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/Sir/ - Sirach

<< Wisdom Baruch >>The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus
The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus
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13He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled therewith; and he that hath fellowship with a proud man shall be like unto him.

2Burden not thyself above thy power while thou livest; and have no fellowship with one that is mightier and richer than thyself: for how agree the kettle and the earthen pot together? for if the one be smitten against the other, it shall be broken.

3The rich man hath done wrong, and yet he threateneth withal: the poor is wronged, and he must intreat also.

4If thou be for his profit, he will use thee: but if thou have nothing, he will forsake thee.

5If thou have any thing, he will live with thee: yea, he will make thee bare, and will not be sorry for it.

6If he have need of thee, he will deceive thee, and smile upon thee, and put thee in hope; he will speak thee fair, and say, What wantest thou?

7And he will shame thee by his meats, until he have drawn thee dry twice or thrice, and at the last he will laugh thee to scorn afterward, when he seeth thee, he will forsake thee, and shake his head at thee.

8Beware that thou be not deceived and brought down in thy jollity.

9If thou be invited of a mighty man, withdraw thyself, and so much the more will he invite thee.

10Press thou not upon him, lest thou be put back; stand not far off, lest thou be forgotten.

11Affect not to be made equal unto him in talk, and believe not his many words: for with much communication will he tempt thee, and smiling upon thee will get out thy secrets:

12But cruelly he will lay up thy words, and will not spare to do thee hurt, and to put thee in prison.

13Observe, and take good heed, for thou walkest in peril of thy overthrowing: when thou hearest these things, awake in thy sleep.

14Love the Lord all thy life, and call upon him for thy salvation.

15Every beast loveth his like, and every man loveth his neighbor.

16All flesh consorteth according to kind, and a man will cleave to his like.

17What fellowship hath the wolf with the lamb? so the sinner with the godly.

18What agreement is there between the hyena and a dog? and what peace between the rich and the poor?

19As the wild ass is the lion’s prey in the wilderness: so the rich eat up the poor.

20As the proud hate humility: so doth the rich abhor the poor.

21A rich man beginning to fall is held up of his friends: but a poor man being down is thrust away by his friends.

22When a rich man is fallen, he hath many helpers: he speaketh things not to be spoken, and yet men justify him: the poor man slipped, and yet they rebuked him too; he spake wisely, and could have no place.

23When a rich man speaketh, every man holdeth his tongue, and, look, what he saith, they extol it to the clouds: but if the poor man speak, they say, What fellow is this? and if he stumble, they will help to overthrow him.

24Riches are good unto him that hath no sin, and poverty is evil in the mouth of the ungodly.

25The heart of a man changeth his countenance, whether it be for good or evil: and a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.

26A cheerful countenance is a token of a heart that is in prosperity; and the finding out of parables is a wearisome labour of the mind.

14Blessed is the man that hath not slipped with his mouth, and is not pricked with the multitude of sins.

2Blessed is he whose conscience hath not condemned him, and who is not fallen from his hope in the Lord.

3Riches are not comely for a niggard: and what should an envious man do with money?

4He that gathereth by defrauding his own soul gathereth for others, that shall spend his goods riotously.

5He that is evil to himself, to whom will he be good? he shall not take pleasure in his goods.

6There is none worse than he that envieth himself; and this is a recompence of his wickedness.

7And if he doeth good, he doeth it unwillingly; and at the last he will declare his wickedness.

8The envious man hath a wicked eye; he turneth away his face, and despiseth men.

9A covetous man’s eye is not satisfied with his portion; and the iniquity of the wicked drieth up his soul.

10A wicked eye envieth his bread, and he is a niggard at his table.

11My son, according to thy ability do good to thyself, and give the Lord his due offering.

12Remember that death will not be long in coming, and that the covenant of the grave is not shewed unto thee.

13Do good unto thy friend before thou die, and according to thy ability stretch out thy hand and give to him.

