( ECCLESIASTICUS, OR THE WISDOM OF JESUS SON OF SIRACH )
Chapter 16
God’s Punishment of Sinners
1: Do not desire a multitude of worthless children, and do not rejoice in ungodly offspring.
2: If they multiply, do not rejoice in them, unless the fear of the Lord is in them.
3: Do not trust in their survival, or rely on their numbers; for one can be better than a thousand, and to die childless is better than to have ungodly children.
4: For through one intelligent person a city can be filled with people, but through a clan of outlaws it becomes desolate.
5: Many such things my eye has seen, and my ear has heard things more striking than these.
6: In an assembly of sinners a fire is kindled, and in a disobedient nation wrath blazes up.
7: He did not forgive the ancient giants who revolted in their might.
8: He did not spare the neighbours of Lot, whom he loathed on account of their arrogance.
9: He showed no pity on the doomed nation, on those dispossessed because of their sins;
10: or on the six hundred thousand foot-soldiers who assembled in their stubbornness.
11: Even if there were only one stiff-necked person, it would be a wonder if he remained unpunished. For mercy and wrath are with the Lord; he is mighty to forgive - but he also pours out wrath.
12: Great as is his mercy, so also is his chastisement; he judges a person according to his or her deeds.
13: The sinner will not escape with plunder, and the patience of the godly will not be frustrated.
14: He makes room for every act of mercy; everyone receives in accordance with his or her deeds.
15, 16, 17: Do not say, ‘I am hidden from the Lord, and who from on high has me in mind? Among so many people I am unknown, for what am I in a boundless creation?
18: Lo, heaven and the highest heaven, the abyss and the earth, tremble at his visitation!
19: The very mountains and the foundations of the earth quiver and quake when he looks upon them.
20: But no human mind can grasp this, and who can comprehend his ways?
21: Like a tempest that no one can see, so most of his works are concealed.
22: Who is to announce his acts of justice? Or who can await them? For his decree is far off.’
23: Such are the thoughts of one devoid of understanding; a senseless and misguided person thinks foolishly.
God’s Wisdom Seen in Creation
24: Listen to me, my child, and acquire knowledge, and pay close attention to my words.
25: I will impart discipline precisely and declare knowledge accurately.
26: When the Lord created his works from the beginning, and, in making them, determined their boundaries,
27: he arranged his works in an eternal order, and their dominion for all generations. They neither hunger nor grow weary, and they do not abandon their tasks.
28: They do not crowd one another, and they never disobey his word.
29: Then the Lord looked upon the earth, and filled it with his good things.
30: With all kinds of living beings he covered its surface, and into it they must return.
Chapter 17
1: The Lord created human beings out of earth, and makes them return to it again.
2: He gave them a fixed number of days, but granted them authority over everything on the earth.
3: He endowed them with strength like his own, and made them in his own image.
4: He put the fear of them in all living beings, and gave them dominion over beasts and birds.
6: Discretion and tongue and eyes, ears and a mind for thinking he gave them.
7: He filled them with knowledge and understanding, and showed them good and evil.
8: He put the fear of him into their hearts to show them the majesty of his works.
9: to proclaim the grandeur of his works,
10: And they will praise his holy name.
11: He bestowed knowledge upon them, and allotted to them the law of life.
12: He established with them an eternal covenant, and revealed to them his decrees.
13: Their eyes saw his glorious majesty, and their ears heard the glory of his voice.
14: He said to them, ‘Beware of all evil.’ And he gave commandment to each of them concerning a neighbour.
15: Their ways are always known to him; they will not be hid from his eyes.
16, 17: He appointed a ruler for every nation, but Israel is the Lord’s own portion.
18, 19: All their works are as clear as the sun before him, and his eyes are ever upon their ways.
20: Their iniquities are not hidden from him, and all their sins are before the Lord.
21, 22: One’s almsgiving is like a signet ring with the Lord, and he will keep a person’s kindness like the apple of his eye.
23: Afterwards he will rise up and repay them, and he will bring their recompense on their heads.
