Sirach 23

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 Lord, father and master of my life, do not abandon me to their whims, do not let me fal because ofthem.	1 And let not the naming of God be usual in thy mouth, and meddle not with the names of saints, for thou shalt not escape free from them.
2 Who wil lay whips to my thoughts, and the discipline of wisdom to my heart, to be merciless to myerrors and not let my sins go unchecked,	2 dummy verses inserted by amos
3 for fear my errors should multiply and my sins then abound and I fal before my adversaries, and myenemy gloat over me?	3 dummy verses inserted by amos
4 Lord, father and God of my life, do not let my eyes be proud,	4 dummy verses inserted by amos
5 turn envy away from me,	5 dummy verses inserted by amos
6 do not let lechery and lust grip me, do not leave me a prey to shameless desire.	6 dummy verses inserted by amos
7 Children, listen to what I teach, no one who keeps it wil be caught out.	7 dummy verses inserted by amos
8 The sinner is ensnared by his own lips, both the abusive and the proud are tripped by them.	8 dummy verses inserted by amos
9 Do not get into the habit of swearing, do not make a habit of naming the Holy One;	9 dummy verses inserted by amos
10 for just as a slave who is constantly overseen wil never be without bruises, so someone who is alwaysswearing and uttering the Name wil not be exempt from sin.	10 dummy verses inserted by amos
11 A man for ever swearing is full of iniquity, and the scourge wil not depart from his house. If he offends,his sin wil be on him, if he did it unheedingly, he has doubly sinned; if he swears a false oath, he wil not betreated as innocent, for his house wil be fil ed with calamities.	11 For as a slave daily put to the question, is never without a blue mark: so every one that sweareth, and nameth, shall not be wholly pure from sin.
12 One way of talking is like death, let it not be found in the heritage of Jacob since devout people havenothing to do with that: they wil not wal ow in sin.	12 A man that sweareth much, shall be filled with iniquity, and a scourge shall not depart from his house.
13 Do not get into the habit of using coarse and foul language since this involves sinful words.	13 And if he make it void, his sin shall be upon him: and if he dissemble it, he offendeth double:
14 Remember your father and mother when you are sitting with the great, for fear you forget yourself intheir presence and behave like a fool, and then wish you had not been born and curse the day of your birth.	14 And if he swear in vain, he shall not be justified: for his house shall be filled with his punishment.
15 No one in the habit of using shameful language wil break himself of it as long as he lives.	15 There is also another speech opposite to death, let it not be found in the inheritance of Jacob.
16 There are two types of people who commit sin after sin and a third who attracts retribution-	16 For from the merciful all these things shall be taken away, and they shall not wallow in sins.
17 desire, blazing like a furnace, wil not die down until it has been sated- the man who lusts aftermembers of his own family is not going to stop until he is quite burnt out; every food is sweet to the promiscuous,and he wil not desist until he dies;	17 Let not thy mouth be accustomed to indiscreet speech: for therein is the word of sin.
18 and the man who sins against the marriage bed and says to himself, 'Who can see me? There isdarkness all round me, the wal s hide me, no one can see me, why should I worry? The Most High wil notremember my sins.'	18 Remember thy father and thy mother, for thou sittest is the midst of great men:
19 What he fears are human eyes, he does not realise that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand timesbrighter than the sun, observing every aspect of human behaviour, seeing into the most secret corners.	19 Lest God forget thee in their sight, and thou, by thy daily custom, be infatuated and suffer reproach: and wish that thou hadst not been born, and curse the day of thy nativity.
20 Al things were known to him before they were created, and are stil , now that they are finished.	20 The man that is accustomed to opprobrious words, will never be corrected all the days of his life.
21 This man will be punished in view of the whole town, and wil be seized when he least expects it.	21 Two sorts of men multiply sins, and the third bringeth wrath and destruction.
22 Similarly the woman unfaithful to her husband, who provides him with an heir by another man:	22 A hot soul is a burning fire, it will never be quenched, till it devour some thing.
23 first, she has disobeyed the Law of the Most High; secondly, she has been false to her husband; andthirdly, she has gone whoring in adultery	23 And a man that is wicked in the mouth of his flesh, will not leave off till he hath kindled a fire.
24 and conceived children by another man. She will be led before the assembly, an enquiry will be heldabout her children.	24 To a man that is a fornicator all bread is sweet, he will not be weary of sinning unto the end.
25 Her children wil strike no root, her branches wil bear no fruit.	25 Every man that passeth beyond his own bed, despising his own soul, and saying: Who seeth me?
26 She wil leave an accursed memory behind her, her shame wil never be wiped out.	26 Darkness compasseth me about, and the walls cover me, and no man seeth me: whom do I fear? the most High will not remember my sins.
27 And those who survive her wil recognise that nothing is better than fearing the Lord, and nothingsweeter than adherence to the Lord's commandments.	27 And he understandeth not that his eye seeth all things, for such a man's fear driveth from him the fear of God, and the eyes of men fearing him:
	28 And he knoweth not that the eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun, beholding round about all the ways of men, and the bottom of the deep, and looking into the hearts of men, into the most hidden parts.
	29 For all things were known to the Lord God, before they were created: so also after they were perfected he beholdeth all things.
	30 This man shall be punished in the streets of the city, and he shall be chased as a colt: and where he suspected not, he shall be taken.
	31 And he shall be in disgrace with all men, because he understood not the fear of the Lord.
	32 So every woman also that leaveth her husband, and bringeth in an heir by another :
	33 For first she hath been unfaithful to the law of the most High: and secondly, she hath offended against her husband: thirdly, she hath fornicated in adultery, end hath gotten her children of another man.
	34 This woman shall be brought into the assembly, and inquisition shall be made of her children.
	35 Her children shall not take root, and her branches shall bring forth no fruit.
	36 She shall leave her memory to be cursed, and her infamy shall not be blotted out.
	37 And they that remain shall know. that there is nothing better than the fear of God: and that there is nothing sweeter than to have regard to the commandments of the Lord.
	38 It is great glory to follow the Lord for length of days shall be received from him.