Good and evil, life and death, poverty and riches, all come from the Lord.
The just can count on the generosity of the Lord and his goodness will guide them forever.
A man may become rich through being careful and miserly and this is his reward.
The day on which he thinks, “I have earned my rest, now I can live on my possessions,” he does not know how long he is going to live. He will have to die and leave his goods to others.
Remain faithful to your duty, give your life to it and grow old in your work.
Do not be disconcerted at the success of sinners but have confidence in God and persevere in your own efforts. It is easy for the Lord in an instant to make the poor man rich.
The blessing of the Lord is the just man’s reward and quickly, in an instant, his benediction will bear fruit.
Do not say, “What do I need? What more could I have or desire?”
Do not say, “I have all that is necessary, what misfortune can harm me now?”
On good days, one forgets the bad; and on bad days one forgets the good.
Even when the end draws near, it is easy for the Lord to reward a man according to the way he has lived.
The hour of adversity makes one forget pleasure; at the end of a man’s life his deeds will be revealed.
Do not consider anyone as blessed before his death, for only then he will be known.
Sirach 11:14-28
Annotation from the Bible (CCB-CPE):
“These thoughts are not new in the Bible which encourages us on every page to trust in God. Ben Sira foretells what we will find on the lips of Jesus concerning wealth (see Lk 12:16).
And he says: Love the Covenant, dedicate your life to it. The Covenant means following the Law. Jesus, too, will speak of seeking the kingdom of God instead of being preoccupied with providing for the future.
Note the end of this text. The Book of Sirach, like certain parts of the Book of Job, affirms that God may wait until death to give a reward; but he does not risk speaking of what will follow: faith in the resurrection was as yet undeveloped.”