24: Yet to those who repent he grants a return, and he encourages those who are losing hope.
A Call to Repentance
25: Turn back to the Lord and forsake your sins; pray in his presence and lessen your offence.
26: Return to the Most High and turn away from iniquity, and hate intensely what he abhors.
27: Who will sing praises to the Most High in Hades in place of the living who give thanks?
28: From the dead, as from one who does not exist, thanksgiving has ceased; those who are alive and well sing the Lord’s praises.
29: How great is the mercy of the Lord, and his forgiveness for those who return to him!
30: For not everything is within human capability, since human beings are not immortal.
31: What is brighter than the sun? Yet it can be eclipsed. So flesh and blood devise evil.
32: He marshals the host of the height of heaven; but all human beings are dust and ashes.
Chapter 18
The Majesty of God
1: He who lives forever created the whole universe;
2: the Lord alone is just.
3, 4: To none has he given power to proclaim his works; and who can search out his mighty deeds?
5: Who can measure his majestic power? And who can fully recount his mercies?
6: It is not possible to diminish or increase them, nor is it possible to fathom the wonders of the Lord.
7: When human beings have finished, they are just beginning, and when they stop, they are still perplexed.
8: What are human beings, and of what use are they? What is good in them, and what is evil?
9: The number of days in their life is great if they reach one hundred years.
10: Like a drop of water from the sea and a grain of sand, so are a few years among the days of eternity.
11: That is why the Lord is patient with them and pours out his mercy upon them.
12: He sees and recognizes that their end is miserable; therefore he grants them forgiveness all the more.
13: The compassion of human beings is for their neighbours, but the compassion of the Lord is for every living thing. He rebukes and trains and teaches them, and turns them back, as a shepherd his flock.
14: He has compassion on those who accept his discipline and who are eager for his precepts.
The Right Spirit in Giving Alms
15: My child, do not mix reproach with your good deeds, or spoil your gift by harsh words.
16: Does not the dew give relief from the scorching heat? So a word is better than a gift.
17: Indeed, does not a word surpass a good gift? Both are to be found in a gracious person.
18: A fool is ungracious and abusive, and the gift of a grudging giver makes the eyes dim.
The Need for Reflection and Self-Control
19: Before you speak, learn; and before you fall ill, take care of your health.
20: Before judgement comes, examine yourself; and at the time of scrutiny you will find forgiveness.
21: Before falling ill, humble yourself; and when you have sinned, repent.
22: Let nothing hinder you from paying a vow promptly, and do not wait until death to be released from it.
23: Before making a vow, prepare yourself; do not be like one who puts the Lord to the test.
24: Think of his wrath on the day of death, and of the moment of vengeance when he turns away his face.
25: In the time of plenty think of the time of hunger; in days of wealth think of poverty and need.
26: From morning to evening conditions change; all things move swiftly before the Lord.
27: One who is wise is cautious in everything; when sin is all around, one guards against wrongdoing.
28: Every intelligent person knows wisdom, and praises one who finds her.
29: Those who are skilled in words become wise themselves, and pour forth apt proverbs.
Self-Control
30: Do not follow your base desires, but restrain your appetites.
31: If you allow your soul to take pleasure in base desire, it will make you the laughing-stock of your enemies.
32: Do not revel in great luxury, or you may become impoverished by its expense.
33: Do not become a beggar by feasting with borrowed money when you have nothing in your purse.
Chapter 19
1: One who does this will not become rich; one who despises small things will fail little by little.
2: Wine and women lead inte?lligent men astray, and the man who consorts with prostitutes is reckless.
3: Decay and worms will take possession of him, and the reckless person will be snatched away.
Against Loose Talk
4: One who trusts others too quickly has a shallow mind, and one who sins does wrong to himself.
5: One who rejoices in wickedness will be condemned,
6: but one who hates gossip has less evil.
7: Never repeat a conversation and you will lose nothing at all.
8: With friend or foe do not report it, and unless it would be a sin for you, do not reveal it;
9: for someone may have heard you and watched you, and in time will hate you.
