Illuminated Coptic sanctuary banner

Sirach 40:1-41:13 - Death, Mercy, and the Good Name

14 min read

A crown does not keep a person from lying awake in fear. Neither does poverty make that fear less painful. Sirach begins with the burden shared by the sons of Adam and then asks what can truly endure. Possessions disappear, power fails, and even a long life remains brief. Mercy, truthful dealing, and a good name are set before the reader as goods that reach beyond the effort to preserve oneself.

The Burden Shared by Adam’s Children (Sirach 40:1-11)

1 Great travail is created for every man, and an heavy yoke is upon the sons of Adam, from the day that they go out of their mother’s womb, till the day that they return to the mother of all things. 2 Their imagination of things to come, and the day of death, [trouble] their thoughts, and [cause] fear of heart; 3 from him that sitteth on a throne of glory, unto him that is humbled in earth and ashes; 4 from him that weareth purple and a crown, unto him that is clothed with a linen frock. 5 Wrath, and envy, trouble, and unquietness, fear of death, and anger, and strife, and in the time of rest upon his bed his night sleep, do change his knowledge. 6 Little or nothing is his rest, and afterward he is in his sleep as in a day of keeping watch, troubled in the vision of his heart, as if he were escaped out of a battle. 7 When all is safe, he awaketh, and marvelleth that the fear was nothing. 8 [Such things happen] unto all flesh, both man and beast, and sevenfold more upon sinners. 9 Death, and bloodshed, strife, and sword, calamities, famine, tribulation, and the scourge; 10 these things are created for the wicked, and through them came the flood. 11 All things that are of the earth do turn to the earth again: and that which is of the waters doth return into the sea.

The passage moves from birth to earth, from a throne to ashes, from royal clothing to a laborer’s garment. Its range strips away the illusion that one social class has escaped the human condition. Even sleep can fail to bring rest: the mind is troubled as though a battle were still taking place. Ben Sira recognizes the difference between an immediate danger and the fear that remains after safety has returned. A distressed person should not be mocked because another observer can see no present threat.

The earth called the mother of all things is the ground to which mortal bodies return. Genesis 3:19 gives the context of dust and return; there is no need to infer a goddess or a spiritual identity between God and nature. The list of bloodshed, famine, sword, and calamity also contains the language of judgment, including the flood. Such language calls human violence and sin to account. It does not give us the authority to identify every sufferer as personally guilty. The chapter first says that the burden is shared by all flesh, and the righteous also suffer within a fallen world.

Hebrews 2:14-15 gives the Christian answer to the fear named here. The Son truly shares our flesh and blood, enters death, and delivers those held in lifelong bondage by its fear. The answer is more than advice to be brave. The crucified and risen Christ has entered the condition from which no crown could protect us. His victory permits a person to seek treatment for anxiety, speak honestly about fear, and learn hope without pretending never to tremble.

Gems from the Fathers 💎

Saint Athanasius sees the Resurrection as a change in humanity’s relation to death. In On the Incarnation 27.2, he writes of believers: “For they verily know that when they die they are not destroyed, but actually [begin to] live, and become incorruptible through the Resurrection.”1 His immediate argument concerns the courage of Christian witnesses; this is a thematic companion to Sirach, not direct commentary. Martyrial courage means faithfulness to Christ when threatened, never a command to seek death or neglect protection. The witness consoles a fearful person by pointing to Christ’s victory, rather than making the absence of fear a test of genuine faith.

What Injustice Cannot Keep (Sirach 40:12-17)

12 All bribery and injustice shall be blotted out: but true dealing shall endure for ever. 13 The goods of the unjust shall be dried up like a river, and shall vanish with noise, like a great thunder in rain. 14 While he openeth his hand he shall rejoice: so shall transgressors come to nought. 15 The children of the ungodly shall not bring forth many branches: but are as unclean roots upon a hard rock. 16 The weed growing upon every water and bank of a river shall be pulled up before all grass. 17 Bountifulness is as a most fruitful garden, and mercifulness endureth for ever.

The river and garden images distinguish a wealth that vanishes from a generosity that bears fruit. Bribery and injustice may seem to secure a family, yet Ben Sira describes them as water draining away and roots unable to hold in rock. The reversal is sobering. An impressive estate is not proof that the way it was obtained has a future before God. Truthful dealing has a durability that cannot be measured on an account statement.

