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From: Sirach 35:1-12

Worship pleasing to God

[1] He who keeps the law makes many offerings;
he who heeds the commandments sacrifices a peace offering.
[2] He who returns a kindness offers fine flour,
and he who gives alms sacrifices a thank offering.
[3] To keep from wickedness is pleasing to the Lord,
and to forsake uprighteousness is atonement.
[4] Do not appear before the Lord empty-handed,
[5] for all these things are to be done because of the commandment.
[6] The offering of a righteous man anoints the altar,
and its pleasing odour rises before the Most High.
[7] The sacrifice of a righteous man is acceptable,
and the memory of it will not be forgotten.
[8] Glorify the Lord generously,
and do not stint the first fruits of your hands.
[9] With every gift show a cheerful face,
and dedicate your tithe with gladness.
[10] Give to the Most High as he has given,
and as generously as your hand has found.

[11] For the Lord is the one who repays,
and he will repay you sevenfold.
[12] Do not offer him a bribe, for he will not accept it;
and do not trust to an unrighteous sacrifice;
for the Lord is the judge, and with him is no partiality.

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Commentary:

1-11 Ben Sirach has nothing against religious ceremonies; on the contrary; the
Law prescribes the offerings that should be made to God, and it should be gene-
rously adhered to (cf. 35:10). However, he has three very clear things to say that
help to personalize religious worship: almsgiving is an act of worship (35:2); an
upright life, that keeps to the Law, is an offering pleasing to God (35:3); and of-
ferings to the Lord should be generously and gladly made (35:4-10).

From 35:11 on, the Lord is the subject of the sentences. Ben Sirach tells us who
God is: he pays well (35:11), he is a just judge (35:11-15), who rewards a person
according to his works; and he identifies the person whom God listens to — the
generous giver (35:11);, the one who is wronged (35:13), the orphan and the wi-
dow (35:14), the one who serves Him (35:16), the humble person (35:17). Most
of these qualities (those of God as well as those of people who have recourse to
him) can be found, all together, in Jesusâ€™ attitude to the sick, to sinners and to
the poor.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.