Ecclesiasticus, 24

1. Wisdom speaks her own praises, in the midst of her people she glories in herself.

1. O Lord, Father and Ruler of my life, do not abandon me to their counsel, and let me not fall because of them!

2. She opens her mouth in the assembly of the Most High, she glories in herself in the presence of the Mighty One:

2. O that whips were set over my thoughts, and the discipline of wisdom over my mind! That they may not spare me in my errors, and that it may not pass by my sins;

3. 'I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and I covered the earth like mist.

3. in order that my mistakes may not be multiplied, and my sins may not abound; then I will not fall before my adversaries, and my enemy will not rejoice over me.

4. I had my tent in the heights, and my throne was a pillar of cloud.

4. O Lord, Father and God of my life, do not give me haughty eyes,

5. Alone, I have made the circuit of the heavens and walked through the depths of the abyss.

5. and remove from me evil desire.

6. Over the waves of the sea and over the whole earth, and over every people and nation I have held sway.

6. Let neither gluttony nor lust overcome me, and do not surrender me to a shameless soul.

7. Among all these I searched for rest, and looked to see in whose territory I might pitch camp.

7. Listen, my children, to instruction concerning speech; the one who observes it will never be caught.

8. Then the Creator of all things instructed me and he who created me fixed a place for my tent. He said, "Pitch your tent in Jacob, make Israel your inheritance."

8. The sinner is overtaken through his lips, the reviler and the arrogant are tripped by them.

9. From eternity, in the beginning, he created me, and for eternity I shall remain.

9. Do not accustom your mouth to oaths, and do not habitually utter the name of the Holy One;

10. In the holy tent I ministered before him and thus became established in Zion.

10. for as a servant who is continually examined under torture will not lack bruises, so also the man who always swears and utters the Name will not be cleansed from sin.

11. In the beloved city he has given me rest, and in Jerusalem I wield my authority.

11. A man who swears many oaths will be filled with iniquity, and the scourge will not leave his house; if he offends, his sin remains on him, and if he disregards it, he sins doubly; if he has sworn needlessly, he will not be justified, for his house will be filled with calamities.

12. I have taken root in a privileged people, in the Lord's property, in his inheritance.

12. There is an utterance which is comparable to death; may it never be found in the inheritance of Jacob! For all these errors will be far from the godly, and they will not wallow in sins.

13. I have grown tall as a cedar on Lebanon, as a cypress on Mount Hermon;

13. Do not accustom your mouth to lewd vulgarity, for it involves sinful speech.

14. I have grown tall as a palm in En-Gedi, as the rose bushes of Jericho; as a fine olive in the plain, as a plane tree, I have grown tall.

14. Remember your father and mother when you sit among great men; lest you be forgetful in their presence, and be deemed a fool on account of your habits; then you will wish that you had never been born, and you will curse the day of your birth.

15. Like cinnamon and acanthus, I have yielded a perfume, like choice myrrh, have breathed out a scent, like galbanum, onycha, labdanum, like the smoke of incense in the tent.

15. A man accustomed to use insulting words will never become disciplined all his days.

16. I have spread my branches like a terebinth, and my branches are glorious and graceful.

16. Two sorts of men multiply sins, and a third incurs wrath. The soul heated like a burning fire will not be quenched until it is consumed; a man who commits fornication with his near of kin will never cease until the fire burns him up.

17. I am like a vine putting out graceful shoots, my blossoms bear the fruit of glory and wealth.

17. To a fornicator all bread tastes sweet; he will never cease until he dies.

18.

18. A man who breaks his marriage vows says to himself, "Who sees me? Darkness surrounds me, and the walls hide me, and no one sees me. Why should I fear? The Most High will not take notice of my sins."

19. Approach me, you who desire me, and take your fill of my fruits,

19. His fear is confined to the eyes of men, and he does not realize that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter than the sun; they look upon all the ways of men, and perceive even the hidden places.

20. for memories of me are sweeter than honey, inheriting me is sweeter than the honeycomb.

20. Before the universe was created, it was known to him; so it was also after it was finished.

21. They who eat me will hunger for more, they who drink me will thirst for more.

21. This man will be punished in the streets of the city, and where he least suspects it, he will be seized.

22. No one who obeys me will ever have to blush, no one who acts as I dictate will ever sin.'

22. So it is with a woman who leaves her husband and provides an heir by a stranger.

23. All this is no other than the Book of the Covenant of the Most High God, the Law that Moses enjoined on us, an inheritance for the communities of Jacob.

23. For first of all, she has disobeyed the law of the Most High; second, she has committed an offense against her husband; and third, she has committed adultery through harlotry and brought forth children by another man.

24.

24. She herself will be brought before the assembly, and punishment will fall on her children.

25. This is what makes wisdom brim over like the Pishon, like the Tigris in the season of fruit,

25. Her children will not take root, and her branches will not bear fruit.

26. what makes intelligence overflow like the Euphrates, like the Jordan at harvest time;

26. She will leave her memory for a curse, and her disgrace will not be blotted out.

27. and makes discipline flow like the Nile, like the Gihon when the grapes are harvested.

27. Those who survive her will recognize that nothing is better than the fear of the Lord, and nothing sweeter than to heed the commandments of the Lord.

28. The first man did not finish discovering about her, nor has the most recent tracked her down;

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29. for her thoughts are wider than the sea, and her designs more profound than the abyss.

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30. And I, like a conduit from a river, like a watercourse running into a garden,

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31. I said, 'I am going to water my orchard, I intend to irrigate my flower beds.' And see, my conduit has grown into a river, and my river has grown into a sea.

31.

32. Making discipline shine forth from daybreak, I shall send its light far and wide.

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33. I shall pour out teaching like prophecy, as a legacy to all future generations.

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34. And note, I have been working not merely for myself, but for all who are seeking wisdom.

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