Sirach 23

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 LORD, Father and Master of my life, permit me not to fall by them!	1 Lord, Father and Ruler of my life: may you not abandon me to their counsel, nor permit me to fall by 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 They would impose scourges over my thoughts and over the discipline of wisdom in my heart. And they would not spare me from their ignorances, nor would they allow their own offenses to become apparent.
3 Lest my failings increase, and my sins be multiplied; Lest I succumb to my foes, and my enemy rejoice over me?	3 And they intend that my ignorances would increase, and my offenses be multiplied, and my sins abound. And so I would fall in the sight of my adversaries, and be rejoiced over by my enemy.
4 LORD, Father and God of my life, abandon me not into their control!	4 Lord, Father and God of my life: may you not abandon me to their plans.
5 A brazen look allow me not; ward off passion from my heart,	5 Do not leave me with the haughtiness of my eyes. And avert all desire from me.
6 Let not the lustful cravings of the flesh master me, surrender me not to shameless desires.	6 Take the desire of the body from me, and do not allow sexual desire to take hold of me, and do not permit an irreverent and senseless mind within me.
7 Give heed, my children, to the instruction that I pronounce, for he who keeps it will not be enslaved.	7 O sons: listen to the doctrine of my mouth. For those who observe it will not perish by the lips, nor be scandalized into wicked works.
8 Through his lips is the sinner ensnared; the railer and the arrogant man fall thereby.	8 A sinner is held by his own emptiness. And the arrogant and those who speak evil will be scandalized by these things.
9 Let not your mouth form the habit of swearing, or becoming too familiar with the Holy Name.	9 Do not allow your mouth to become accustomed to swearing oaths. For in this, there are many pitfalls.
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 Truly, do not allow the naming of God to be continually in your mouth, and do not treat as if common the names of the holy ones. For you will not escape punishment by them.
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 Just as a servant, continually interrogated, will not be without a bruise, so everyone who swears oaths and takes God’s name will not be entirely free 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 who swears many oaths will be filled with iniquity, and scourges will 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 fails to fulfill it, his offense will be over him, and if he pretends he fulfilled it, he offends doubly.
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 swears an oath insincerely, he will not be justified. For his house will be filled with retribution for him.
15 A man who has the habit of abusive language will never mature in character as long as he lives.	15 There is yet another kind of talk which faces 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 all these things will be taken away from the merciful, and they shall not wallow in offenses.
17 The rake to whom all bread is sweet and who is never through till he dies;	17 Do not allow your mouth to become accustomed to undisciplined speech. For in this, there is the sin of words.
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 When you sit in the midst of great men, remember your father and mother.
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 Otherwise, God may forget you, when you are in their sight, and then you would be repeatedly ridiculed and would suffer disgrace, and you might wish that you had never been born, and you might curse the day of your nativity.
20 He who knows all things before they exist still knows them all after they are made.	20 The man who is accustomed to disgraceful words will not accept instruction, 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 kinds of persons abound in sins, and a third adds wrath and perdition.
22 So also with the woman who is unfaithful to her husband and offers as heir her son by a stranger.	22 A desirous soul is like a burning fire, it will not be quenched, until it devours something.
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 who is wicked in the desires of his flesh will not desist until he has 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 of fornication, all bread is sweet; he will not tire of transgression, to the very end.
25 Her children will not take root; her branches will not bring forth fruit.	25 Every man who transgresses his own bed has contempt for his own soul. And so he says: “Who can see me?
26 She will leave an accursed memory; her disgrace will never be blotted out.	26 Darkness surrounds me, and the walls enclose me, and no one catches sight of me. Whom should I fear? The Most High will not remember my offenses.”
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 does not understand that God’s eye sees all things. For fear within a man such as this drives away from him both the fear of God and the eyes of those men who fear God.
	28 And he does not acknowledge that the eyes of the Lord are much brighter than the sun, keeping watch over all the ways of men, even to the depths of the abyss, and gazing into the hearts of men, even to the most hidden parts.
	29 For all things, before they were created, were known to the Lord God. And even after their completion, he beholds all things.
	30 This man will be punished in the streets of the city, and he will be chased like a young horse. And in a place that he does not suspect, he will be captured.
	31 And because he did not understand the fear of the Lord, he will be in disgrace before all men,
	32 as will be every woman, too, who abandons her husband and establishes an inheritance by marriage to another man.
	33 For first, she was unbelieving of the law of the Most High. Second, she offended against her husband. Third, she fornicated by adultery, and so established her children by another man.
	34 This woman will be led into the assembly, and she will be stared at by her children.
	35 Her children will not take root, and her branches will not produce fruit.
	36 She will leave behind her memory as a curse, and her infamy will not be wiped away.
	37 And those who are left behind will acknowledge that there is nothing better than the fear of God, and that there is nothing sweeter than to have respect for the commandments of the Lord.
	38 It is a great glory to follow the Lord. For length of days will be received from him.