Sirach 42

1 μὴ περὶ τούτων αἰσχυνθῇς, καὶ μὴ λάβῃς πρόσωπον τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν·

2 περὶ νόμου ὑψίστου καὶ διαθήκης, καὶ περὶ κρίματος δικαιῶσαι τὸν ἀσεβῆ·

3 περὶ λόγου κοινωνοῦ καὶ ὁδοιπόρων, καὶ περὶ δόσεως κληρονομίας ἑταίρων·

4 περὶ ἀκριβείας ζυγοῦ καὶ σταθμιῶν, περὶ κτήσεως πολλῶν καὶ ὀλίγων·

5 περὶ ἀδιαφόρου πράσεως, καὶ ἐμπόρων, καὶ περὶ παιδείας τέκνων πολλῆς, καὶ οἰκέτῃ πονηρῷ πλευρὰν αἱμάξαι.

6 Ἐπὶ γυναικὶ πονηρᾷ καλὸν σφραγίς· καὶ ὅπου χεῖρες πολλαὶ, κλεῖσον.

7 Ὃ ἐὰν παραδίδως, ἐν ἀριθμῷ καὶ σταθμῷ, καὶ δόσις καὶ λῆψις παντὶ ἐν γραφῇ.

8 Περὶ παιδείας ἀνοήτου καὶ μωροῦ καὶ ἐσχατογήρου κρινομένου πρὸς νέους, καὶ ἔσῃ πεπαιδευμένος ἀληθινῶς, καὶ δεδοκιμασμένος ἔναντι παντὸς ζῶντος.

9 Θυγάτηρ πατρὶ ἀπόκρυφος ἀγρυπνία, καὶ ἡ μέριμνα αὐτῆς ἀφιστᾷ ὕπνον· ἐν νεότητι αὐτῆς μήποτε παρακμάσῃ, καὶ συνῳκηκυῖα μήποτε μισηθῇ.

10 Ἐν παρθενίᾳ μήποτε βεβηλωθῇ, καὶ ἐν τοῖς πατρικοῖς αὐτῆς ἔγκυος γένηται· μετὰ ἀνδρὸς οὖσα μήποτε παραβῇ, καὶ συνῳκηκυῖα μήποτε στειρώσῃ.

11 Ἐπὶ θυγατρὶ ἀδιατρέπτῳ στερέωσον φυλακὴν, μήποτε ποιήσῃ σε ἐπίχαρμα ἐχθροῖς, λαλιὰν ἐν πόλει, καὶ ἔκκλητον λαοῦ, καὶ καταισχύνῇ σε ἐν πλήθει πολλῶν.

12 Παντὶ ἀνθρώπῳ μὴ ἔμβλεπε ἐν κάλλει, καὶ ἐν μέσῳ γυναικῶν μὴ συνέδρευε·

13 ἀπὸ γὰρ ἱματίων ἐκπορεύεται σὴς, καὶ ἀπὸ γυναικὸς πονηρία γυναικός.

14 Κρείσσων πονηρία ἀνδρὸς ἢ ἀγαθοποιὸς γυνὴ, καὶ γυνὴ καταισχύνουσα εἰς ὀνειδισμόν.

15 Μνησθήσομαι δὴ τὰ ἔργα Κυρίου, καὶ ἃ ἑώρακα ἐκδιηγήσομαι· ἐν λόγοις Κυρίου τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ.

16 Ἥλιος φωτίζων κατὰ πᾶν ἐπέβλεψε, καὶ τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ πλῆρες τὸ ἔργον αὐτοῦ.

17 Οὐκ ἐνεποίησε τοῖς ἁγίοις Κύριος ἐκδιηγήσασθαι πάντα τὰ θαυμάσια αὐτοῦ, ἃ ἐστερέωσε Κύριος ὁ παντοκράτωρ, στηριχθῆναι ἐν δόξῃ αὐτοῦ τὸ πᾶν.