14Defraud not thyself of the good day, and let not the part of a good desire overpass thee.

15Shalt thou not leave thy travails unto another? and thy labours to be divided by lot?

16Give, and take, and sanctify thy soul; for there is no seeking of dainties in the grave.

17All flesh waxeth old as a garment: for the covenant from the beginning is, Thou shalt die the death.

18As of the green leaves on a thick tree, some fall, and some grow; so is the generation of flesh and blood, one cometh to an end, and another is born.

19Every work rotteth and consumeth away, and the worker thereof shall go withal.

20Blessed is the man that doth meditate good things in wisdom, and that reasoneth of holy things by his understanding. ing.

21He that considereth her ways in his heart shall also have understanding in her secrets.

22Go after her as one that traceth, and lie in wait in her ways.

23He that prieth in at her windows shall also hearken at her doors.

24He that doth lodge near her house shall also fasten a pin in her walls.

25He shall pitch his tent nigh unto her, and shall lodge in a lodging where good things are.

26He shall set his children under her shelter, and shall lodge under her branches.

27By her he shall be covered from heat, and in her glory shall he dwell.

15He that feareth the Lord will do good, and he that hath the knowledge of the law shall obtain her.

2And as a mother shall she meet him, and receive him as a wife married of a virgin.

3With the bread of understanding shall she feed him, and give him the water of wisdom to drink.

4He shall be stayed upon her, and shall not be moved; and shall rely upon her, and shall not be confounded.

5She shall exalt him above his neighbours, and in the midst of the congregation shall she open his mouth.

6He shall find joy and a crown of gladness, and she shall cause him to inherit an everlasting name.

7But foolish men shall not attain unto her, and sinners shall not see her.

8For she is far from pride, and men that are liars cannot remember her.

9Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner, for it was not sent him of the Lord.

10For praise shall be uttered in wisdom, and the Lord will prosper it.

11Say not thou, It is through the Lord that I fell away: for thou oughtest not to do the things that he hateth.

12Say not thou, He hath caused me to err: for he hath no need of the sinful man.

13The Lord hateth all abomination; and they that fear God love it not.

14He himself made man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of his counsel;

15If thou wilt, to keep the commandments, and to perform acceptable faithfulness.

16He hath set fire and water before thee: stretch forth thy hand unto whether thou wilt.

17Before man is life and death; and whether him liketh shall be given him.

18For the wisdom of the Lord is great, and he is mighty in power, and beholdeth all things:

19And his eyes are upon them that fear him, and he knoweth every work of man.

20He hath commanded no man to do wickedly, neither hath he given any man licence to sin.

16Desire not a multitude of unprofitable children, neither delight in ungodly sons.

2Though they multiply, rejoice not in them, except the fear of the Lord be with them.

3Trust not thou in their life, neither respect their multitude: for one that is just is better than a thousand; and better it is to die without children, than to have them that are ungodly.

4For by one that hath understanding shall the city be replenished: but the kindred of the wicked shall speedily become desolate.

5Many such things have I seen with mine eyes, and mine ear hath heard greater things than these.

6In the congregation of the ungodly shall a fire be kindled; and in a rebellious nation wrath is set on fire.

7He was not pacified toward the old giants, who fell away in the strength of their foolishness.

8Neither spared he the place where Lot sojourned, but abhorred them for their pride.

9He pitied not the people of perdition, who were taken away in their sins:

10Nor the six hundred thousand footmen, who were gathered together in the hardness of their hearts.

11And if there be one stiffnecked among the people, it is marvel if he escape unpunished: for mercy and wrath are with him; he is mighty to forgive, and to pour out displeasure.

12As his mercy is great, so is his correction also: he judgeth a man according to his works

13The sinner shall not escape with his spoils: and the patience of the godly shall not be frustrate.

14Make way for every work of mercy: for every man shall find according to his works.

15The Lord hardened Pharaoh, that he should not know him, that his powerful works might be known to the world.

