Sirach 23

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 LORD, Father and Master of my life, permit me not to fall by them!	1 And let not the naming of God be usual in thy mouth, and meddle not with the names of saints, for thou shalt not escape free from them.
2 Who will apply the lash to my thoughts, to my mind the rod of discipline, That my failings may not be spared, nor the sins of my heart overlooked;	2 dummy verses inserted by amos
3 Lest my failings increase, and my sins be multiplied; Lest I succumb to my foes, and my enemy rejoice over me?	3 dummy verses inserted by amos
4 LORD, Father and God of my life, abandon me not into their control!	4 dummy verses inserted by amos
5 A brazen look allow me not; ward off passion from my heart,	5 dummy verses inserted by amos
6 Let not the lustful cravings of the flesh master me, surrender me not to shameless desires.	6 dummy verses inserted by amos
7 Give heed, my children, to the instruction that I pronounce, for he who keeps it will not be enslaved.	7 dummy verses inserted by amos
8 Through his lips is the sinner ensnared; the railer and the arrogant man fall thereby.	8 dummy verses inserted by amos
9 Let not your mouth form the habit of swearing, or becoming too familiar with the Holy Name.	9 dummy verses inserted by amos
10 Just as a slave that is constantly under scrutiny will not be without welts, So one who swears continually by the Holy Name will not remain free from sin.	10 dummy verses inserted by amos
11 A man who often swears heaps up obligations; the scourge will never be far from his house. If he swears in error, he incurs guilt; if he neglects his obligation, his sin is doubly great. If he swears without reason he cannot be found just, and all his house will suffer affliction.	11 For as a slave daily put to the question, is never without a blue mark: so every one that sweareth, and nameth, shall not be wholly pure from sin.
12 There are words which merit death; may they never be heard among Jacob's heirs. For all such words are foreign to the devout, who do not wallow in sin.	12 A man that sweareth much, shall be filled with iniquity, and a scourge shall not depart from his house.
13 Let not your mouth become used to coarse talk, for in it lies sinful matter.	13 And if he make it void, his sin shall be upon him: and if he dissemble it, he offendeth double:
14 Keep your father and mother in mind when you sit among the mighty, Lest in their presence you commit a blunder and disgrace your upbringing, By wishing you had never been born or cursing the day of your birth.	14 And if he swear in vain, he shall not be justified: for his house shall be filled with his punishment.
15 A man who has the habit of abusive language will never mature in character as long as he lives.	15 There is also another speech opposite to death, let it not be found in the inheritance of Jacob.
16 Two types of men multiply sins, a third draws down wrath; For burning passion is a blazing fire, not to be quenched till it burns itself out: A man given to sins of the flesh, who never stops until the fire breaks forth;	16 For from the merciful all these things shall be taken away, and they shall not wallow in sins.
17 The rake to whom all bread is sweet and who is never through till he dies;	17 Let not thy mouth be accustomed to indiscreet speech: for therein is the word of sin.
18 And the man who dishonors his marriage bed and says to himself "Who can see me? Darkness surrounds me, walls hide me; no one sees me; why should I fear to sin?" Of the Most High he is not mindful,	18 Remember thy father and thy mother, for thou sittest is the midst of great men:
19 fearing only the eyes of men; He does not understand that the eyes of the LORD, ten thousand times brighter than the sun, Observe every step a man takes and peer into hidden corners.	19 Lest God forget thee in their sight, and thou, by thy daily custom, be infatuated and suffer reproach: and wish that thou hadst not been born, and curse the day of thy nativity.
20 He who knows all things before they exist still knows them all after they are made.	20 The man that is accustomed to opprobrious words, will never be corrected all the days of his life.
21 Such a man will be punished in the streets of the city; when he least expects it, he will be apprehended.	21 Two sorts of men multiply sins, and the third bringeth wrath and destruction.
22 So also with the woman who is unfaithful to her husband and offers as heir her son by a stranger.	22 A hot soul is a burning fire, it will never be quenched, till it devour some thing.
23 First, she has disobeyed the law of the Most High; secondly, she has wronged her husband; Thirdly, in her wanton adultery she has borne children by another man.	23 And a man that is wicked in the mouth of his flesh, will not leave off till he hath kindled a fire.
24 Such a woman will be dragged before the assembly, and her punishment will extend to her children;	24 To a man that is a fornicator all bread is sweet, he will not be weary of sinning unto the end.
25 Her children will not take root; her branches will not bring forth fruit.	25 Every man that passeth beyond his own bed, despising his own soul, and saying: Who seeth me?
26 She will leave an accursed memory; her disgrace will never be blotted out.	26 Darkness compasseth me about, and the walls cover me, and no man seeth me: whom do I fear? the most High will not remember my sins.
27 Thus all who dwell on the earth shall know, and all who inhabit the world shall understand, That nothing is better than the fear of the LORD, nothing more salutary than to obey his commandments.	27 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:
	28 And he knoweth not that the eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun, beholding round about all the ways of men, and the bottom of the deep, and looking into the hearts of men, into the most hidden parts.
	29 For all things were known to the Lord God, before they were created: so also after they were perfected he beholdeth all things.
	30 This man shall be punished in the streets of the city, and he shall be chased as a colt: and where he suspected not, he shall be taken.
	31 And he shall be in disgrace with all men, because he understood not the fear of the Lord.
	32 So every woman also that leaveth her husband, and bringeth in an heir by another :
	33 For first she hath been unfaithful to the law of the most High: and secondly, she hath offended against her husband: thirdly, she hath fornicated in adultery, end hath gotten her children of another man.
	34 This woman shall be brought into the assembly, and inquisition shall be made of her children.
	35 Her children shall not take root, and her branches shall bring forth no fruit.
	36 She shall leave her memory to be cursed, and her infamy shall not be blotted out.
	37 And they that remain shall know. that there is nothing better than the fear of God: and that there is nothing sweeter than to have regard to the commandments of the Lord.
	38 It is great glory to follow the Lord for length of days shall be received from him.