Sirach
Chapter 29
Lending
Lending to your neighbor is an act of mercy; helping him fulfills the commandments.
Learn to lend to your neighbor when he is in need, and in return, repay any loan on time.
Keep your word, stay faithful, and you will find what you need in every situation.
Many see a loan as a quick deal and put the helpers in a difficult spot.
The moment they receive it, they kiss the hand of the lender and humble themselves in respect to his wealth. But when repayment is due, they delay it, pay back with reproaches, and blame the current situation.
If they can repay, they pay only half, and the lender will be grateful for that much. They have robbed him of his money, and he has also gained enemies, for they repay him with curses, insults, and reproaches instead of gratitude.
Many good people refuse to lend, not out of malice but because they fear being cheated unjustly.
Nevertheless, be kind to those who are in hard times; do not keep them waiting for your help.
For the sake of the commandments, help the poor man; see his need and do not turn him away empty-handed.
It is better to spend your money on a brother or a friend than to let it gather dust under a stone, which brings discredit to you.
Use your money according to the commandments of the Most High, and you will find it more valuable than gold.
Fill your barns with good deeds, and these will save you from ruin.
They will fight for you against your enemies better than any strong shield or mighty spear.
Surety
A good man might give surety for his neighbor; the scoundrel abandons him to his fate.
Do not forget the favors of your guarantor: he has risked his life for you.
The sinner wastes his guarantor’s money; the ungrateful man forgets the one who saved him.
Serving as a guarantor has ruined many good men and tossed them like waves in the sea.
It has banished powerful men and forced them to wander among foreign nations.
The sinner is eager to be a guarantor but will be condemned as a loan shark.
Help your neighbor as much as you can, but beware of falling into the same trouble.
In Someone Else’s House
Some things you cannot live without: water, bread, clothes, and a shelter.
Better a poor man’s life in his wooden shack than lavish banquets in another man’s house.
Be content with whatever you have, whether great or small; this is better than going elsewhere and being reproached as an outsider.
It is hard to move from house to house;
when you are an outsider, do not risk opening your mouth. You will eat and drink with little welcome and, on top of that, hear bitter remarks:
“Come, stranger, set the table and whatever you have, give it to me to eat.”
“Be gone, stranger, make room for someone more important; my brother is coming to see me, I need the house.”
It is difficult for a good man to have hospitality denied him or to be the object of reproach from the lender.
Commentaries
Lending.
In keeping with Ben Sirach’s respect and reverence for the Torah, he discusses helping the needy through lending, which is seen as an act of mercy established in Mosaic law (cf. Ex 22:25; Lv 25:35-37; Dt 15:7-11; 23:19; 24:10-13). While supporting this practice, he also emphasizes the importance of being diligent in returning borrowed items; one must promptly repay what is owed. The author highlights the “risks” of lending money to neighbors, including the possibility of losing the loan and of friendships being damaged (4-7). Related to this is the practice of almsgiving, which benefits the poor and bestows many blessings on the giver (8-13).
Surety.
Concerning loans, this teaching on surety shows another way to help a friend (14), and if someone has benefited from a guarantor, they should remember that favor (15). The dangers of vouching for someone are also highlighted here, as it could often lead to the guarantor’s ruin (17f); this prompts Ben Sirach to give general advice: help your neighbor as much as you can, but be careful not to ruin yourself.
In Someone Else’s House.
Building on the previous themes, we see the plight of those lacking the basic means to survive; they are vulnerable to abuse, ridicule, and ultimately, wandering. The Bible shows that to address these extreme cases of poverty, two institutions were established and should have been implemented promptly, as the law of Moses required. One was the “goelato” (Lv 25:25), which required the closest relative of a debtor to redeem the property or pledge left with the lender. In severe cases, when a debtor had to surrender as a pledge or payment to his creditor, the “go’el” was responsible for paying his ransom. The other institution was the “sabbatical year” (Dt 15:1-11), which Leviticus expanded into the “jubilee year,” offering liberation for slaves, debt forgiveness, and restitution of collateral property. This system was meant to balance society, preventing extreme disparities between wealth and poverty periodically.