Read & explore together
Choose wise companions and weigh public speech
Sirach 9:10–18 gives practical wisdom about friendship, influence, counsel, and speech. It moves from personal relationships to public behaviour, showing that the people we trust and the words we speak both carry serious consequences.
Understanding the passage
Listening in context
This passage comes from the Catholic additional book of Sirach and speaks in short wisdom sayings. Within these verses, the teaching stays focused on everyday choices: whether to keep loyal friends, how to view the success of sinners, whom to consult, what should shape conversation, and why careless speech is dangerous.
Sirach 9:10–18Main takeaway
This passage teaches that wise living includes steady friendship, careful choice of companions, and disciplined speech shaped by the fear of the Lord.
Look closely at the words
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01Value tested friendshipThe passage begins by warning against abandoning an old friend. Sirach says a new friend is not equal to one already proven, using new wine as a picture: only with time does it become something enjoyed with gladness.
Explanation
The passage begins by warning against abandoning an old friend. Sirach says a new friend is not equal to one already proven, using new wine as a picture: only with time does it become something enjoyed with gladness. The point is not to reject all new friends, but to value faithfulness that has been tested over time.
02Do not admire sinful successSirach then warns against envy and delight in the apparent success of sinners and ungodly people.
Explanation
Sirach then warns against envy and delight in the apparent success of sinners and ungodly people. The reason given is limited but clear: their outcome is not secure, and they will not go unpunished to the grave. The passage does not ask readers to copy what looks prosperous if it stands apart from godliness.
03Be careful around danger and seek wise counselVerse 13 advises distance from a person who has power to kill, describing life near him as walking among snares.
Explanation
Verse 13 advises distance from a person who has power to kill, describing life near him as walking among snares. That is followed by a positive command: know your neighbours as far as you can, and seek counsel from the wise. The contrast is sharp between threatening company and trustworthy advice.
04Choose companions and words wellThe final verses focus on conversation, table fellowship, and public speech. Speech should be with people of understanding and centred in the law of the Most High.
Explanation
The final verses focus on conversation, table fellowship, and public speech. Speech should be with people of understanding and centred in the law of the Most High. Companions should be righteous people, and boasting should be replaced by fear of the Lord. A ruler is judged by speech, while a loud and reckless speaker becomes dangerous and hated.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01What picture does Sirach use to explain why an old friend should not be forsaken?
Look closely at the comparison with new wine and notice what changes with time in Sirach 9:10.
02Why does the passage say not to envy the success of a sinner or delight in the ungodly?
The answer is given in the reasons attached to both warnings, focusing on the sinner’s end and punishment in Sirach 9:11 and Sirach 9:12.
03How do verses 15–18 connect wise speech with both honour and danger?
Compare the speech of people of understanding and rulers with the loudmouthed and reckless speaker in Sirach 9:15, Sirach 9:17, and Sirach 9:18.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Sirach 9:10–18
10Don’t forsake an old friend; for a new one is not comparable to him. A new friend is like new wine: if it becomes old, you will drink it with gladness.
11Don’t envy the success of a sinner; for you don’t know what his end will be.
12Don’t delight in the delights of the ungodly. Remember they will not go unpunished to the grave.
13Keep yourself far from the man who has power to kill, and you will not be troubled by the fear of death. If you come to him, commit no fault, lest he take away your life. Know surely that you go about in the midst of snares, and walk upon the battlements of a city.
14As well as you can, aim to know your neighbors, and take counsel with the wise.
15Let your conversation be with men of understanding. Let all your discourse be in the law of the Most High.
16Let righteous people be companions at your table. Let your glorying be in the fear of the Lord.
17A work is commended because of the skill of the artisan; so he who rules the people will be considered wise for his speech.
18A loudmouthed man is dangerous in his city. He who is reckless in his speech will be hated.