Single lesson
Sirach 28: The mouth can kindle or quench a quarrel
Sirach 28:8–12; Sirach 28:13–26
Sirach 28:8–12 teaches that quarrels do not grow by accident. This wisdom passage shows how anger, haste and speech can feed conflict, and it also shows that a person’s words can help stop it. This lesson also brings together Slander wounds communities and requires a guarded mouth.
Before you teach
In these verses from Sirach, the speaker gives short wisdom sayings about strife, anger, friendship and speech. The passage moves from a call to avoid strife, to warnings about discord, to pictures of fire and sparks that explain how quarrels spread or are put out.
Explain the central teaching of Sirach 28: The mouth can kindle or quench a quarrel, using two details from the reading. This passage teaches that human speech can either stir conflict further or help bring it to an end. Sirach 28:13–26 teaches that slander brings wide and painful harm, so a wise person must treat words with serious caution.
Welcome: Sirach 28: The mouth can kindle or quench a quarrel
5 minIntroduce “The mouth can kindle or quench a quarrel”, “Slander wounds communities and requires a guarded mouth” and locate Sirach 28:8–12; Sirach 28:13–26. This passage teaches that human speech can either stir conflict further or help bring it to an end. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Sirach 28:8, Sirach 28:10, Sirach 28:12
Read and explain the passage
12 minThe mouth can kindle or quench a quarrel (Sirach 28:8–12): The first saying is direct: “Abstain from strife”. The result named here is that sins are diminished. The reason follows straight away: a passionate person kindles strife. In this passage, strife is not treated as small or harmless. It is something that grows when anger is given room.
Slander wounds communities and requires a guarded mouth (Sirach 28:13–26): The passage opens by cursing the whisperer and the double-tongued person because such speech ruins peace. Sirach says slander has shaken many and scattered them widely. It is pictured as strong enough to pull down cities and overthrow great households, showing that harmful words can damage whole communities, not only one conversation.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “The mouth can kindle or quench a quarrel”, “Slander wounds communities and requires a guarded mouth”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Sirach 28:8, Sirach 28:13, Sirach 28:14
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “What result does Sirach connect with abstaining from strife?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. Sirach 28:13–26 teaches that slander brings wide and painful harm, so a wise person must treat words with serious caution. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Sirach 28:8, Sirach 28:9, Sirach 28:22, Sirach 28:23
Make and respond: Wisdom comparison cards
12 minWork on “Sirach 28: The mouth can kindle or quench a quarrel: Wisdom comparison cards”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “The mouth can kindle or quench a quarrel”, “Slander wounds communities and requires a guarded mouth” 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 28:8, Sirach 28:17, Sirach 28:26
Closing: return to Slander wounds communities and requires a guarded mouth
3 minRevisit Sirach 28:13–26. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about Slander wounds communities and requires a guarded mouth 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 28:13, Sirach 28:20, Sirach 28:26
Questions to explore
What result does Sirach connect with abstaining from strife?
Look at the first command and its result in the same verse, and notice the contrast with the passionate person who kindles strife.
Sirach 28:8
According to this passage, who is affected when discord is sown?
Focus on the relationships named in the verse, especially “friends” and “those who are at peace”.
Sirach 28:9
What contrast does Sirach make between godly people and those who forsake the Lord?
Read the different outcomes in the verses about rule, flame, falling, burning, and destruction.
Sirach 28:22, Sirach 28:23
Make, think or respond
Sirach 28: The mouth can kindle or quench a quarrel: 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 28:8–12; Sirach 28:13–26. Use “The mouth can kindle or quench a quarrel”, “Slander wounds communities and requires a guarded mouth” 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 28: The mouth can kindle or quench a quarrel 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 “The mouth can kindle or quench a quarrel”, “Slander wounds communities and requires a guarded mouth” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Sirach 28:8–12; Sirach 28:13–26. 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 28:8–12; Sirach 28:13–26. 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 28
8 Abstain from strife, and you will diminish your sins, for a passionate man will kindle strife.
9 A man who is a sinner will trouble friends and sow discord among those who are at peace.
10 As is the fuel of the fire, so it will burn; and as the stoutness of the strife is, so it will burn. As is the strength of the man, so will be his wrath; and as is his wealth, so he will exalt his anger.
11 A contention begun in haste kindles a fire; and hasty fighting sheds blood.
12 If you blow on a spark, it will burn; and if you spit upon it, it will be quenched. Both of these come out of your mouth.
13 Curse the whisperer and double-tongued, for he has destroyed many who were at peace.
14 A slanderer has shaken many, and dispersed them from nation to nation. It has pulled down strong cities and overthrown the houses of great men.
15 A slanderer has cast out brave women and deprived them of their labors.
16 He who listens to it will not find rest, nor will he live quietly.
17 The stroke of a whip makes a mark in the flesh, but the stroke of a tongue will break bones.
18 Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, yet not so many as those who have fallen because of the tongue.
19 Happy is he who is sheltered from it, who has not passed through its wrath, who has not drawn its yoke, and has not been bound with its bands.
20 For its yoke is a yoke of iron, and its bands are bands of brass.
21 Its death is an evil death, and Hades is better than it.
22 It will not have rule over godly men. They will not be burned in its flame.
23 Those who forsake the Lord will fall into it. It will burn among them, and won’t be quenched. It will be sent against them like a lion. It will destroy them like a leopard.
24 As you hedge your possession about with thorns, and secure your silver and your gold,
25 so make a balance and a weight for your words, and make a door and a bar for your mouth.
26 Take heed lest you slip with it, lest you fall before one who lies in wait.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.