Single lesson
Social wrongs and the danger of gain
Sirach 26:28–27:3
This wisdom passage names painful wrongs, then warns that profit and buying and selling can become places where sin enters. Its final line calls for a person to hold diligently to the fear of the Lord.
Before you teach
These verses are from Sirach, a wisdom book in the Catholic additional books. The speaker first lists three causes of grief and anger, then speaks about merchants, retailers, profit, buying and selling, and the fear of the Lord. The passage gives warnings in the form of wisdom instruction, not story.
Explain the central teaching of Social wrongs and the danger of gain, using two details from the reading. This passage warns that the pursuit of gain can be closely tied to wrongdoing, so a person must hold diligently to the fear of the Lord.
Welcome: Social wrongs and the danger of gain
5 minIntroduce “Social wrongs and the danger of gain” and locate Sirach 26:28–27:3. This passage warns that the pursuit of gain can be closely tied to wrongdoing, so a person must hold diligently to the fear of the Lord. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Sirach 26:28, Sirach 27:1, Sirach 27:3
Read and explain the passage
12 minThe speaker says his heart is grieved by two things, and anger comes with a third. He names a warrior suffering because of poverty, men of understanding treated as garbage, and a person turning back from righteousness to sin. That last case brings a severe warning: the Lord will prepare him for the sword.
Sirach continues the warning by saying that many have sinned for profit. It adds that the person who seeks to multiply wealth will turn his eye away. In these verses, the pursuit of more wealth is presented as a setting in which people may ignore what they should not ignore.
Sin is pictured like a nail sticking fast between joined stones. In the same way, sin thrusts itself in between buying and selling. The passage then gives its closing instruction: unless a person holds on diligently to the fear of the Lord, his house will be overthrown quickly.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “Social wrongs and the danger of gain”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Sirach 26:28, Sirach 27:1, Sirach 27:2, Sirach 27:3
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “What are the three situations that grieve the speaker at the start of the passage?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. This passage warns that the pursuit of gain can be closely tied to wrongdoing, so a person must hold diligently to 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 26:28, Sirach 26:29, Sirach 27:1, Sirach 27:2, Sirach 27:3
Make and respond: Wisdom comparison cards
12 minWork on “Social wrongs and the danger of gain: Wisdom comparison cards”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “Social wrongs and the danger of gain” 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 26:28, Sirach 27:1, Sirach 27:3
Closing: return to Social wrongs and the danger of gain
3 minRevisit Sirach 26:28–27:3. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about Social wrongs and the danger of gain 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 26:28, Sirach 27:1, Sirach 27:3
Questions to explore
What are the three situations that grieve the speaker at the start of the passage?
Answer from the verse itself, including the final warning about the person who turns back from righteousness to sin.
Sirach 26:28
How do these verses connect trade and profit with sin?
Notice the words about merchants, retailers, profit, multiplying wealth, and sin entering buying and selling.
Sirach 26:29, Sirach 27:1, Sirach 27:2
What does the passage say a person must hold on to diligently?
Look at the final verse and repeat its exact instruction before the warning about a house being overthrown quickly.
Sirach 27:3
Make, think or respond
Social wrongs and the danger of gain: 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 26:28–27:3. Use “Social wrongs and the danger of gain” 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 Social wrongs and the danger of gain 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 “Social wrongs and the danger of gain” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Sirach 26:28–27:3. 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 26:28–27:3. 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 26
28 For two things my heart is grieved, and for the third anger comes upon me: a warrior who suffers for poverty, men of understanding who are counted as garbage, and one who turns back from righteousness to sin— the Lord will prepare him for the sword!
29 It is difficult for a merchant to keep himself from wrong doing, and for a retailer to be acquitted of sin.
Sirach 27
1 Many have sinned for profit. He who seeks to multiply wealth will turn his eye away.
2 As a nail will stick fast between the joinings of stones, so sin will thrust itself in between buying and selling.
3 Unless a person holds on diligently to the fear of the Lord, his house will be overthrown quickly.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.