Sirach 2

CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN	BIBLES DES PEUPLES
1 Son, when you apply yourself to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare your soul for temptation.	1 Mon fils, si tu t’es décidé à servir le Seigneur, prépare-toi à l’épreuve!
2 Humble your heart, and persevere. Incline your ear, and accept words of understanding. And you should not hurry away in the time of distress.	2 Garde un cœur droit et sois résolu, ne te démonte pas quand viennent les difficultés.
3 Endure steadfastly for God. Join yourself to God, and persevere, so that your life may increase in the very end.	3 Attache-toi au Seigneur, ne t’écarte pas de lui; si tu fais ainsi, tu arriveras à bon port à la fin de tes jours.
4 Accept everything that will happened to you, and persevere in your sorrow, and have patience in your humiliation.	4 Accepte tout ce qui t’arrive et sois patient quand tu te retrouves à terre.
5 For gold and silver are tested in fire, yet truly, acceptable men are tested in the furnace of humiliation.	5 Car on purifie l’or par le feu, et de même ceux qui plaisent à Dieu passent par le creuset de l’humiliation.
6 Believe God, and he will restore you to health. And straighten your way, and hope in him. Observe his fear, and grow old in it.	6 Aie confiance en lui et il prendra soin de toi; suis le droit chemin et espère en lui.
7 You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy. And do not turn away from him, lest you fall.	7 Vous qui craignez le Seigneur, attendez sa miséricorde; ne vous détournez pas de lui: vous tomberiez.
8 You who fear the Lord, believe in him. And your reward will not be taken away.	8 Vous qui craignez le Seigneur, ayez confiance en lui: vous ne perdrez pas votre récompense.
9 You who fear the Lord, hope in him. And mercy will approach you, to your delight.	9 Vous qui craignez le Seigneur, attendez-vous à recevoir tout ce qui vaut la peine: espérez miséricorde et joie éternelle.
10 You who fear the Lord, love him. And your hearts will be illuminated.	10 Rappelez-vous ce qui est arrivé à vos ancêtres: qui a mis sa confiance dans le Seigneur et s’en est repenti? Qui a persévéré dans sa crainte et a été abandonné? Qui a fait appel à lui et n’a pas été écouté?
11 My sons, consider the nations of men, and know that not one of them hoped in the Lord and was confounded.	11 Car le Seigneur est tendresse et miséricorde; il pardonne nos péchés et nous sauve au temps de la détresse.
12 For who has remained in his commandment and been abandoned? Or who has called upon him, and yet he despised him?	12 Malheur aux lâches qui laissent tomber leurs bras, malheur au pécheur qui se refuse à choisir!
13 For God is upright and merciful, and he will forgive sins in the day of tribulation. And he is the Protector to all those who seek him in truth.	13 Malheur aux lâches qui n’ont pas confiance! pour cette raison ils ne seront pas protégés.
14 Woe to the duplicitous heart, and to the wicked lips, and to the hands that do evil, and to the sinner who walks the earth by two ways!	14 Malheur à vous qui n’avez pas persévéré: que ferez-vous quand le Seigneur vous demandera des comptes?
15 Woe to the dissolute in heart, who do not trust God! For, as a result, they will not be protected by him.	15 Ceux qui craignent le Seigneur ne désobéissent pas à ses commandements; ceux qui sont fidèles à l’aimer marchent sur ses chemins.
16 Woe to those who have lost endurance, and who have abandoned upright ways, and who have turned aside to depraved ways!	16 Ceux qui craignent le Seigneur cherchent à lui plaire; ceux qui l’aiment se nourrissent de sa loi.
17 And what will they do when the Lord begins to examine them?	17 Ceux qui craignent le Seigneur gardent leur cœur disponible; ils s’humilient devant lui et disent:
18 Those who fear the Lord will not be unbelieving toward his Word. And those who love him will keep to his way.	18 “Tombons entre les mains du Seigneur plutôt qu’entre les mains des hommes, car sa miséricorde n’est pas moindre que sa puissance!”
19 Those who fear the Lord will seek the things that are well-pleasing to him. And those who love him will be filled with his law.
20 Those who fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and they will sanctify their souls in his sight.
21 Those who fear the Lord keep his commandments, and they will have patience even until his examination,
22 saying: “If we do not do penance, then we will fall into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of men.”
23 For according to his greatness, so also is his mercy with him.