Ecclesiasticus 23

VULGATA	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Domine, pater et dominator vitæ meæ, ne derelinquas me in consilio eorum, nec sinas me cadere in illis.	1 Lord, father and master of my life, do not abandon me to their whims, do not let me fal because ofthem.
2 Quis superponet in cogitatu meo flagella, et in corde meo doctrinam sapientiæ, ut ignorationibus eorum non parcant mihi, et non appareant delicta eorum,	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,
3 et ne adincrescant ignorantiæ meæ, et multiplicentur delicta mea, et peccata mea abundent, et incidam in conspectu adversariorum meorum, et gaudeat super me inimicus meus ?	3 for fear my errors should multiply and my sins then abound and I fal before my adversaries, and myenemy gloat over me?
4 Domine, pater et Deus vitæ meæ, ne derelinquas me in cogitatu illorum.	4 Lord, father and God of my life, do not let my eyes be proud,
5 Extollentiam oculorum meorum ne dederis mihi, et omne desiderium averte a me.	5 turn envy away from me,
6 Aufer a me ventris concupiscentias, et concubitus concupiscentiæ ne apprehendant me, et animæ irreverenti et infrunitæ ne tradas me.	6 do not let lechery and lust grip me, do not leave me a prey to shameless desire.
7 Doctrinam oris audite, filii : et qui custodierit illam non periet labiis, nec scandalizabitur in operibus nequissimis.	7 Children, listen to what I teach, no one who keeps it wil be caught out.
8 In vanitate sua apprehenditur peccator : et superbus et maledicus scandalizabitur in illis.	8 The sinner is ensnared by his own lips, both the abusive and the proud are tripped by them.
9 Jurationi non assuescat os tuum : multi enim casus in illa.	9 Do not get into the habit of swearing, do not make a habit of naming the Holy One;
10 Nominatio vero Dei non sit assidua in ore tuo, et nominibus sanctorum non admiscearis, quoniam non erit immunis ab eis.	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.
11 Sicut enim servus interrogatus assidue a livore non minuitur, sic omnis jurans et nominans in toto a peccato non purgabitur.	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.
12 Vir multum jurans implebitur iniquitate, et non discedet a domo illius plaga.	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.
13 Et si frustraverit, delictum illius super ipsum erit : et si dissimulaverit, delinquit dupliciter :	13 Do not get into the habit of using coarse and foul language since this involves sinful words.
14 et si in vacuum juraverit, non justificabitur : replebitur enim retributione domus illius.	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.
15 Est et alia loquela contraria morti : non inveniatur in hæreditate Jacob.	15 No one in the habit of using shameful language wil break himself of it as long as he lives.
16 Etenim a misericordibus omnia hæc auferentur, et in delictis non volutabuntur.	16 There are two types of people who commit sin after sin and a third who attracts retribution-
17 Indisciplinatæ loquelæ non assuescat os tuum : est enim in illa verbum peccati.	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;
18 Memento patris et matris tuæ : in medio enim magnatorum consistis :	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.'
19 ne forte obliviscatur te Deus in conspectu illorum, et assiduitate tua infatuatus, improperium patiaris, et maluisses non nasci, et diem nativitatis tuæ maledicas.	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.
20 Homo assuetus in verbis improperii in omnibus diebus suis non erudietur.	20 Al things were known to him before they were created, and are stil , now that they are finished.
21 Duo genera abundant in peccatis, et tertium adducit iram et perditionem.	21 This man will be punished in view of the whole town, and wil be seized when he least expects it.
22 Anima calida quasi ignis ardens, non extinguetur donec aliquid glutiat :	22 Similarly the woman unfaithful to her husband, who provides him with an heir by another man:
23 et homo nequam in ore carnis suæ non desinet donec incendat ignem.	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
24 Homini fornicario omnis panis dulcis : non fatigabitur transgrediens usque ad finem.	24 and conceived children by another man. She will be led before the assembly, an enquiry will be heldabout her children.
25 Omnis homo qui transgreditur lectum suum, contemnens in animam suam, et dicens : Quis me videt ?	25 Her children wil strike no root, her branches wil bear no fruit.
26 Tenebræ circumdant me, et parietes cooperiunt me, et nemo circumspicit me : quem vereor ? delictorum meorum non memorabitur Altissimus.	26 She wil leave an accursed memory behind her, her shame wil never be wiped out.
27 Et non intelligit quoniam omnia videt oculus illius, quoniam expellit a se timorem Dei hujusmodi hominis timor, et oculi hominum timentes illum :	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.
28 et non cognovit quoniam oculi Domini multo plus lucidiores sunt super solem, circumspicientes omnes vias hominum, et profundum abyssi, et hominum corda, intuentes in absconditas partes.
29 Domino enim Deo antequam crearentur omnia sunt agnita : sic et post perfectum respicit omnia.
30 Hic in plateis civitatis vindicabitur, et quasi pullus equinus fugabitur, et ubi non speravit apprehendetur.
31 Et erit dedecus omnibus, eo quod non intellexerit timorem Domini.
32 Sic et mulier omnis relinquens virum suum, et statuens hæreditatem ex alieno matrimonio :
33 primo enim in lege Altissimi incredibilis fuit : secundo in virum suum deliquit : tertio in adulterio fornicata est, et ex alio viro filios statuit sibi.
34 Hæc in ecclesiam adducetur, et in filios ejus respicietur :
35 non tradent filii ejus radices, et rami ejus non dabunt fructum :
36 derelinquet in maledictum memoriam ejus, et dedecus illius non delebitur.
37 Et agnoscent qui derelicti sunt, quoniam nihil melius est quam timor Dei, et nihil dulcius quam respicere in mandatis Domini.
38 Gloria magna est sequi Dominum : longitudo enim dierum assumetur ab eo.