The interpretation timeline

Sir 23:27

How this passage has been read — the sources, oldest to newest.

From the early Church Fathers to now.

Sir 23:27 · Douay-Rheims

“And he understandeth not that his eye seeth all things, for such a man’s fear driveth from him the fear of God, and the eyes of men fearing him:”

Scholastic c. 1100 – 1500

1274

A.D.

Bonaventure Medieval

c. A.D. 1221–1274

“The commandments of God are irreproachable, because they contain nothing burdensome, but rather they are sweet. Whence it is said in Ecclesiasticus: "Nothing is better than the fear of God, and nothing is sweeter than to look upon the commandments of the Lord."”

Source

Modern · 1953 →

The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.