56 BrADLey C. GreGOry accumulation of money is ultimately futile if it is not accompanied by moral uprightness. By reminding the reader of a coming judgment the Latin neutralizes the short-term desire for wealth. As noted above, while Ben Sira discusses greed (or miserliness) in only a few places, he is a strong advocate of generosity, which is the virtue that counteracts avarice. A similar ratio manifests itself in the additions and alterations in the Latin version, which shows two tendencies in advocating the virtue of generosity. First, the Latin focuses attention on the internal disposition of the giver. At the end of the first passage dealing with proper treatment of the poor in 4,1-10, the Latin adds to the exhortation to incline one’s ear to the poor the imperative “and give what you owe” (et redde debitum tuum) 61. The idea that the poor are owed assistance may have been derived from Prov 3,27, but it is implied in Ben Sira’s statements that God requires people to help the poor (4,1-3; 29,9) 62. By incorporating this convic- tion here in 4,8 the Latin excludes the possibility of treating generosity as optional and appeals to the reader’s sense of moral obligation. in the following verse, the Latin modifies “do not be faint-hearted” with “in your soul” (non acide feras in anima tua), thus accenting the im- portance of a disposition that favors the poor 63. Further, in 7,21 (23) the Latin exhorts the reader to generosity by adding “do not leave him needy” (neque inopem derelinquas illum) to the imperative to grant the servant his freedom 64. The second tendency regarding generosity in the Latin consists of reinforcing its external rewards. in the small pericope on acts of char- ity in 7,32-36 the Greek commands the reader, “stretch out your hand 61 So also D. See THieLe, Sirach, 251-252. 62 in the mT Prov 3,27 is about honesty in financial dealings: “Do not with- hold good from the one to whom it is due”. However, in the LXX, as michael V. Fox observes, “G’s phrasing, especially in translating wyl[bl (“its possessor”) as evndeh/ (“needy”), turns the proverb into an exhortation to almsgiving”. See m. FOX, Proverbs: An eclectic edition with introduction and Textual Commentary (The Hebrew Bible 1; Atlanta, GA 2015) 104. 63 So also D, but lacking in J. See THieLe, Sirach, 252. This addition is also found in an Origenic witness (ZieGLer, Sirach, 143). 64 So also i; D: nec inopem relinquas illum; S: et inopem ne relinquas eum. See THieLe, Sirach, 318. Further, at the beginning of the verse the Greek has a 3rd person imperative with “soul” as the subject: “let your soul love a wise servant”, but the Latin matches the Hebrew in framing the admonition according to the golden rule: “let a wise servant be loved as your (own) soul” (servus sensatus dilectus quasi anima tua). D: servus sensatus dilectus sit tibi quasi anima tua; i: servum sensatum dilige sicut animam tuam. See THieLe, Sirach, 317.