Ecclesiasticus 27

VULGATA	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Propter inopiam multi deliquerunt : et qui quærit locupletari avertit oculum suum.	1 Because of need, many have sinned. And whoever seeks to be enriched, averts his eye.
2 Sicut in medio compaginis lapidum palus figitur, sic et inter medium venditionis et emptionis angustiabitur peccatum :	2 Like a post fixed in the middle of adjoining stones, so also will sin become wedged between selling and buying.
3 conteretur cum delinquente delictum.	3 Sin will be crushed with the one who sins.
4 Si non in timore Domini tenueris te instanter, cito subvertetur domus tua.	4 If you do not hold yourself steadfastly to the fear of the Lord, your house will be quickly overthrown.
5 Sicut in percussura cribri remanebit pulvis, sic aporia hominis in cogitatu illius.	5 Just as the dust remains when one shakes a sieve, so will the doubt of a man remain in his thoughts.
6 Vasa figuli probat fornax, et homines justos tentatio tribulationis.	6 The furnace tests the potter’s vessels, and the trial of the tribulation tests just men.
7 Sicut rusticatio de ligno ostendit fructum illius, sic verbum ex cogitatu cordis hominis.	7 As the pruning of a tree reveals its fruit, so does a word reveal the thoughts in the heart of a man.
8 Ante sermonem non laudes virum : hæc enim tentatio est hominum.	8 You should not praise a man before he speaks; for such is the testing of men.
9 Si sequaris justitiam, apprehendes illam, et indues quasi poderem honoris : et inhabitabis cum ea, et proteget te in sempiternum, et in die agnitionis invenies firmamentum.	9 If you pursue justice, you will obtain it. And you will be clothed with justice, as with a long robe of honor. And you will live with justice. And justice will protect you continually. And on the day of reckoning, you will find a strong foundation.
10 Volatilia ad sibi similia conveniunt : et veritas ad eos qui operantur illam revertetur.	10 Birds flock to their own kind. And truth will return to those who practice it.
11 Leo venationi insidiatur semper : sic peccata operantibus iniquitates.	11 The lion lies in wait for its prey continually. So also do sins lie in wait for those who work iniquity.
12 Homo sanctus in sapientia manet sicut sol : nam stultus sicut luna mutatur.	12 A holy man persists in wisdom like the sun. But a senseless man changes like the moon.
13 In medio insensatorum serva verbum tempori : in medio autem cogitantium assiduus esto.	13 In the midst of the senseless, retain a word for the proper time. But be continually in the midst those who are thoughtful.
14 Narratio peccantium odiosa, et risus illorum in deliciis peccati.	14 The discussions of sinners are hateful, and their laughter is a delight in sin.
15 Loquela multum jurans horripilationem capiti statuet, et irreverentia ipsius obturatio aurium.	15 The speech that swears many oaths will cause the hair of the head to stand upright; and its irreverence will cause the ears to be blocked.
16 Effusio sanguinis in rixa superborum, et maledictio illorum auditus gravis.	16 The shedding of blood is in the quarrels of the arrogant; and their evil talk is grievous to hear.
17 Qui denudat arcana amici fidem perdit, et non inveniet amicum ad animum suum.	17 Whoever discloses the secret of a friend breaks faith; and he will not find a friend for his soul.
18 Dilige proximum, et conjungere fide cum illo.	18 Love your neighbor, and be united with him faithfully.
19 Quod si denudaveris absconsa illius, non persequeris post eum.	19 But if you disclose his secrets, you should not continue to follow after him.
20 Sicut enim homo qui perdit amicum suum, sic et qui perdit amicitiam proximi sui.	20 For like a man who destroys his friend, so also is he who destroys the friendship of his neighbor.
21 Et sicut qui dimittit avem de manu sua, sic dereliquisti proximum tuum, et non eum capies.	21 And like someone releasing a bird from his hand, so have you abandoned your neighbor, and you will not obtain him again.
22 Non illum sequaris, quoniam longe abest : effugit enim quasi caprea de laqueo, quoniam vulnerata est anima ejus :	22 You should no longer seek him, for he is now far away; he has fled like a roe-deer from a snare. For his soul has been wounded.
23 ultra eum non poteris colligare. Et maledicti est concordatio :	23 You will no longer be able to bind his wound. For there may be a reconciliation from cursing.
24 denudare autem amici mysteria, desperatio est animæ infelicis.	24 But to disclose the secrets of a friend is the hopeless act of an unhappy soul.
25 Annuens oculo fabricat iniqua, et nemo eum abjiciet.	25 One who winks with the eye fabricates iniquity, and no one will cast him aside.
26 In conspectu oculorum tuorum condulcabit os suum, et super sermones tuos admirabitur : novissime autem pervertet os suum, et in verbis tuis dabit scandalum.	26 In the sight of your eyes, he will sweeten his mouth, and he will admire your talk. But at the very end, he will pervert his mouth, and he will offer a scandal from your own words.
27 Multa odivi, et non coæquavi ei, et Dominus odiet illum.	27 I have hated many things, but I have not done as he has done, and the Lord will hate him.
28 Qui in altum mittit lapidem, super caput ejus cadet : et plaga dolosa dolosi dividet vulnera.	28 Whoever throws a stone straight up will find that it falls on his own head. And a deceitful wound will return to wound the deceitful.
29 Et qui foveam fodit incidet in eam : et qui statuit lapidem proximo offendet in eo : et qui laqueum alii ponit, peribit in illo.	29 And whoever digs a pit will fall into it. And whoever positions a stone against his neighbor will stumble over it. And whoever lays a trap for another will perish by it.
30 Facienti nequissimum consilium, super ipsum devolvetur, et non agnoscet unde adveniat illi.	30 Whoever sets in motion a wicked plan will find that it rolls back over him, and he will not know from which direction it will arrive.
31 Illusio et improperium superborum, et vindicta sicut leo insidiabitur illi.	31 Mockery and derision are of the arrogant, and vengeance will lie in wait for them, like a lion.
32 Laqueo peribunt qui oblectantur casu justorum, dolor autem consumet illos antequam moriantur.	32 Whoever enjoys the fall of the just will perish in a snare, and grief will consume them before they die.
33 Ira et furor utraque execrabilia sunt, et vir peccator continens erit illorum.	33 Anger and fury are both abominable, and the sinful man will be held by them.