God carelessly becomes less able to praise Him truthfully.

Christ’s command to let yes be yes and no be no stands in the same spiritual world. Truthful speech does not need religious pressure, exaggerated oaths, or opprobrious words. The disciplined mouth honors God by becoming simple, reverent, and trustworthy.

For our life

Stop using holy language to intensify ordinary claims. Let truthfulness carry speech without manipulation.

Lust and the Hidden Life (Sirach 23:16-27)

16 Two sorts of men multiply sin, and the third will bring wrath: a hot mind is as a burning fire, it will never be quenched till it be consumed: a fornicator in the body of his flesh will never cease till he hath kindled a fire. 17 All bread is sweet to a whoremonger, he will not leave off till he die.

18 A man that breaketh wedlock, saying thus in his heart, Who seeth me? I am compassed about with darkness, the walls cover me, and no body seeth me; what need I to fear? the most High will not remember my sins: 19 such a man only feareth the eyes of men, and knoweth not that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter than the sun, beholding all the ways of men, and considering the most secret parts. 20 He knew all things ere ever they were created; so also after they were perfected he looked upon them all. 21 This man shall be punished in the streets of the city, and where he suspecteth not he shall be taken.

22 Thus shall it go also with the wife that leaveth her husband, and bringeth in an heir by another. 23 For first, she hath disobeyed the law of the most High; and secondly, she hath trespassed against her own husband; and thirdly, she hath played the whore in adultery, and brought children by another man. 24 She shall be brought out into the congregation, and inquisition shall be made of her children. 25 Her children shall not take root, and her branches shall bring forth no fruit. 26 She shall leave her memory to be cursed, and her reproach shall not be blotted out. 27 And they that remain shall know that there is nothing better than the fear of the Lord, and that there is nothing sweeter than to take heed unto the commandments of the Lord.

Sirach speaks bluntly about lust, adultery, secrecy, and false confidence that no one sees. The hidden life is not hidden from God. Desire becomes destructive when it teaches the person to live as if God is absent.

This must be handled without voyeurism or shame theater. The passage calls for confession, guardrails, repentance, and restoration. It also protects those harmed by sexual sin by refusing to pretend hidden choices are harmless.

Verses 22-26 must be taught as a warning about the public and covenantal damage sexual betrayal can unleash, not as permission to stigmatize children or make female sinners bear a harsher shame than male sinners. A child conceived amid sin remains a person loved by God and received by the Church without contempt. Repentance must protect the betrayed and vulnerable, while confession refuses secrecy without turning exposure into spectacle.

For our life

Bring hidden desire into confession before it becomes a hidden life.

Place this beside Christ’s mercy to exposed sinners: He neither blesses adultery nor permits the crowd to turn another’s sin into entertainment. Confession brings the hidden life into healing light, not public spectacle.

Spiritual Fruit 🍇

The fruit of this unit is watchfulness. The wise person does not excuse gossip, crude desire, rash oaths, or secret indulgence as small things. The heart is trained by what the mouth refuses, what the eyes avoid, and what the soul brings into confession.

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