1 Making your neighbour a loan is an act of mercy, to lend him a helping hand is to keep the commandments.
2 Lend to your neighbour in his time of need, and in your turn repay your neighbour on time.
3 Be as good as your word and keep faith with him, and you will find your needs met every time.
4 Many treat a loan as a windfall, and embarrass those who have come to their rescue.
5 Until he gets something, a man will kiss his neighbour's hand, and refer diffidently to his wealth; but when the loan falls due, he puts this off, he repays with offhand words, and pleads the inconvenience of the time.
6 Even if he can be made to pay, his creditor will recover barely half, and consider even that a windfall. But otherwise he will be cheated of his money, and undeservedly gain himself an enemy; the man will pay him back in curses and abuse, and with insults of honour.
7 Many, not out of malice, refuse to lend; they are merely anxious not to be cheated for nothing.
8 Nevertheless, be patient with those who are badly off, do not keep them waiting on your generosity.
9 In obedience to the commandment, help the poor; do not turn the poor away empty-handed in their need.
10 Spend your money on your brother or your friend, do not leave it under a stone to rust away.
11 Use your wealth as the Most High has decreed; you will find that more profitable than gold.
12 Stock your store-rooms with almsgiving; this will save you from all misfortune.
13 Better than sturdy shield or weighty spear, this will fight for you against the enemy.
14 A good man will go surety for his neighbour; only a shameless wretch would desert him.
15 Do not forget the favour your guarantor has done you; he has given his life for you.
16 A sinner is careless of his guarantor's prosperity, the ungrateful forgets his deliverer.
17 Going surety has ruined many who were prosperous, tossing them about in a heavy sea.
18 It has driven the powerful from home to wander among foreign nations.
19 A wicked man in a hurry to stand guarantor in the hope of profit, is hurrying to be sentenced.
20 Come to your neighbour's help as far as you can, but take care not to fall into the same plight.
21 The first thing in life is water, and bread, and clothing, and a house for the sake of privacy.
22 Better the life of the poor under a roof of planks, than lavish fare in somebody else's house.
23 Whether you have little or much, be content with it, and you will not hear your household complaining.
24 It is a miserable life, going from house to house; wherever you stay, you dare not open your mouth,
25 you do not belong, you receive no thanks for the drink you pour out and hear embittering words into the bargain:
26 'Come along, stranger, lay the table, what have you got ready? give me something to eat!'
27 'Go away, stranger, make room for someone important; my brother is coming to stay, I need the house.'
28 It is hard for the reasonable to be begrudged hospitality to be shamed like a debtor.
Versículos relacionados com Ecclesiasticus, 29:
Ecclesiastical 29 talks about the importance of friendship and money loan. The chapter begins with a reflection on the happiness of having true and reliable friends, and also addresses the theme of money loan to friends and the need to be careful on this subject. Based on these themes, below are five related verses:
Proverbs 17:17: "At all times the friend loves and for the time of anguish the brother is born." This verse talks about the importance of true friendship, which must be cultivated at all times, especially in difficult times.
Proverbs 19:17: "He who treats the poor well lends the Lord who will pay him for his benefit." This verse talks about kindness in helping the poor and needy, showing that lending money to those who need is a way to help others.
Proverbs 22:7: "The rich dominates over the poor, and what he borrows is a servant of what he lends." This verse addresses the danger of straightening and subordinate to the creditor, showing that it is important to act with financial wisdom.
Luke 6:34-35: "And if they lend to those of whom you expect to receive, what merit do you have? In return, and great will be your reward, and you shall be children of the Most High; for he is benign even to the ungrateful and evil. " This verse shows that we should lend not only to those we hope to receive back, but also to those who are not our friends and enemies, acting with love and generosity.
Romans 13:8: "No one should do anything but the love with which you love to each other; for the one who loves others fulfilled the law." This verse emphasizes the importance of not having anything to anyone, showing that it is important to be honest and just in all our financial and interpersonal relationships.
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