Sirach 41

NEW JERUSALEM	MODERN HEBREW BIBLE
1 O death, how bitter it is to remember you for someone peaceful y living with his possessions, forsomeone with no worries and everything going wel and who can still enjoy his food!
2 O death, your sentence is welcome to one in want, whose strength is failing, to one worn out with ageand a thousand worries, resentful and impatient!
3 Do not dread death's sentence; remember those who came before you and those who wil come after.
4 This is the sentence passed on al living creatures by the Lord, so why object to what seems good tothe Most High? Whether your life lasts ten or a hundred or a thousand years, its length wil not be held againstyou in Sheol.
5 Hateful brats, such are the children of sinners, who foregather in the haunts of the godless.
6 The inheritance of sinners' children is doomed to perish, their posterity wil endure lasting reproach.
7 A godless father wil be blamed by his children for the reproach he has brought on them.
8 A bad outlook for you, godless people, who have forsaken the Law of God Most High.
9 When you were born, you were born to be accursed, and when you die, that curse wil be your portion.
10 Al that comes from the earth returns to the earth, so too the wicked proceed from curse to destruction.
11 Mourning concerns only the bodies of the dead, but the worthless name of sinners wil be blotted out.
12 Be careful of your reputation, for it wil last you longer than a thousand great hoards of gold.
13 A good life lasts a certain number of days, but a good reputation lasts for ever.
14 Keep my instructions and be at peace, my children. Wisdom hidden away and treasure undisplayed,what use is either of these?
15 Better someone who hides his fol y than one who hides his wisdom.
16 Preserve a sense of shame in the fol owing matters, for not every kind of shame is right to harbour,nor is every situation correctly appraised by al .
17 Be ashamed, before father and mother, of depraved behaviour, and before prince or potentate oftel ing lies;
18 of wrong-doing before judge or magistrate, and of impiety before the assembly of the people;
19 of sharp practice before your companion and your friend, and of theft before the neighbourhood youlive in.
20 Before the truth and covenant of God, be ashamed of leaning elbows on the table,
21 of being ungracious when giving or receiving, of ignoring those who greet you,
22 of gazing at a loose woman, of repulsing your fellow-countryman,
23 of misappropriating another's portion or gift, of paying court to another man's wife,
24 of making advances to his servant-girl -- do not go near her bed-
25 of saying disagreeable things to friends -- do not fol ow up a gift with a taunt-
26 of repeating everything you hear and of betraying confidences.
27 Then you wil know what true shame is, and you wil find yourself in everyone's graces.