Ben Sira 31:1-8

1 Worrying about money will make you lose weight and lose sleep.

2 Worrying about business will keep you from sleeping just as surely as a serious illness does.

3 Rich people work hard to make a lot of money; then they can sit back and live in luxury.

4 Poor people work hard and have nothing to show for it, and when they rest, they are still poor.

5 No one who loves money can be judged innocent; his efforts to get rich have led him into sin.

6 Many people have been ruined because of money, brought face-to-face with disaster.

7 Money is a trap for those who are fascinated by it, a trap that every fool falls into.

8 A person who gets rich without sinfully chasing after money is fortunate.

Footnotes

• [a]. [Hebrew] Worrying about business; [Greek] Sleepless worry.
• [b]. [Hebrew] have . . . sin; [Greek] will destroy him.