16His mercy is manifest to every creature; and he hath separated his light from the darkness with an adamant.

17Say not thou, I will hide myself from the Lord: shall any remember me from above? I shall not be remembered among so many people: for what is my soul among such an infinite number of creatures?

18Behold, the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, the deep, and the earth, and all that therein is, shall be moved when he shall visit.

19The mountains also and foundations of the earth be shaken with trembling, when the Lord looketh upon them.

20No heart can think upon these things worthily: and who is able to conceive his ways?

21It is a tempest which no man can see: for the most part of his works are hid.

22Who can declare the works of his justice? or who can endure them? for his covenant is afar off, and the trial of all things is in the end.

23He that wanteth understanding will think upon vain things: and a foolish man erring imagineth follies.

24by son, hearken unto me, and learn knowledge, and mark my words with thy heart.

25I will shew forth doctrine in weight, and declare his knowledge exactly.

26The works of the Lord are done in judgment from the beginning: and from the time he made them he disposed the parts thereof.

27He garnished his works for ever, and in his hand are the chief of them unto all generations: they neither labour, nor are weary, nor cease from their works.

28None of them hindereth another, and they shall never disobey his word.

29After this the Lord looked upon the earth, and filled it with his blessings.

30With all manner of living things hath he covered the face thereof; and they shall return into it again.

17The Lord created man of the earth, and turned him into it again.

2He gave them few days, and a short time, and power also over the things therein.

3He endued them with strength by themselves, and made them according to his image,

4And put the fear of man upon all flesh, and gave him dominion over beasts and fowls.

5They received the use of the five operations of the Lord, and in the sixth place he imparted them understanding, and in the seventh speech, an interpreter of the cogitations thereof.

6Counsel, and a tongue, and eyes, ears, and a heart, gave he them to understand.

7Withal he filled them with the knowledge of understanding, and shewed them good and evil.

8He set his eye upon their hearts, that he might shew them the greatness of his works.

9He gave them to glory in his marvellous acts for ever, that they might declare his works with understanding.

10And the elect shall praise his holy name.

11Beside this he gave them knowledge, and the law of life for an heritage.

12He made an everlasting covenant with them, and shewed them his judgments.

13Their eyes saw the majesty of his glory, and their ears heard his glorious voice.

14And he said unto them, Beware of all unrighteousness; and he gave every man commandment concerning his neighbour.

15Their ways are ever before him, and shall not be hid from his eyes.

16Every man from his youth is given to evil; neither could they make to themselves fleshy hearts for stony.

17For in the division of the nations of the whole earth he set a ruler over every people; but Israel is the Lord’s portion:

18Whom, being his firstborn, he nourisheth with discipline, and giving him the light of his love doth not forsake him.

19Therefore all their works are as the sun before him, and his eyes are continually upon their ways.

20None of their unrighteous deeds are hid from him, but all their sins are before the Lord

21But the Lord being gracious and knowing his workmanship, neither left nor forsook them, but spared them.

22The alms of a man is as a signet with him, and he will keep the good deeds of man as the apple of the eye, and give repentance to his sons and daughters.

23Afterwards he will rise up and reward them, and render their recompence upon their heads.

24But unto them that repent, he granted them return, and comforted those that failed in patience.

25Return unto the Lord, and forsake thy sins, make thy prayer before his face, and offend less.

26Turn again to the most High, and turn away from iniquity: for he will lead thee out of darkness into the light of health, and hate thou abomination vehemently.

27Who shall praise the most High in the grave, instead of them which live and give thanks?

28Thanksgiving perisheth from the dead, as from one that is not: the living and sound in heart shall praise the Lord.

29How great is the lovingkindness of the Lord our God, and his compassion unto such as turn unto him in holiness!

30For all things cannot be in men, because the son of man is not immortal.

31What is brighter than the sun? yet the light thereof faileth; and flesh and blood will imagine evil.

32He vieweth the power of the height of heaven; and all men are but earth and ashes.



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