“If you do good,

Know to whom you do it.

You will be thanked

For your good deeds.

Do good to the devout.

You will be repaid.

If not by them,

Certainly by the Most High.

No good comes to the one

Who persists in evil.

No good comes to the one

Who does not give alms.

Give to the devout.

But do not help the sinner.

Do good to the humble.

But do not give to the ungodly.

Hold back their bread.

Do not give it to them.

By means of it,

They might subdue you.

Then you will receive

Twice as much evil

For all the good

You have done to them.

The Most High also hates sinners.

He will inflict punishment

On the ungodly.

Give to the one who is good.

But do not help the sinner.”

Sirach warns that you should help the good people, but not the ungodly or the sinners. You should know who you are helping. They will thank you for what you are doing. If you help the devout, they will repay you. Even if they don’t, the Most High God will repay you. The persistent evil doers are compared to those who do not give alms. You should help the devout, but not the sinners. Help the humble, but not the ungodly. Don’t give bread to the sinners and the ungodly, because they might subdue you. You might end up with twice as much evil for all the good that you did. The Most High God does not like sinners so he will punish them. Simply put, give to the good people and not the sinners.