Глава 15

Seek wisdom and it will rest on you. The wicked are far from wisdom. The Lord commands piety, but does not constrain man’s free will: before man there is good and evil, life and death, and what he himself wishes to choose is given to him. Sir.15:1 He who fears the Lord will do this, and he who is firm in the law will take possession of it. Sir.15:2 And she will meet him like a mother and receive him to her like a chaste wife; Sir.15:3 He will feed him with the bread of understanding, and give him to drink the water of wisdom. Sir.15:4 He will be established on it and will not be moved; will cleave to her and will not be ashamed. Sir.15:5 And she will exalt him above his neighbors, and in the midst of the congregation she will open his mouth. Sir.15:6 He will inherit joy and a crown of joy and an everlasting name. 1–6. They complete the thought expressed in verses 21–27 of the previous chapter. Sir.15:7 Foolish people will not comprehend it, and sinners will not see it. Sir.15:8 She is far from being proud, and deceitful people will not think about her. Sir.15:9 Praise is unpleasant in the mouth of a sinner, for it was not sent from the Lord. Sir.15:10 Praise will be spoken with wisdom, and the Lord will prosper it. 9–10. In the language of the Holy Scriptures, the concepts: wisdom and piety are identical; how identical are their opposites: foolishness and wickedness. True wisdom of a person consists in understanding the good and perfect will of God and following it in one’s life. Such wisdom brings true well-being to a person. The absence of this wisdom is disastrous for a person and testifies to his foolishness. Praise in the mouth of a sinner should not be pleasant, because it may indicate like-mindedness with the sinner; such praise was not sent from the Lord, but was inspired by sin. Praise in the mouth of a righteous man is joyful and pleasant, because it testifies to the triumph of virtue and God's prosperity. Sir.15:11 Do not say: “For the sake of the Lord I retreated”; for what He hates, you must not do. Sir.15:12 Do not say: “He led me astray,” for He has no need of a sinful husband. Sir.15:13 The Lord hates all abomination, and it is unpleasant to those who fear Him. Sir.15:14 From the beginning He created man and left him in the hand of his will. Sir.15:15 If you want, you will keep the commandments and maintain pleasing fidelity. Sir.15:16 He has offered you fire and water: whatever you want, you can stretch out your hand. Sir.15:17 Before man is life and death, and whatever he desires, that will be given to him. Sir.15:18 Great is the wisdom of the Lord; He is mighty in power and He sees everything. Sir.15:19 His eyes are on those who fear Him, and He knows every deed of man. Sir.15:20 He did not command anyone to act wickedly, nor did He give anyone permission to sin. 11–20 . The Lord did not command anyone to act wickedly and did not give anyone permission to sin. People do good and sin according to the movement of their own free will: the Lord created man from the beginning and left him in the hand of his will, as if thereby saying: if you want, you will keep the commandments, maintain pleasing fidelity and receive salvation; if you don’t want to, you will break the commandments and lose salvation. Before man is life and death; whatever he desires will be given to him: he will desire the salvation of spiritual life and, with the help of God, will receive this life, he will strive for spiritual death - rejection of God, and this death will befall him.