18 Ἄβυσσον καὶ καρδίαν ἐξίχνευσε, καὶ ἐν πανουργεύμασιν αὐτῶν διενοήθη· ἔγνω γὰρ ὁ Κύριος πᾶσαν εἴδησιν, καὶ ἐνέβλεψεν εἰς σημεῖον αἰῶνος·

19 ἀπαγγέλλων τὰ παρεληλυθότα καὶ ἐπεσόμενα, καὶ ἀποκαλύπτων ἴχνη ἀποκρύφων.

20 Οὐ παρῆλθεν αὐτὸν πᾶν διανόημα, οὐκ ἐκρύβη ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ οὐδὲ εἷς λόγος.

21 Τὰ μεγαλεῖα τῆς σοφίας αὐτοῦ ἐκόσμησε, καὶ ἕως ἐστὶ πρὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, οὔτε προσετέθη οὔτε ἠλαττώθη, καὶ οὐδὲ προσεδεήθη οὐδενὸς συμβούλου.

22 Ὡς πάντα τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ ἐπιθυμητὰ, καὶ ὡς σπινθῆρός ἐστι θεωρῆσαι.

23 Πάντα ταῦτα ζῇ καὶ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἐν πάσαις χρείαις, καὶ πάντα ὑπακούει.

24 Πάντα δισσὰ ἓν κατέναντι τοῦ ἑνὸς, καὶ οὐκ ἐποίησεν οὐδὲν ἐκλεῖπον.

25 Ἓν τοῦ ἑνὸς ἐστερέωσε τὰ ἀγαθὰ, καὶ τίς πλησθήσεται ὁρῶν δόξαν αὐτοῦ;

1 Of these things be not thou ashamed, and accept no person to sin thereby:

2 of the law of the most High, and his covenant; and of judgment to justify the ungodly;

3 of reckoning with thy partners and travellers; or of the gift of the heritage of friends;

4 of exactness of balance and weights; or of getting much or little;

5 and of merchants' indifferent selling; of much correction of children; and to make the side of an evil servant to bleed.

6 Sure keeping is good, where an evil wife is; and locked up, where many hands are.

7 Deliver all things in number and weight; and put all in writing that thou givest out, or receivest in.

8 Be not ashamed to inform the unwise and foolish, and the extreme aged that contendeth with those that are young: thus shalt thou be truly learned, and approved of all men living.

9 A daughter is a wakeful care to a father; and the care for her taketh away sleep: when she is young, lest she pass away the flower of her age; and being married, lest she should be hated:

10 in her virginity, lest she should be defiled and gotten with child in her father's house; and having an husband, lest she should misbehave herself; and when she is married, lest she should be barren.

11 Keep a sure watch over a shameless daughter, lest she make thee a laughingstock to thine enemies, and a byword in the city, and a reproach among the people, and make thee ashamed before the multitude.

12 Behold not everybody's beauty, and sit not in the midst of women.

13 For from garments cometh a moth, and from women wickedness.

14 Better is the churlishness of a man than a courteous woman, a woman, I say , which bringeth shame and reproach.

15 I will now remember the works of the Lord, and declare the things that I have seen: In the words of the Lord are his works.

16 The sun that giveth light looketh upon all things, and the work thereof is full of the glory of the Lord.

17 The Lord hath not given power to the saints to declare all his marvellous works, which the Almighty Lord firmly settled, that whatsoever is might be established for his glory.

18 He seeketh out the deep, and the heart, and considereth their crafty devices: for the Lord knoweth all that can be known, and he beholdeth the signs of the world,

19 declaring the things that are past, and for to come, and revealing the steps of hidden things.

20 No thought escapeth him, neither any word is hidden from him.

21 He hath garnished the excellent works of his wisdom, and he is from everlasting to everlasting: unto him may nothing be added, neither can he be diminished, and he hath no need of any counsellor.

22 Oh how desirable are all his works! and that a man may see even to a spark.

23 All these things live and remain for ever for all uses, and they are all obedient.

24 All things are double one against another: and he hath made nothing imperfect.

25 One thing establisheth the good of another: and who shall be filled with beholding his glory?