Read & explore together
Many blessings culminate in reverence for God
This wisdom passage lists kinds of happiness, then rises to something greater. It moves from good gifts in daily life to the highest good, showing that reverence for the Lord stands above every other blessing.
Understanding the passage
Listening in context
In these verses from Sirach, the speaker counts people as happy for several specific reasons, then compares those blessings with wisdom and the fear of the Lord. The passage is presented as wisdom teaching and spoken reflection, not as a narrative event. It comes from the Catholic additional books.
Sirach 25:7–12Main takeaway
This passage teaches that many things are called happy and great, but reverence for the Lord is greater than them all.
Look closely at the words
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01A counted list of happy thingsThe speaker begins by saying he has considered nine happy things and will speak a tenth aloud.
Explanation
The speaker begins by saying he has considered nine happy things and will speak a tenth aloud. He then names examples of joy and satisfaction, including joy with children and living to see the fall of enemies. The passage reports these as sayings of wisdom, without turning them into a story.
02Blessings in home, speech and workThe next verse adds more reasons a person may be called happy. They include living with an understanding wife, not slipping with the tongue, and not serving someone unworthy.
Explanation
The next verse adds more reasons a person may be called happy. They include living with an understanding wife, not slipping with the tongue, and not serving someone unworthy. These sayings value wise relationships, careful speech, and a fitting place under authority. Each line describes a condition the speaker praises.
03Prudence and speaking to listenersSirach continues by praising the person who has found prudence. It also calls someone happy who speaks in the ears of those who listen.
Explanation
Sirach continues by praising the person who has found prudence. It also calls someone happy who speaks in the ears of those who listen. That detail matters because the point is not simply speaking, but speaking where words are received. Wisdom includes both good judgement and fitting communication.
04Wisdom is great, but reverence is greaterAfter praising prudence and wisdom, the passage climbs higher. It says a person who has found wisdom is great, yet no one is greater than one who fears the Lord.
Explanation
After praising prudence and wisdom, the passage climbs higher. It says a person who has found wisdom is great, yet no one is greater than one who fears the Lord. Then it says the fear of the Lord surpasses all things. Reverence for God is presented as the highest blessing in this list.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01Which happy things in this passage are about relationships and speech?
Look for the lines about children, an understanding wife, slipping with the tongue, and speaking to those who listen.
02How does the passage compare prudence, wisdom, and the fear of the Lord?
Notice the order: prudence is found, wisdom makes a person great, and the fear of the Lord is said to surpass all things.
03What does the speaker say is greater than every other blessing listed here?
Read the final two verses carefully and identify the repeated idea.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Sirach 25:7–11
7There are nine things that I have thought of, and in my heart counted happy, and the tenth I will utter with my tongue: a man who has joy with his children, and a man who lives and sees the fall of his enemies.
8Happy is he who dwells with a wife of understanding, he who has not slipped with his tongue, and he who has not served a man who is unworthy of him.
9Happy is he who has found prudence, and he who speaks in the ears of those who listen.
10How great is he who has found wisdom! Yet there is none greater than one who fears the Lord.
11The fear of the Lord surpasses all things. To whom shall he who holds it be likened?
Source passages
Source: Sirach 25 ↗Translation and source notes
Some verse numbers are represented by textual notes in World English Bible Classic. The reading below follows the text printed in the main passage.