10: Have you heard something? Let it die with you. Be brave, it will not make you burst!
11: Having heard something, the fool suffers birth-pangs like a woman in labour with a child.
12: Like an arrow stuck in a person’s thigh, so is gossip inside a fool.
13: Question a friend; perhaps he did not do it; or if he did, so that he may not do it again.
14: Question a neighbour; perhaps he did not say it; or if he said it, so that he may not repeat it.
15: Question a friend, for often it is slander; so do not believe everything you hear.
16: A person may make a slip without intending it. Who has not sinned with his tongue?
17: Question your neighbour before you threaten him; and let the law of the Most High take its course.
True and False Wisdom
20: The whole of wisdom is fear of the Lord, and in all wisdom there is the fulfillment of the law.
22: The knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom, nor is there prudence in the counsel of sinners.
23: There is a cleverness that is detestable, and there is a fool who merely lacks wisdom.
24: Better are the God-fearing who lack understanding than the highly intelligent who transgress the law.
25: There is a cleverness that is exact but unjust, and there are people who abuse favours to gain a verdict.
26: There is the villain bowed down in mourning, but inwardly he is full of deceit.
27: He hides his face and pretends not to hear, but when no one notices, he will take advantage of you.
28: Even if lack of strength keeps him from sinning, he will nevertheless do evil when he finds the opportunity.
29: A person is known by his appearance, and a sensible person is known when first met face to face.
30: A person’s attire and hearty laughter, and the way he walks, show what he is.
Chapter 20
Silence and Speech
1: There is a rebuke that is untimely, and there is the person who is wise enough to keep silent.
2: How much better it is to rebuke than to fume!
3: And one who admits his fault will be kept from failure.
4: Like a eunuch lusting to violate a girl is the person who does right under compulsion.
5: Some people keep silent and are thought to be wise, while others are detested for being talkative.
6: Some people keep silent because they have nothing to say, while others keep silent because they know when to speak.
7: The wise remain silent until the right moment, but a boasting fool misses the right moment.
8: Whoever talks too much is detested, and whoever pretends to authority is hated.
Paradoxes
9: There may be good fortune for a person in adversity, but a windfall may result in a loss.
10: There is the gift that profits you nothing, and the gift to be paid back double.
11: There are losses for the sake of glory, and there are some who have raised their heads from humble circumstances.
12: Some buy much for little, but pay for it seven times over.
13: The wise make themselves beloved by only few words, but the courtesies of fools are wasted.
14: A fool’s gift will profit you nothing, for he looks for recompense sevenfold.
15: He gives little and upbraids much; he opens his mouth like a town crier. Today he lends and tomorrow he asks for it back; such a one is hateful to God and humans.
16: The fool says, ‘I have no friends, and I get no thanks for my good deeds. Those who eat my bread are evil-tongued.’
17: How many will ridicule him, and how often!
Inappropriate Speech
18: A slip on the pavement is better than a slip of the tongue; the downfall of the wicked will occur just as speedily.
19: A coarse person is like an inappropriate story continually on the lips of the ignorant.
20: A proverb from a fool’s lips will be rejected, for he does not tell it at the proper time.
21: One may be prevented from sinning by poverty; so when he rests he feels no remorse.
22: One may lose his life through shame, or lose it because of human respect.
23: Another out of shame makes promises to a friend, and so makes an enemy for nothing.
Lying
24: A lie is an ugly blot on a person; it is continually on the lips of the ignorant.
25: A thief is preferable to a habitual liar, but the lot of both is ruin.
26: A liar’s way leads to disgrace, and his shame is ever with him.
Proverbial Sayings
27: The wise person advances himself by his words, and one who is sensible pleases the great.
28: Those who cultivate the soil heap up their harvest, and those who please the great atone for injustice.
29: Favours and gifts blind the eyes of the wise; like a muzzle on the mouth they stop reproofs.
30: Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure, of what value is either?
31: Better are those who hide their folly than those who hide their wisdom.
No comments:
Post a Comment