Single lesson
Sirach 25: Concord and experienced wisdom adorn human life
Sirach 25:1–6; Sirach 25:7–12; Sirach 25:13–26
Sirach 25:1–6 presents a short set of wise sayings about harmony, character and ageing. The passage praises relationships marked by agreement and honours the kind of wisdom that should grow with years. This lesson also brings together Many blessings culminate in reverence for God, The teacher’s severe warning about a harmful wife.
Before you teach
In this part of Sirach, the speaker names things he finds beautiful and things he hates, then turns to the value of wisdom in later life. The passage stays in the style of wisdom teaching, using short observations to commend good character and experienced counsel.
Explain the central teaching of Sirach 25: Concord and experienced wisdom adorn human life, using two details from the reading. This passage teaches that peaceful relationships, truthful character and the fear of the Lord are beautiful marks of a well-lived life. This passage teaches that many things are called happy and great, but reverence for the Lord is greater than them all. Sirach 25:13–26 gives forceful and unsettling wisdom sayings that warn about destructive marriage conflict in the passage’s own severe language.
Welcome: Sirach 25: Concord and experienced wisdom adorn human life
5 minIntroduce “Concord and experienced wisdom adorn human life”, “Many blessings culminate in reverence for God”, “The teacher’s severe warning about a harmful wife” and locate Sirach 25:1–6; Sirach 25:7–12; Sirach 25:13–26. This passage teaches that peaceful relationships, truthful character and the fear of the Lord are beautiful marks of a well-lived life. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Sirach 25:1, Sirach 25:4, Sirach 25:6
Read and explain the passage
12 minConcord and experienced wisdom adorn human life (Sirach 25:1–6): The speaker begins with three beautiful things: agreement within a family, friendship between neighbours, and a wife and husband walking together in agreement. The repeated idea is harmony. These relationships are not praised for wealth or status, but for people living in peace with one another before the Lord and other people.
Many blessings culminate in reverence for God (Sirach 25:7–12): 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.
The teacher’s severe warning about a harmful wife (Sirach 25:13–26): The passage begins by piling up painful comparisons. It speaks of a wound of the heart, calamity from haters, vengeance from enemies, snake venom and enemy wrath. These short sayings intensify the warning step by step, presenting this trouble as deeply painful and hostile.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “Concord and experienced wisdom adorn human life”, “Many blessings culminate in reverence for God”, “The teacher’s severe warning about a harmful wife”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Sirach 25:1, Sirach 25:7, Sirach 25:13, Sirach 25:14, Sirach 25:15
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “What three relationships are called beautiful in this passage?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. Sirach 25:13–26 gives forceful and unsettling wisdom sayings that warn about destructive marriage conflict in the passage’s own severe language. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Sirach 25:1, Sirach 25:9, Sirach 25:10, Sirach 25:11, Sirach 25:21, Sirach 25:25, Sirach 25:26
Make and respond: Wisdom comparison cards
12 minWork on “Sirach 25: Concord and experienced wisdom adorn human life: Wisdom comparison cards”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “Concord and experienced wisdom adorn human life”, “Many blessings culminate in reverence for God”, “The teacher’s severe warning about a harmful wife” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Sirach 25:1, Sirach 25:14, Sirach 25:26
Closing: return to The teacher’s severe warning about a harmful wife
3 minRevisit Sirach 25:13–26. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about The teacher’s severe warning about a harmful wife and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Sirach 25:13, Sirach 25:20, Sirach 25:26
Questions to explore
What three relationships are called beautiful in this passage?
Look for the repeated pattern in Sirach 25:1 and notice that each example centres on people living in agreement.
Sirach 25:1
How 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.
Sirach 25:9, Sirach 25:10, Sirach 25:11
What exact warnings and commands appear at the end of the passage?
Use the wording of the text to identify the warning about beauty and the final instructions about speech and separation.
Sirach 25:21, Sirach 25:25, Sirach 25:26
Make, think or respond
Sirach 25: Concord and experienced wisdom adorn human life: Wisdom comparison cards
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “What the passage commends”, “What it warns against”, “The reason or outcome stated”.
- Read Sirach 25:1–6; Sirach 25:7–12; Sirach 25:13–26. Use “Concord and experienced wisdom adorn human life”, “Many blessings culminate in reverence for God”, “The teacher’s severe warning about a harmful wife” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Write a proposed everyday example beside one teaching. Label it as your example and explain which words in the text guided it.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Sirach 25: Concord and experienced wisdom adorn human life connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “Concord and experienced wisdom adorn human life”, “Many blessings culminate in reverence for God”, “The teacher’s severe warning about a harmful wife” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Sirach 25:1–6; Sirach 25:7–12; Sirach 25:13–26. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Sirach 25:1–6; Sirach 25:7–12; Sirach 25:13–26. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Sirach 25
1 I enjoy three things, and they are beautiful before the Lord and men: the agreement of kindred, the friendship of neighbors, and a woman and her husband who walk together in agreement.
2 But my soul hates three sorts of people, and I am greatly offended at their life: a poor man who is arrogant, a rich man who is a liar, and an old fool who is an adulterer.
3 If you gathered nothing in your youth, how could you find anything in your old age?
4 How beautiful a thing is judgment in the gray-haired, and for elders to know good counsel!
5 How beautiful is the wisdom of old men, and understanding and counsel to men who are in honor!
6 Much experience is the crown of the aged. Their glory is the fear of the Lord.
7 There 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.
8 Happy 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.
9 Happy is he who has found prudence, and he who speaks in the ears of those who listen.
10 How great is he who has found wisdom! Yet there is none greater than one who fears the Lord.
11 The fear of the Lord surpasses all things. To whom shall he who holds it be likened?
13 Any wound but a wound of the heart! Any wickedness but the wickedness of a woman!
14 Any calamity but a calamity from those who hate me! Any vengeance but the vengeance of enemies!
15 There is no venom worse than a snake’s venom. There is no wrath worse than an enemy’s wrath.
16 I would rather dwell with a lion and a dragon than keep house with a wicked woman.
17 The wickedness of a woman changes her appearance, and darkens her countenance like that of a bear.
18 Her husband will sit among his neighbors, and when he hears it, he sighs bitterly.
19 All malice is small compared to the malice of a woman. Let the portion of a sinner fall on her.
20 As walking up a sandy hill is to the feet of the aged, so is a wife full of words to a quiet man.
21 Don’t be ensnared by a woman’s beauty. Don’t desire a woman for her beauty.
22 There is anger, impudence, and great reproach if a woman supports her husband.
23 A wicked woman is abasement of heart, sadness of countenance, and a wounded heart. A woman who won’t make her husband happy is like hands that hang down, and weak knees.
24 The beginning of sin came from a woman. Because of her, we all die.
25 Don’t give water an outlet, and don’t give a wicked woman freedom of speech.
26 If she doesn’t go as you direct, cut her away from your flesh.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.
Source passages
Some verse numbers are represented by textual notes in World English Bible Classic. The reading below follows the text printed in the main passage.