The personal lament of Jeremiah (Jer 15:10-15:10)

“Woe is me!

My mother!

You bore me!

A man of strife!

A man of contention

To the whole land!

I have not lent!

I have not borrowed!

Yet all of them curse me.”

Jeremiah laments that his mother bore him into this life. He has become a man of strife and contention throughout the whole land. However, he has neither lent nor borrowed money, so why does everyone curse him? He is in a difficult situation.

Moderation in food (Sir 37:27-37:31)

“My child!

Test yourself

While you live!

See what is bad for you!

Do not give in to it!

Not everything is good

For everyone.

No one enjoys everything.

Do not be greedy

For every delicacy!

Do not eat without restraint!

Overeating brings sickness.

Gluttony leads to nausea.

Many have died of gluttony.

But whoever guards against it,

Prolongs his life.”

Sirach assumes the parental tone again. He warns that we should test ourselves in this life. We should recognize what is bad for us and not give in to it. Not everything is good for everybody. Do not be greedy for delicacies! You have to use restraint. Overeating can lead to illness. Gluttony can lead to stomach aches or even to death. If you guard against over eating, you will prolong your life.

The fate of the wicked (Job 27:13-27:23)

“This is the portion of the wicked with God.

This is the heritage

Those oppressors receive from the Almighty, Shaddai.

If their children are multiplied,

It is for the sword.

Their offspring have not enough to eat.

Those who survive

The pestilence buries.

Their widows make no lamentation.

Although they heap up silver like dust,

Although they pile up clothing like clay,

They may pile it up.

However, the just will wear it.

The innocent will divide the silver.

They build their houses

Like nests,

Like booths made by sentinels of the vineyard.

They go to bed with wealth.

But they will do so no more.

They open their eyes.

Their wealth is gone.

Terrors overtake them like a flood.

In the night,

A whirlwind carries them off.

The east wind lifts them up.

They are gone.

It sweeps them out of their place.

It hurls at them without pity.

They flee from its power in headlong flight.

It claps its hands at them.

It hisses at them from its place.”

This section is either from Job or Zophar. However, it fits more with Zophar’s beliefs about the wicked that that of Job. He believed that the wicked would be cursed in this life or in their descendant’s lifetime. Thus this probably is the curse of Zophar, one of Job’s friends, about the fate of the wicked. This seems to explain what is going to happen to the wicked ones. If they have many children, they would die by the sword. Their children would not have food to eat and so probably die of pestilence. Their widows would not grieve for them. Their silver and clothing would disappear. Their houses would be as fragile bird’s nests and flimsy vineyard tents. They would go to bed wealthy and wake up broke. Terrors would come upon them like a whirlwind and sweep them out of their homes. They would flee the wind itself. This paints a bleak picture of the future for the wicked ones.