Ecclesiasticus 4
How to read these pages: the text itself comes first, verse by verse, in the volume's own translation. Beneath each verse stands its Meaning — a rendering of what the passage's terms name in the inner life, drawn from the correspondences the text itself uses. The text is never altered; the meaning is offered, not imposed.
King James Version
1My son, defraud not the poor of his living, and make not the needy eyes to wait long.
My son, defraud not the poor — the lacking state — of his living, and make not the needy eyes wait long.
2Make not an hungry soul sorrowful; neither provoke a man in his distress.
Make not a hungry soul sorrowful; neither provoke a man in his distress.
3Add not more trouble to an heart that is vexed; and defer not to give to him that is in need.
Add not more trouble to a heart that is vexed; and defer not to give to him that is in need.
4Reject not the supplication of the afflicted; neither turn away thy face from a poor man.
Reject not the supplication of the afflicted; neither turn away your face from a poor man.
5Turn not away thine eye from the needy, and give him none occasion to curse thee:
Turn not away your eye from the needy, and give him no occasion to curse you:
6For if he curse thee in the bitterness of his soul, his prayer shall be heard of him that made him.
For if he curse you in the bitterness of his soul, his prayer shall be heard of Him that made him.
7Get thyself the love of the congregation, and bow thy head to a great man.
Get yourself the love of the congregation — the gathered faculties — and bow your head to a great man.
8Let it not grieve thee to bow down thine ear to the poor, and give him a friendly answer with meekness.
Let it not grieve you to bow down your ear to the poor, and give him a friendly answer with meekness.
9Deliver him that suffereth wrong from the hand of the oppressor; and be not fainthearted when thou sittest in judgment.
Deliver him that suffers wrong from the hand of the oppressor; and be not fainthearted when you sit in judgment.
10Be as a father unto the fatherless, and instead of an husband unto their mother: so shalt thou be as the son of the most High, and he shall love thee more than thy mother doth.
Be as a father to the fatherless, and instead of a husband to their mother: so shall you be as the son of the most High, and He shall love you more than your mother does.
11Wisdom exalteth her children, and layeth hold of them that seek her.
Wisdom — the divine Love-Wisdom of the Source, ordering all things — exalts her children, and lays hold of them that seek her.
12He that loveth her loveth life; and they that seek to her early shall be filled with joy.
He that loves her loves life; and they that seek her early shall be filled with joy.
13He that holdeth her fast shall inherit glory; and wheresoever she entereth, the Lord will bless.
He that holds her fast shall inherit glory; and wherever she enters, the indwelling LORD will bless.
14They that serve her shall minister to the Holy One: and them that love her the Lord doth love.
They that serve her shall minister to the Holy One: and them that love her the LORD loves.
15Whoso giveth ear unto her shall judge the nations: and he that attendeth unto her shall dwell securely.
Whoever gives ear to her shall judge the nations — the gathered states; and he that attends to her shall dwell securely.
16If a man commit himself unto her, he shall inherit her; and his generation shall hold her in possession.
If a man commit himself to her, he shall inherit her; and his generation shall hold her in possession.
17For at the first she will walk with him by crooked ways, and bring fear and dread upon him, and torment him with her discipline, until she may trust his soul, and try him by her laws.
For at first she will walk with him by crooked ways, and bring fear and dread upon him, and torment him with her discipline — her training — until she may trust his soul, and try him by her laws.
18Then will she return the straight way unto him, and comfort him, and shew him her secrets.
Then will she return the straight way to him, and comfort him, and show him her secrets.
19But if he go wrong, she will forsake him, and give him over to his own ruin.
But if he go wrong, she will forsake him, and give him over to his own ruin — the state given over to the disorder it chose.
20Observe the opportunity, and beware of evil; and be not ashamed when it concerneth thy soul.
Observe the opportunity, and beware of evil; and be not ashamed when it concerns your soul.
21For there is a shame that bringeth sin; and there is a shame which is glory and grace.
For there is a shame that brings sin — error — and there is a shame which is glory and grace.
22Accept no person against thy soul, and let not the reverence of any man cause thee to fall.
Accept no person against your soul, and let not the reverence of any man cause you to fall.
23And refrain not to speak, when there is occasion to do good, and hide not thy wisdom in her beauty.
And refrain not to speak when there is occasion to do good, and hide not your wisdom in her beauty.
24For by speech wisdom shall be known: and learning by the word of the tongue.
For by speech Wisdom shall be known: and learning by the word of the tongue — the speech-faculty.
25In no wise speak against the truth; but be abashed of the error of thine ignorance.
In no wise speak against the truth; but be abashed at the error of your ignorance.
26Be not ashamed to confess thy sins; and force not the course of the river.
Be not ashamed to confess your sins; and force not the course of the river — the current of life and thought.
27Make not thyself an underling to a foolish man; neither accept the person of the mighty.
Make not yourself an underling to a foolish man — the sense-bound state, closed to the divine order — neither accept the person of the mighty.
28Strive for the truth unto death, and the Lord shall fight for thee.
Strive for the truth unto death, and the indwelling LORD shall fight for you.
29Be not hasty in thy tongue, and in thy deeds slack and remiss.
Be not hasty in your tongue, and in your deeds slack and remiss.
30Be not as a lion in thy house, nor frantick among thy servants.
Be not as a lion in your house, nor frantic among your servants.
31Let not thine hand be stretched out to receive, and shut when thou shouldest repay.
Let not your hand be stretched out to receive, and shut when you should repay.
Companion volume to The Why Bible — the King James Apocrypha, rendered in its spiritual meanings. First final edition, October 2026.