Sirach 23

CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN	EL LIBRO DEL PUEBLO DE DIOS
1 Lord, Father and Ruler of my life: may you not abandon me to their counsel, nor permit me to fall by them.	1 ¡Señor, Padre y Dueño de mi vida, no me abandones al capricho de mis labios ni me dejes caer por culpa de ellos!
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.	2 ¿Quién aplicará el látigo a mi pensamiento, y a mi corazón, la disciplina de la sabiduría, para que no se perdonen mis errores ni se pasen por alto mis pecados?
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.	3 Así no se multiplicarán mis errores ni se sobreabundarán mis pecados, ni caeré ante mis adversarios, ni mi enemigo se burlará de mí.
4 Lord, Father and God of my life: may you not abandon me to their plans.	4 Señor. Padre y Dios de mi vida, no me des unos ojos altaneros
5 Do not leave me with the haughtiness of my eyes. And avert all desire from me.	5 y aparta de mí los malos deseos.
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.	6 ¡Que la sensualidad y la lujuria no me dominen, no me entregues a las pasiones vergonzosas!
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.	7 Escuchen, hijos, cómo se educa la lengua: el que observe esto no caerá en el lazo.
8 A sinner is held by his own emptiness. And the arrogant and those who speak evil will be scandalized by these things.	8 El pecador se enreda en sus propias palabras, el maldiciente y el soberbio caen a causa de ellas.
9 Do not allow your mouth to become accustomed to swearing oaths. For in this, there are many pitfalls.	9 No acostumbres tu boca a jurar ni te habitúes a pronunciar el nombre del Santo.
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.	10 Así como el servidor vigilado constantemente nunca se libra de algún golpe, así el que jura y pronuncia el Nombre en todo momento no quedará limpio de pecado.
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.	11 El que jura constantemente está lleno de iniquidad y el flagelo no se apartará de su casa. Si falta a su juramento, incurre en pecado; si lo menosprecia, peca doblemente; si juró en vano, no tendrá justificación y su casa se llenará de desgracias.
12 A man who swears many oaths will be filled with iniquity, and scourges will not depart from his house.	12 Hay un lenguaje comparable a la muerte: ¡que no se lo encuentre en la herencia de Jacob! Los hombres buenos están alejados de todas esas cosas: ¡que ellos no se revuelquen en los pecados!
13 And if he fails to fulfill it, his offense will be over him, and if he pretends he fulfilled it, he offends doubly.	13 No acostumbres tu boca a decir groserías, porque al decirlas se peca con la palabra.
14 And if he swears an oath insincerely, he will not be justified. For his house will be filled with retribution for him.	14 Acuérdate de tu padre y de tu madre, cuando te sientes en medio de los grandes, no sea que los olvides en presencia de ellos y te comportes como un necio. Porque entonces preferirías no haber nacido y maldecirías el día de tu nacimiento.
15 There is yet another kind of talk which faces death; let it not be found in the inheritance of Jacob.	15 Un hombre habituado a las palabras injuriosas no podrá ser corregido en toda su vida.
16 For all these things will be taken away from the merciful, and they shall not wallow in offenses.	16 Dos clases de hombres multiplican los pecados y una tercera atrae la ira:
17 Do not allow your mouth to become accustomed to undisciplined speech. For in this, there is the sin of words.	17 una pasión encendida como el fuego ardiente no cesará hasta que el fuego lo abrase; para el lujurioso toda comida es dulce, y no se calmará hasta que haya muerto.
18 When you sit in the midst of great men, remember your father and mother.	18 El hombre que peca contra su propio lecho dice en su corazón: «¿Quién me ve? La oscuridad me rodea y los muros me cubren nadie me ve: ¿qué puedo temer? El Altísimo no se acordará de mis pecados».
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.	19 Lo que él teme son los ojos de los hombres, y no sabe que los ojos del Señor son diez mil veces más luminosos que el sol, que observan todos los caminos de los hombres y penetran en los rincones más ocultos.
20 The man who is accustomed to disgraceful words will not accept instruction, all the days of his life.	20 Antes de ser creadas, todas las cosas le eran conocidas, y lo son asimismo una vez acabadas.
21 Two kinds of persons abound in sins, and a third adds wrath and perdition.	21 Ese hombre será castigo en las plazas de la ciudad, será apresado donde menos lo esperaba.
22 A desirous soul is like a burning fire, it will not be quenched, until it devours something.	22 Así también, la mujer que abandona a su marido y le da un heredero nacido de un extraño.
23 And a man who is wicked in the desires of his flesh will not desist until he has kindled a fire.	23 Porque, primero, ha desobedecido la Ley del Señor; segundo, ha faltado contra su marido; tercero, se ha prostituido con su adulterio, teniendo hijos con un hombre extraño
24 To a man of fornication, all bread is sweet; he will not tire of transgression, to the very end.	24 Ella será llevada a la asamblea y el castigo recaerá sobre sus hijos.
25 Every man who transgresses his own bed has contempt for his own soul. And so he says: “Who can see me?	25 Sus hijos no echarán raíces y sus ramas no producirán fruto.
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.”	26 Ella dejará su recuerdo para una maldición y su infamia no se borrará.
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.	27 Así sabrán los que vengan después que no hay nada mejor que el temor del Señor ni nada más dulce que obedecer sus mandamientos.
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.