Sirach 41

¹ O death! how bitter the thought of you for the man at peace amid his possessions, For the man unruffled and always successful, who still can enjoy life's pleasures.

² O death! how welcome your sentence to the weak man of failing strength, Tottering and always rebuffed, with no more sight, with vanished hope.

³ Fear not death's decree for you; remember, it embraces those before you, and those after.

⁴ Thus God has ordained for all flesh; why then should you reject the will of the Most High? Whether one has lived a thousand years, a hundred, or ten, in the nether world he has no claim on life.

⁵ A reprobate line are the children of sinners, and witless offspring are in the homes of the wicked.

⁶ Their dominion is lost to sinners' children, and reproach abides with their descendants.

⁷ Children curse their wicked father, for they suffer disgrace through him.

⁸ Woe to you, O sinful men, who forsake the law of the Most High.

⁹ If you have children, calamity will seize them; you will beget them only for groaning. When you stumble, there is lasting joy; at death, you become a curse.

¹⁰ Whatever is of nought returns to nought, so too the godless from void to void.

¹¹ Man's body is a fleeting thing, but a virtuous name will never be annihilated.

¹² Have a care for your name, for it will stand by you better than precious treasures in the thousands;

¹³ The boon of life is for limited days, but a good name, for days without number.

¹⁴ My children, heed my instruction about shame; judge of disgrace only according to my rules, For it is not always well to be ashamed, nor is it always the proper thing to blush:

¹⁵ Before father and mother be ashamed of immorality, before master and mistress, of falsehood;

¹⁶ Before prince and ruler, of flattery; before the public assembly, of crime;

¹⁷ Before friend and companion, of disloyalty, and of breaking an oath or agreement.

¹⁸ Be ashamed of theft from the people where you settle, and of stretching out your elbow when you dine;

¹⁹ Of refusing to give when asked, of defrauding another of his appointed share,

²⁰ Of failing to return a greeting, and of rebuffing a friend;

²¹ Of gazing at a married woman, and of entertaining thoughts about another's wife; Of trifling with a servant girl you have, and of violating her couch;

²² Of using harsh words with friends, and of following up your gifts with insults;

²³ Of repeating what you hear, and of betraying secrets--

²⁴ These are the things you should rightly avoid as shameful if you would be looked upon by everyone with favor.