Sirach 42

¹ But of these things be not ashamed, lest you sin through human respect:

² Of the law of the Most High and his precepts, or of the sentence to be passed upon the sinful;

³ Of sharing the expenses of a business or a journey, or of dividing an inheritance or property;

⁴ Of accuracy of scales and balances, or of tested measures and weights;

⁵ Of acquiring much or little, or of bargaining in dealing with a merchant; Of constant training of children, or of beating the sides of a disloyal servant;

⁶ Of a seal to keep an erring wife at home, or of a lock placed where there are many hands;

⁷ Of numbering every deposit, or of recording all that is given or received;

⁸ Of chastisement of the silly and the foolish, or of the aged and infirm answering for wanton conduct. Thus you will be truly cautious and recognized by all men as discreet.

⁹ A daughter is a treasure that keeps her father wakeful, and worry over her drives away rest: Lest she pass her prime unmarried, or when she is married, lest she be disliked;

¹⁰ While unmarried, lest she be seduced, or, as a wife, lest she prove unfaithful; Lest she conceive in her father's home, or be sterile in that of her husband.

¹¹ Keep a close watch on your daughter, lest she make you the sport of your enemies, A byword in the city, a reproach among the people, an object of derision in public gatherings. See that there is no lattice in her room, no place that overlooks the approaches to the house.

¹² Let her not parade her charms before men, or spend her time with married women;

¹³ For just as moths come from garments, so harm to women comes from women:

¹⁴ Better a man's harshness than a woman's indulgence, and a frightened daughter than any disgrace.

¹⁵ Now will I recall God's works; what I have seen, I will describe. At God's word were his works brought into being; they do his will as he has ordained for them.

¹⁶ As the rising sun is clear to all, so the glory of the LORD fills all his works;

¹⁷ Yet even God's holy ones must fail in recounting the wonders of the LORD, Though God has given these, his hosts, the strength to stand firm before his glory.

¹⁸ He plumbs the depths and penetrates the heart; their innermost being he understands. The Most High possesses all knowledge, and sees from of old the things that are to come:

¹⁹ He makes known the past and the future, and reveals the deepest secrets.

²⁰ No understanding does he lack; no single thing escapes him.

²¹ Perennial is his almighty wisdom; he is from all eternity one and the same,

²² With nothing added, nothing taken away; no need of a counselor for him!

²³ How beautiful are all his works! even to the spark and the fleeting vision!

²⁴ The universe lives and abides forever; to meet each need, each creature is preserved.

²⁵ All of them differ, one from another, yet none of them has he made in vain, For each in turn, as it comes, is good; can one ever see enough of their splendor?