Sirach 7

¹Do not choose to do evil, and evil will not take hold of you.

²Withdraw from the iniquitous, and evil will withdraw from you.

³Son, do not sow evil in the furrows of injustice, and you will not reap them sevenfold.

⁴Do not seek a role of leadership from the Lord, and do not seek a seat of honor from the king.

⁵You should not justify yourself before God, for he is the Knower of hearts. And by no means should you wish to seem wise before the king.

⁶Do not seek to become a judge, unless you have sufficient strength to shatter iniquities. Otherwise, you might fear the face of the powerful, and so establish a scandal within your integrity.

⁷You should not sin against the multitude of a city, nor should you cast yourself against the people.

⁸And you should not bind two sins together. For even in one sin, you will not go unpunished.

⁹Do not be cowardly in your soul.

¹⁰You should not be unwilling to beg, nor to give alms.

¹¹You should not say: “God will look with favor on the multitude of my gifts, and when I make an offering to the most high God, he will accept my gift.”

¹²You should not ridicule a man in bitterness of soul. For there is One who humbles and who exalts: the all-seeing God.

¹³Do not love a lie against your brother, nor should you act the same toward your friend.

¹⁴Do not be willing to devise a lie of any kind. For the practice of lying is not good.

¹⁵Do not choose to be verbose among a multitude of elders, and you should not repeat the words of your prayers.

¹⁶You should not hate laborious works, nor the rustic life created by the Most High.

¹⁷You should not consider yourself to be among the multitude of the undisciplined.

¹⁸Remember wrath. For it will not be delayed.

¹⁹Humble your spirit greatly. For the retribution against the flesh of the impious is with fire and worms.

²⁰Do not betray your friend for the sake of money, and you should not spurn your dearest brother for the sake of gold.

²¹Do not choose to depart from a good and understanding wife, whom you have been allotted in the fear of the Lord. For the grace of her modesty is above gold.

²²You should not harm the servant whose works are honest, nor the hired hand who entrusts his life to you.

²³Let an understanding servant be loved by you like your own soul. You should not cheat him out of freedom, nor abandon him to destitution.

²⁴Are cattle yours? Tend to them. And if they are useful, let them remain with you.

²⁵Are sons yours? Instruct them, and bow them down from their childhood.

²⁶Are daughters yours? Watch over their bodies. And you should not display a light-hearted attitude toward them.

²⁷Give your daughter in marriage, and give her to an understanding man, and you will be doing a great work.

²⁸If a wife in accord with your soul is yours, you should not reject her. But do not entrust yourself to her who is hateful.

²⁹With your whole heart, honor your father. And you should not forget the complaints of your mother.

³⁰Remember that you would not have been born except through them. And so, give back to them as they also have done for you.

³¹With all your soul, fear the Lord, and consider his priests to be holy.

³²With all your strength, love him who made you, and you should not abandon his ministers.

³³Honor God from your whole soul, and confer honor on the priests, and continue to purify yourself with your strength.

³⁴Give them their portion, just as it has been commanded of you, from the first-fruits and from the purifications. And for your ignorant offenses, purify yourself with a smaller offering.

³⁵You should offer to the Lord the gift of your strength, and the sacrifice of sanctification, and the first-fruits of what is holy.

³⁶And reach out your hand to the poor, so that your atonement and your blessing may be perfected.

³⁷A gift has grace in the sight of all the living, but you should not prohibit grace for the dead.

³⁸You should not fail to console those who are weeping, nor to walk with those who are mourning.

³⁹Do not let yourself be slow to visit the sick. For in this way, you will be confirmed in love.

⁴⁰In all your works, remember your very end, and so you will not sin, unto eternity.

Sirach 7

¹Do no evil, so shall no harm come unto thee.

²Depart from the unjust, and iniquity shall turn away from thee.

³My son, sow not upon the furrows of unrighteousness, and thou shalt not reap them sevenfold.

⁴Seek not of the Lord preeminence, neither of the king the seat of honour.

⁵justify not thyself before the Lord; and boast not of thy wisdom before the king.

⁶Seek not to be judge, being not able to take away iniquity; lest at any time thou fear the person of the mighty, an stumblingblock in the way of thy uprightness.

⁷Offend not against the multitude of a city, and then thou shalt not cast thyself down among the people.

⁸Bind not one sin upon another; for in one thou shalt not be unpunished.

⁹Say not, God will look upon the multitude of my oblations, and when I offer to the most high God, he will accept it.

¹⁰Be not fainthearted when thou makest thy prayer, and neglect not to give alms.

¹¹Laugh no man to scorn in the bitterness of his soul: for there is one which humbleth and exalteth.

¹²Devise not a lie against thy brother; neither do the like to thy friend.

¹³Use not to make any manner of lie: for the custom thereof is not good.

¹⁴Use not many words in a multitude of elders, and make not much babbling when thou prayest.

¹⁵Hate not laborious work, neither husbandry, which the most High hath ordained.

¹⁶Number not thyself among the multitude of sinners, but remember that wrath will not tarry long.

¹⁷Humble thyself greatly: for the vengeance of the ungodly is fire and worms.

¹⁸Change not a friend for any good by no means; neither a faithful brother for the gold of Ophir.

¹⁹Forego not a wise and good woman: for her grace is above gold.

²⁰Whereas thy servant worketh truly, entreat him not evil. nor the hireling that bestoweth himself wholly for thee.

²¹Let thy soul love a good servant, and defraud him not of liberty.

²²Hast thou cattle? have an eye to them: and if they be for thy profit, keep them with thee.

²³Hast thou children? instruct them, and bow down their neck from their youth.

²⁴Hast thou daughters? have a care of their body, and shew not thyself cheerful toward them.

²⁵Marry thy daughter, and so shalt thou have performed a weighty matter: but give her to a man of understanding.

²⁶Hast thou a wife after thy mind? forsake her not: but give not thyself over to a light woman.

²⁷Honour thy father with thy whole heart, and forget not the sorrows of thy mother.

²⁸Remember that thou wast begotten of them; and how canst thou recompense them the things that they have done for thee?

²⁹Fear the Lord with all thy soul, and reverence his priests.

³⁰Love him that made thee with all thy strength, and forsake not his ministers.

³¹Fear the Lord, and honor the priest; and give him his portion, as it is commanded thee; the firstfruits, and the trespass offering, and the gift of the shoulders, and the sacrifice of sanctification, and the firstfruits of the holy things.

³²And stretch thine hand unto the poor, that thy blessing may be perfected.

³³A gift hath grace in the sight of every man living; and for the dead detain it not.

³⁴Fail not to be with them that weep, and mourn with them that mourn.

³⁵Be not slow to visit the sick: for that shall make thee to be beloved.

³⁶Whatsoever thou takest in hand, remember the end, and thou shalt never do amiss.