The reference to the children of the ungodly must not be turned against children who have already suffered from a parent’s conduct. The text is warning that an unjust legacy is unstable, not authorizing contempt for descendants. Ezekiel 18:20 teaches personal accountability, and repentance can break a pattern inherited from a household. The contrast ends in a fruitful garden of generosity and enduring mercy. Almsgiving grows from the mercy first received from God; it cannot purchase absolution or make restitution unnecessary. A gift becomes truthful when the hand that gives also ceases to steal.

Goods That Must Be Put in Order (Sirach 40:18-30)

18 To labour, and to be content with that a man hath, is a sweet life: but he that findeth a treasure is above them both. 19 Children and the building of a city continue a man’s name: but a blameless wife is counted above them both. 20 Wine and music rejoice the heart: but the love of wisdom is above them both. 21 The pipe and the psaltery make sweet melody: but a pleasant tongue is above them both. 22 Thine eye desireth favour and beauty: but more than both the first sprouting of corn. 23 A friend and companion never meet amiss: but above both is a wife with her husband. 24 Brethren and help are against time of trouble: but alms shall deliver more than them both. 25 Gold and silver make the foot stand sure; but counsel is esteemed above them both. 26 Riches and strength lift up the heart: but the fear of the Lord is above them both: there is no want in the fear of the Lord, and it needeth not to seek help. 27 The fear of the Lord is a fruitful garden, and covereth him above all glory. 28 My son, lead not a beggar’s life; for better it is to die than to beg. 29 The life of him that dependeth on another man’s table is not to be counted for a life; for he polluteth himself with other men’s meat: but a wise man well nurtured will beware thereof. 30 Begging is sweet in the mouth of the shameless: but in his belly there shall burn a fire.

The comparisons honor many real goods: work, contentment, children, marriage, music, friendship, grain, money, and counsel. Ben Sira is arranging loves rather than dismissing earthly life. A pleasant tongue can give more lasting gladness than an instrument; the first growth of grain matters more to hungry people than a beautiful appearance; wisdom and the fear of the Lord surpass strength and possessions. Desire is educated by attending to what actually sustains life and faithfulness.

Marriage is praised as companionship, and alms are praised as help in trouble. These comparisons are not a ranking of human worth. A person without a spouse or children is not outside blessing, and a person receiving aid is not spiritually inferior to the giver. The fruitful garden of the fear of the Lord is a life rooted in God. The assertion of no want does not promise that the faithful will never experience material need. The book has repeatedly commanded mercy precisely because the needy are real.

Verses 28-30 are painfully severe toward begging and dependence at another’s table. They warn a hearer against a life shaped by humiliating dependence and an appetite for living at others’ expense. Yet the words also carry the harsh stigma of that social world. They must never be used to tell a destitute person that death would be preferable to asking for help. Christ receives the poor and identifies Himself with the hungry; in Luke 16:19-31, the beggar Lazarus is comforted while the rich man’s indifference is judged. Christians may encourage work where possible and refuse exploitation, but they must provide help without shaming disability, age, unemployment, displacement, or necessary dependence. The garden of mercy cannot be cultivated by despising those who need it.

Death and the Exhausted Heart (Sirach 41:1-4)

1 O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liveth at rest in his possessions, unto the man that hath nothing to vex him, and that hath prosperity in all things: yea, unto him that is yet able to receive meat! 2 O death, acceptable is thy sentence unto the needy, and unto him whose strength faileth, that is now in the last age, and is vexed with all things, and to him that despaireth, and hath lost patience! 3 Fear not the sentence of death, remember them that have been before thee, and that come after; for this is the sentence of the Lord over all flesh. 4 And why art thou against the pleasure of the most High? there is no inquisition in the grave, whether thou have lived ten, or an hundred, or a thousand years.

Death appears bitter to the person whose circumstances are pleasant and acceptable to the person worn down by age, poverty, or distress. Sirach allows that difference to be spoken. The comforted person may cling to the very goods he will lose; the exhausted person may feel unable to bear another day. Neither can be helped by a sentence that ignores what life presently feels like.

