Sirach 23

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Lord, father and master of my life, do not abandon me to their whims, do not let me fal because ofthem.	1 Lord, Father and Ruler of my life: may you not abandon me to their counsel, nor permit me to fall by 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 They would impose scourges over my thoughts and over the discipline of wisdom in my heart. And they would not spare me from their ignorances, nor would they allow their own offenses to become apparent.
3 for fear my errors should multiply and my sins then abound and I fal before my adversaries, and myenemy gloat over me?	3 And they intend that my ignorances would increase, and my offenses be multiplied, and my sins abound. And so I would fall in the sight of my adversaries, and be rejoiced over by my enemy.
4 Lord, father and God of my life, do not let my eyes be proud,	4 Lord, Father and God of my life: may you not abandon me to their plans.
5 turn envy away from me,	5 Do not leave me with the haughtiness of my eyes. And avert all desire from me.
6 do not let lechery and lust grip me, do not leave me a prey to shameless desire.	6 Take the desire of the body from me, and do not allow sexual desire to take hold of me, and do not permit an irreverent and senseless mind within me.
7 Children, listen to what I teach, no one who keeps it wil be caught out.	7 O sons: listen to the doctrine of my mouth. For those who observe it will not perish by the lips, nor be scandalized into wicked works.
8 The sinner is ensnared by his own lips, both the abusive and the proud are tripped by them.	8 A sinner is held by his own emptiness. And the arrogant and those who speak evil will be scandalized by these things.
9 Do not get into the habit of swearing, do not make a habit of naming the Holy One;	9 Do not allow your mouth to become accustomed to swearing oaths. For in this, there are many pitfalls.
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 Truly, do not allow the naming of God to be continually in your mouth, and do not treat as if common the names of the holy ones. For you will not escape punishment by them.
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 Just as a servant, continually interrogated, will not be without a bruise, so everyone who swears oaths and takes God’s name will not be entirely free 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 who swears many oaths will be filled with iniquity, and scourges will 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 fails to fulfill it, his offense will be over him, and if he pretends he fulfilled it, he offends doubly.
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 swears an oath insincerely, he will not be justified. For his house will be filled with retribution for him.
15 No one in the habit of using shameful language wil break himself of it as long as he lives.	15 There is yet another kind of talk which faces 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 all these things will be taken away from the merciful, and they shall not wallow in offenses.
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 Do not allow your mouth to become accustomed to undisciplined speech. For in this, there is the sin of words.
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 When you sit in the midst of great men, remember your father and mother.
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 Otherwise, God may forget you, when you are in their sight, and then you would be repeatedly ridiculed and would suffer disgrace, and you might wish that you had never been born, and you might curse the day of your nativity.
20 Al things were known to him before they were created, and are stil , now that they are finished.	20 The man who is accustomed to disgraceful words will not accept instruction, 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 kinds of persons abound in sins, and a third adds wrath and perdition.
22 Similarly the woman unfaithful to her husband, who provides him with an heir by another man:	22 A desirous soul is like a burning fire, it will not be quenched, until it devours something.
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 who is wicked in the desires of his flesh will not desist until he has 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 of fornication, all bread is sweet; he will not tire of transgression, to the very end.
25 Her children wil strike no root, her branches wil bear no fruit.	25 Every man who transgresses his own bed has contempt for his own soul. And so he says: “Who can see me?
26 She wil leave an accursed memory behind her, her shame wil never be wiped out.	26 Darkness surrounds me, and the walls enclose me, and no one catches sight of me. Whom should I fear? The Most High will not remember my offenses.”
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 does not understand that God’s eye sees all things. For fear within a man such as this drives away from him both the fear of God and the eyes of those men who fear God.
	28 And he does not acknowledge that the eyes of the Lord are much brighter than the sun, keeping watch over all the ways of men, even to the depths of the abyss, and gazing into the hearts of men, even to the most hidden parts.
	29 For all things, before they were created, were known to the Lord God. And even after their completion, he beholds all things.
	30 This man will be punished in the streets of the city, and he will be chased like a young horse. And in a place that he does not suspect, he will be captured.
	31 And because he did not understand the fear of the Lord, he will be in disgrace before all men,
	32 as will be every woman, too, who abandons her husband and establishes an inheritance by marriage to another man.
	33 For first, she was unbelieving of the law of the Most High. Second, she offended against her husband. Third, she fornicated by adultery, and so established her children by another man.
	34 This woman will be led into the assembly, and she will be stared at by her children.
	35 Her children will not take root, and her branches will not produce fruit.
	36 She will leave behind her memory as a curse, and her infamy will not be wiped away.
	37 And those who are left behind will acknowledge that there is nothing better than the fear of God, and that there is nothing sweeter than to have respect for the commandments of the Lord.
	38 It is a great glory to follow the Lord. For length of days will be received from him.