Single lesson
Sirach 9: Guard against jealousy and illicit desire
Sirach 9:1–9; Sirach 9:10–18
Sirach 9:1–9 gives a chain of warnings about jealousy and illicit desire. In short commands, it urges careful choices about relationships, where to look, where to go, and with whom to spend time. This lesson also brings together Choose wise companions and weigh public speech.
Before you teach
This passage comes from Sirach, a wisdom book in the Catholic additional books. It is not a story but direct instruction. The speaker repeatedly warns about jealousy, prostitutes, beauty, passion, and the danger of being drawn toward destruction.
Explain the central teaching of Sirach 9: Guard against jealousy and illicit desire, using two details from the reading. This passage teaches that jealousy and illicit desire are dangerous, so wisdom turns away from attitudes and situations that can lead a person astray. This passage teaches that wise living includes steady friendship, careful choice of companions, and disciplined speech shaped by the fear of the Lord.
Welcome: Sirach 9: Guard against jealousy and illicit desire
5 minIntroduce “Guard against jealousy and illicit desire”, “Choose wise companions and weigh public speech” and locate Sirach 9:1–9; Sirach 9:10–18. This passage teaches that jealousy and illicit desire are dangerous, so wisdom turns away from attitudes and situations that can lead a person astray. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Sirach 9:1, Sirach 9:5, Sirach 9:9
Read and explain the passage
12 minGuard against jealousy and illicit desire (Sirach 9:1–9): The first warning speaks about “the wife of your bosom”, meaning one’s own wife. The command is not to be jealous over her. It also warns, “don’t teach her an evil lesson against yourself”, showing that jealousy and harmful conduct can turn back against the one who does them.
Choose wise companions and weigh public speech (Sirach 9:10–18): 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.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “Guard against jealousy and illicit desire”, “Choose wise companions and weigh public speech”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Sirach 9:1, Sirach 9:10
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “How does the passage link jealousy at home with harm to oneself?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. This passage teaches that wise living includes steady friendship, careful choice of companions, and disciplined speech shaped by the fear of the Lord. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Sirach 9:1, Sirach 9:3, Sirach 9:4, Sirach 9:5, Sirach 9:6, Sirach 9:7, Sirach 9:15, Sirach 9:17, Sirach 9:18
Make and respond: Wisdom comparison cards
12 minWork on “Sirach 9: Guard against jealousy and illicit desire: Wisdom comparison cards”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “Guard against jealousy and illicit desire”, “Choose wise companions and weigh public speech” 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 9:1, Sirach 9:10, Sirach 9:18
Closing: return to Choose wise companions and weigh public speech
3 minRevisit Sirach 9:10–18. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about Choose wise companions and weigh public speech 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 9:10, Sirach 9:14, Sirach 9:18
Questions to explore
How does the passage link jealousy at home with harm to oneself?
Look at the warning not to be jealous and not to teach “an evil lesson against yourself”, and consider what damage the speaker says jealousy can bring.
Sirach 9:1
What repeated kinds of choices does Sirach warn against in verses 3 to 7?
Notice the verbs go, associate, gaze, give, look, and wander, and ask what these actions have in common.
Sirach 9:3, Sirach 9:4, Sirach 9:5, Sirach 9:6, Sirach 9:7
How 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.
Sirach 9:15, Sirach 9:17, Sirach 9:18
Make, think or respond
Sirach 9: Guard against jealousy and illicit desire: 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 9:1–9; Sirach 9:10–18. Use “Guard against jealousy and illicit desire”, “Choose wise companions and weigh public speech” 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 9: Guard against jealousy and illicit desire 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 “Guard against jealousy and illicit desire”, “Choose wise companions and weigh public speech” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Sirach 9:1–9; Sirach 9:10–18. 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 9:1–9; Sirach 9:10–18. 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 9
1 Don’t be jealous over the wife of your bosom, and don’t teach her an evil lesson against yourself.
2 Don’t give your soul to a woman and let her trample down your strength.
3 Don’t go to meet a woman who plays the prostitute, lest perhaps you fall into her snares.
4 Don’t associate with a woman who is a singer, lest perhaps you be caught by her tricks.
5 Don’t gaze at a virgin, lest perhaps you stumble and incur penalties for her.
6 Don’t give your soul to prostitutes, that you not lose your inheritance.
7 Don’t look around in the streets of the city. Don’t wander in its deserted places.
8 Turn your eye away from a beautiful woman, and don’t gaze at another’s beauty. Many have been led astray by the beauty of a woman; and with this, passion is kindled like a fire.
9 Don’t dine at all with a woman who has a husband, or revel with her at wine, lest perhaps your soul turn away to her, and with your spirit you slide into destruction.
10 Don’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.
11 Don’t envy the success of a sinner; for you don’t know what his end will be.
12 Don’t delight in the delights of the ungodly. Remember they will not go unpunished to the grave.
13 Keep 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.
14 As well as you can, aim to know your neighbors, and take counsel with the wise.
15 Let your conversation be with men of understanding. Let all your discourse be in the law of the Most High.
16 Let righteous people be companions at your table. Let your glorying be in the fear of the Lord.
17 A work is commended because of the skill of the artisan; so he who rules the people will be considered wise for his speech.
18 A loudmouthed man is dangerous in his city. He who is reckless in his speech will be hated.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.