Sirach 29

1 Whoever performs an act of mercy will lend to his neighbor, and whoever lends his support keeps the commands.

2 Lend to your neighbor in his time of need, and repay your neighbor at the proper time.

3 Stand by your word and deal faithfully with him, and you will always find what you need.

4 Many borrowers regard a loan as a windfall and bring trouble on those who helped them.

5 Until he receives the loan, a borrower kisses the lender’s hands and humbles his voice when speaking about his neighbor’s money. When repayment is due, he delays, offers weary excuses, and complains about the time.

6 If the lender succeeds, he recovers barely half and counts it a windfall. If not, the borrower has deprived him of his money and made him an enemy for no reason. He repays him with curses and insults, returning disgrace for honor.

7 Many have refused to lend, not because of wickedness, but because they feared being defrauded for no reason.

8 Be patient with a poor person, and do not delay showing him mercy.

9 Help the poor for the command’s sake, and do not turn someone away empty-handed because of his need.

10 Lose your silver for a brother and friend; do not let it rust under a stone and be lost.

11 Store up your treasure according to the commands of the Most High, and it will benefit you more than gold.

12 Store acts of mercy in your storerooms, and they will rescue you from every affliction.

13 They will fight for you against an enemy better than a mighty shield or a heavy spear.

14 A good man guarantees his neighbor’s debt, but a man who has lost all shame abandons him.

15 Do not forget your guarantor’s favor, for he gave his life for you.

16 A sinner ruins his guarantor’s prosperity, and an ungrateful person abandons the one who rescued him.

17 Guaranteeing debts has ruined many prosperous people and shaken them like a wave of the sea.

18 It has driven powerful people from their homes and left them wandering among foreign nations.

19 A sinner who enters into a guarantee and pursues business ventures will fall into lawsuits.

20 Help your neighbor according to your ability, but take care not to fall into trouble yourself.

21 The necessities of life are water, bread, clothing, and a house that provides privacy.

22 A poor person’s life beneath a roof of beams is better than rich food in someone else’s house.

23 Whether you have little or much, be content so that you do not hear the reproach of being a guest.

24 Going from house to house is a miserable life; wherever you stay as a stranger, you cannot speak freely.

25 You will entertain and provide drink without receiving thanks, and on top of this you will hear bitter words:

26 ‘Come here, stranger, prepare the table, and feed me with whatever you have.’

27 ‘Leave, stranger, to make room for an honored guest. My brother has come to stay, and I need the house.’

28 These things are hard for someone with good sense: a rebuke over shelter and a lender’s reproach.