Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) — Chapter 33
Chapter 33 assures that those who fear God will not meet evil but will be preserved in every trial (vv. 1-3). Then Lapide expounds God's providential discrimination between holy and unholy days, and between holy and unholy persons (vv. 7-15), drawing out the great principle of divine predestination and election. The third section advises against ceding power to family members prematurely (vv. 20-25), and the fourth on the governance of servants (vv. 25-33).
Verse 1
He that feareth God shall tremble at nothing, and shall not be afraid; for He is his hope. The security of the God-fearing: comprehensive fearlessness rooted in divine protection. Lapide treats \"shall not meet evil\" as meaning that God will either prevent evils from reaching the just or turn them to spiritual benefit.
Verse 3
A sensible man believeth in the law of God; and the law is faithful to him as the asking of the oracle. The man of good sense trusts the divine law and finds it faithful: it answers every question of life as an oracle answers consulting inquirers. Lapide treats \"fidelis\" as expressing the mutual covenant-fidelity between God's law and the man who observes it.
Verse 7
Why doth one day excel another; and again one light another; and one year another year, when all come of the sun? The question of sacred and secular time—why some days are holy and others not—has its answer in God's sovereign creative and redemptive choice, not in any astronomical necessity.
Verse 12
Of them God blessed and exalted, and of them He set apart, and sanctified, and of them He cursed and brought low. God's sovereign discrimination among persons: blessing, sanctifying, cursing, and humiliating according to His inscrutable wisdom. Lapide uses this as a treatise on divine election and reprobation, carefully distinguishing God's antecedent will (salvation of all) from His consequent will (justice for the obstinate).
Verse 20
Neither unto son nor wife, brother nor friend, give power over thee while thou livest. Prudential advice against premature surrender of authority and property. Lapide applies this to rulers who abdicate prematurely, parents who cede control to children too early, and the general principle of maintaining responsibility as long as God gives ability.
Verse 25
Fodder, a wand, and a burden are for an ass; bread, correction, and work for a slave. The proper management of servants requires balanced discipline: work, correction, adequate sustenance—neither excessive harshness nor excessive laxness. Lapide draws from Roman, Hebrew, and Christian moral tradition on the duties of masters toward servants.