Scrutatio

Giovedi, 25 aprile 2024 - San Marco ( Letture di oggi)

Sirach 9


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1Be not jealous of the wife of your bosom, lest you teach her to do evil against you.2Give no woman power over you to trample upon your dignity.3Be not intimate with a strange woman, lest you fall into her snares.4With a singing girl be not familiar, lest you be caught in her wiles.5Entertain no thoughts against a virgin, lest you be enmeshed in damages for her.6Give not yourself to harlots, lest you surrender your inheritance.7Gaze not about the lanes of the city and wander not through its squares;8Avert your eyes from a comely woman; gaze not upon the beauty of another's wife-- Through woman's beauty many perish, for lust for it burns like fire.9With a married woman dine not, recline not at table to drink by her side, Lest your heart be drawn to her and you go down in blood to the grave.10Discard not an old friend, for the new one cannot equal him. A new friend is like new wine which you drink with pleasure only when it has aged.11Envy not a sinner's fame, for you know not what disaster awaits him.12Rejoice not at a proud man's success; remember he will not reach death unpunished.13Keep far from the man who has power to kill, and you will not be filled with the dread of death. But if you approach him, offend him not, lest he take away your life; Know that you are stepping among snares and walking over a net.14As best you can, take your neighbors' measure, and associate with the wise.15With the learned be intimate; let all your conversation be about the law of the LORD.16Have just men for your table companions; in the fear of God be your glory.17Skilled artisans are esteemed for their deftness; but the ruler of his people is the skilled sage.18Feared in the city is the man of railing speech, and he who talks rashly is hated.