The counsel not to fear places death within the common condition of humanity under God. Christian hope goes further through the Resurrection. In Philippians 1:21-24, Paul’s desire to be with Christ remains joined to his willingness to stay and serve those who need him. Longing for rest is not a command to end life. These verses do not authorize suicide, euthanasia, abandonment, or refusal of appropriate relief. A person in dangerous despair needs immediate companionship and qualified help. Compassionate medical and pastoral care can relieve suffering without treating the sufferer as expendable. We entrust the hour to God while caring faithfully for the life still before us.

A Name Worth Leaving (Sirach 41:5-13)

5 The children of sinners are abominable children, and they that are conversant in the dwelling of the ungodly. 6 The inheritance of sinners’ children shall perish, and from their posterity shall be a perpetual reproach. 7 The children will complain of an ungodly father, because they will be reproached for his sake. 8 Who be unto you, ungodly men, which have forsaken the law of the most high God! for if ye increase, it shall be to your destruction: 9 and if ye be born, ye shall be born to a curse: and if ye die, a curse shall be your portion. 10 All that are of the earth shall turn to earth again: so the ungodly shall go from a curse to destruction. 11 The mourning of men is about their bodies: but an ill name of sinners shall be blotted out. 12 Have regard to thy name; for that shall continue with thee above a thousand great treasures of gold. 13 A good life hath but few days: but a good name endureth for ever.

The language about sinners’ children and a curse is severe. The following picture shows one of its concerns: children complain because a parent’s ungodliness has left them with reproach. Sin can injure the future of a household through violence, debt, secrecy, neglect, or public dishonor. Naming that cost calls adults to repentance. It gives no permission to label a child abominable or cursed, and no child bears moral guilt merely by descent. The Lord receives people personally and opens a future beyond the injuries they inherit.

The passage ends by distinguishing a brief life from an enduring good name. This is more than public reputation. A cultivated image can conceal what a family knows too well. A good name grows from a life that can be remembered truthfully: someone kept faith, repaired a wrong, cared for the weak, or learned to repent. Christians seek this integrity before God rather than universal approval. A faithful person may be slandered; Christ Himself endured false accusation.

The enduring name prepares for the praise of the faithful in Sirach 44-45. Holy memory gives thanks for what God’s grace has made fruitful in human lives. The hope is not that our name will become famous. It is that love will have become concrete enough for another person to remember and be strengthened. The question of death has become a question about how we shall live today.

Spiritual Fruit 🍇

Bring the fear of death into Christ’s presence. Set aside a few quiet minutes rather than waiting for fear to break into the night. Tell the Lord what frightens you: pain, separation, unfinished responsibility, or judgment. Ask Him to teach you hope through His Resurrection. If anxiety is persistent, seek appropriate pastoral and clinical support. The Savior’s sharing of flesh and blood means that weakness can be brought to Him honestly. Courage often begins with accepting help rather than hiding distress.

Plant mercy where possession cannot last. Choose one act of generosity that answers an actual need. Let it cost something, but do not make it a performance or a substitute for paying what you owe. If the means for giving were obtained unjustly, begin repair there. Verse 17’s garden grows from mercy received and practiced. The person helped should leave with dignity, not with a debt of gratitude that you intend to collect later.

Receive necessary help without self-contempt. The harsh sayings on dependence can touch a tender place in someone who already feels burdensome. If you need assistance, name one trustworthy person or service to whom you can speak plainly. If you are helping, remove one unnecessary humiliation from the way you give. A meal, a ride, or a contribution can say that the recipient belongs among us. Christ does not weigh a human life by its economic independence.

Begin the good name in a hidden repair. Think of what those nearest you would honestly remember. Make one apology without explaining away the harm; settle one neglected obligation; write a word of gratitude; or give attention where you have been absent. If you visit a grave, let the visit include thanksgiving and prayer rather than a demand to feel composed. Our days are few, but they are held by the risen Lord. Ask Him to make today’s conduct something that will bless another person when it is remembered.

Footnotes

  1. Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation 27.2, trans. Archibald Robertson, NPNF second series 4, primary text. The translation’s brackets around “begin to” are retained. ↩

Reading statusLoading your browser-local progress
Saved only in this browser

Created: | Updated:

Page Connections

Backlinks