Sirach 9

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Be not jealous of the wife of your bosom, lest you teach her to do evil against you.	1 Do not be jealous of the wife you love, do not teach her lessons in how to harm you.
2 Give no woman power over you to trample upon your dignity.	2 Do not put yourself in a woman's hands or she may come to dominate you completely.
3 Be not intimate with a strange woman, lest you fall into her snares.	3 Do not keep company with a prostitute, in case you get entangled in her snares.
4 With a singing girl be not familiar, lest you be caught in her wiles.	4 Do not dal y with a singing girl, in case you get caught by her wiles.
5 Entertain no thoughts against a virgin, lest you be enmeshed in damages for her.	5 Do not stare at a pretty girl, in case you and she incur the same punishment.
6 Give not yourself to harlots, lest you surrender your inheritance.	6 Do not give your heart to whores, or you wil ruin your inheritance.
7 Gaze not about the lanes of the city and wander not through its squares;	7 Keep your eyes to yourself in the streets of a town, do not prowl about its unfrequented quarters.
8 Avert 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.	8 Turn your eyes away from a handsome woman, do not stare at a beauty belonging to someone else.Because of a woman's beauty, many have been undone; this makes passion flare up like a fire.
9 With 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.	9 Never sit down with a married woman, or sit at table with her drinking wine, in case you let your heartsuccumb to her and you lose al self-control and slide to disaster.
10 Discard 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.	10 Do not desert an old friend; the new one wil not be his match. New friend, new wine; when it grows old,you drink it with pleasure.
11 Envy not a sinner's fame, for you know not what disaster awaits him.	11 Do not envy the sinner his success; you do not know how that wil end.
12 Rejoice not at a proud man's success; remember he will not reach death unpunished.	12 Do not take pleasure in what pleases the godless; remember they wil not go unpunished here below.
13 Keep 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.	13 Keep your distance from the man who has the power to put to death, and you wil not be haunted by thefear of dying. If you do approach him, make no false move, or he may take your life. Realise that you aretreading among trip-lines, that you are strolling on the battlements.
14 As best you can, take your neighbors' measure, and associate with the wise.	14 Cultivate your neighbours to the best of your ability, and consult with the wise.
15 With the learned be intimate; let all your conversation be about the law of the LORD.	15 For conversation seek the intelligent, let al your discussions bear on the law of the Most High.
16 Have just men for your table companions; in the fear of God be your glory.	16 Have the upright for your table companions, and let your pride be in fearing the Lord.
17 Skilled artisans are esteemed for their deftness; but the ruler of his people is the skilled sage.	17 Work from skilled hands will earn its praise, but a leader of the people must be skilful in words.
18 Feared in the city is the man of railing speech, and he who talks rashly is hated.	18 A chatterbox is a terror to his town, a loose talker is detested.