Ecclesiasticus, 23

1. Lord, father and master of my life, do not abandon me to their whims, do not let me fall because of them.

1. The indolent may be compared to a filthy stone, and every one hisses at his disgrace.

2. Who will lay whips to my thoughts, and the discipline of wisdom to my heart, to be merciless to my errors and not let my sins go unchecked,

2. The indolent may be compared to the filth of dunghills; any one that picks it up will shake it off his hand.

3. for fear my errors should multiply and my sins then abound and I fall before my adversaries, and my enemy gloat over me?

3. It is a disgrace to be the father of an undisciplined son, and the birth of a daughter is a loss.

4. Lord, father and God of my life, do not let my eyes be proud,

4. A sensible daughter obtains her husband, but one who acts shamefully brings grief to her father.

5. turn envy away from me,

5. An impudent daughter disgraces father and husband, and will be despised by both.

6. do not let lechery and lust grip me, do not leave me a prey to shameless desire.

6. Like music in mourning is a tale told at the wrong time, but chastising and discipline are wisdom at all times.

7. Children, listen to what I teach, no one who keeps it will be caught out.

7. He who teaches a fool is like one who glues potsherds together, or who rouses a sleeper from deep slumber.

8. The sinner is ensnared by his own lips, both the abusive and the proud are tripped by them.

8. He who tells a story to a fool tells it to a drowsy man; and at the end he will say, "What is it?"

9. Do not get into the habit of swearing, do not make a habit of naming the Holy One;

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10. for just as a slave who is constantly overseen will never be without bruises, so someone who is always swearing and uttering the Name will not be exempt from sin.

10.

11. A man for ever swearing is full of iniquity, and the scourge will not depart from his house. If he offends, his sin will be on him, if he did it unheedingly, he has doubly sinned; if he swears a false oath, he will not be treated as innocent, for his house will be filled with calamities.

11. Weep for the dead, for he lacks the light; and weep for the fool, for he lacks intelligence; weep less bitterly for the dead, for he has attained rest; but the life of the fool is worse than death.

12. One way of talking is like death, let it not be found in the heritage of Jacob since devout people have nothing to do with that: they will not wallow in sin.

12. Mourning for the dead lasts seven days, but for a fool or an ungodly man it lasts all his life.

13. Do not get into the habit of using coarse and foul language since this involves sinful words.

13. Do not talk much with a foolish man, and do not visit an unintelligent man; guard yourself from him to escape trouble, and you will not be soiled when he shakes himself off; avoid him and you will find rest, and you will never be wearied by his madness.

14. Remember your father and mother when you are sitting with the great, for fear you forget yourself in their presence and behave like a fool, and then wish you had not been born and curse the day of your birth.

14. What is heavier than lead? And what is its name except "Fool"?

15. No one in the habit of using shameful language will break himself of it as long as he lives.

15. Sand, salt, and a piece of iron are easier to bear than a stupid man.

16. There are two types of people who commit sin after sin and a third who attracts retribution-

16. A wooden beam firmly bonded into a building will not be torn loose by an earthquake; so the mind firmly fixed on a reasonable counsel will not be afraid in a crisis.

17. desire, blazing like a furnace, will not die down until it has been sated- the man who lusts after members of his own family is not going to stop until he is quite burnt out; every food is sweet to the promiscuous, and he will not desist until he dies;

17. A mind settled on an intelligent thought is like the stucco decoration on the wall of a colonnade.

18. and the man who sins against the marriage bed and says to himself, 'Who can see me? There is darkness all round me, the walls hide me, no one can see me, why should I worry? The Most High will not remember my sins.'

18. Fences set on a high place will not stand firm against the wind; so a timid heart with a fool's purpose will not stand firm against any fear.

19. What he fears are human eyes, he does not realise that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter than the sun, observing every aspect of human behaviour, seeing into the most secret corners.

19. A man who pricks an eye will make tears fall, and one who pricks the heart makes it show feeling.

20. All things were known to him before they were created, and are still, now that they are finished.

20. One who throws a stone at birds scares them away, and one who reviles a friend will break off the friendship.

21. This man will be punished in view of the whole town, and will be seized when he least expects it.

21. Even if you have drawn your sword against a friend, do not despair, for a renewal of friendship is possible.

22. Similarly the woman unfaithful to her husband, who provides him with an heir by another man:

22. If you have opened your mouth against your friend, do not worry, for reconciliation is possible; but as for reviling, arrogance, disclosure of secrets, or a treacherous blow -- in these cases any friend will flee.

23. first, she has disobeyed the Law of the Most High; secondly, she has been false to her husband; and thirdly, she has gone whoring in adultery

23. Gain the trust of your neighbor in his poverty, that you may rejoice with him in his prosperity; stand by him in time of affliction, that you may share with him in his inheritance.

24. and conceived children by another man. She will be led before the assembly, an enquiry will be held about her children.

24. The vapor and smoke of the furnace precede the fire; so insults precede bloodshed.

25. Her children will strike no root, her branches will bear no fruit.

25. I will not be ashamed to protect a friend, and I will not hide from him;

26. She will leave an accursed memory behind her, her shame will never be wiped out.

26. but if some harm should happen to me because of him, whoever hears of it will beware of him.

27. And those who survive her will recognise that nothing is better than fearing the Lord, and nothing sweeter than adherence to the Lord's commandments.

27. O that a guard were set over my mouth, and a seal of prudence upon my lips, that it may keep me from falling, so that my tongue may not destroy me!