Sirach 9
Common English Bible
Women and friends
9 Don’t be jealous
of your dearly loved wife
or teach her a bad lesson
that hurts you too.
2 Don’t give yourself to a woman
so that she crushes your strength.
3 Don’t meet up with a female escort,
since you might fall into her traps.
4 Don’t hang around
with a female musician,
since you might get caught
in her advances.
5 Don’t stare at a young woman,
since you might incur punishment
for her.
6 Don’t give yourself to prostitutes,
since you might lose your inheritance.
7 Don’t look around in the city streets,
and don’t wander in its deserted areas.
8 Turn your eye away from a shapely woman,
and don’t stare at beauty
belonging to someone else.
Many have gone astray
because of a woman’s beauty,
and out of it affection
flames up like a fire.
9 Don’t ever sit[a] with a married woman,
and don’t share meals
or indulge in wine with her,
since your soul might be attracted to her
and you might slip into destruction
because of your passion.[b]
10 Don’t abandon old friends,
because newer ones are not their equals.
New friends are like new wine;
when wine ages,
you will drink it with good cheer.
11 Don’t envy the good reputation
of sinners,
since you don’t know
how sudden their end will be.
12 Don’t delight in the success
of the ungodly.
Remember that they won’t
be considered righteous,
even in the grave.[c]
13 Keep far away from people
who have the authority to kill,
and you won’t be worried
by the fear of death.
If you do approach them,
don’t make a mistake,
or they might take away your life.
Be aware that you are stepping
among traps
and that you are walking
on the parapet of the city’s walls.
14 As much as you can,
investigate your neighbor
and consult with wise people.
15 Converse with intelligent people,
and talk constantly about the Law
of the Most High.
16 Let righteous people
be your dinner companions,
and let your pride
be in the fear of the Lord.
On rulers
17 A handicraft is praised
because of the craftsperson’s skill,
and the one who leads a people
is wise in speech.
18 Talkative people are feared in their city,
and people who are reckless in speech
will be hated.
Footnotes
- Sirach 9:9 Or Don’t sit down at a meal.
- Sirach 9:9 Heb in your passion; LXX in your blood
- Sirach 9:12 LXX Hades
Sirach 9
Good News Translation
Advice about Women
9 (A)Don't be jealous of the wife you love. You will only be teaching her how to do you harm. 2 Do not surrender your dignity to any woman. 3 Keep away from other men's wives[a] or they will trap you. 4 Don't keep company with female musicians; they will trick you. 5 Don't look too intently at a virgin, or you may find yourself forced to pay a bride price. 6 Don't give yourself to prostitutes, or you may lose everything you own. 7 So don't go looking about in the streets or wandering around in the run-down parts of town. 8 When you see a good-looking woman, look the other way; don't let your mind dwell on the beauty of any woman who is not your wife. Many men have been led astray by a woman's beauty. It kindles passion as if it were fire. 9 Don't sit down to eat with another man's wife or join her for a drink. You may give in to the temptation of her charms and be destroyed by your passion.
Friendships with Others
10 Never abandon old friends; you will never find a new one who can take their place. Friendship is like wine; it gets better as it grows older. 11 Don't be jealous of a sinner's success; you don't know what kind of disaster is in store for him. 12 Don't take pleasure in the things that make ungodly people happy; remember that they will be held guilty as long as they live. 13 If you keep away from someone who has the power to put you to death, you will not have to fear for your life; but if you must go near him, be very careful, or he may kill you. Be conscious that you are walking among hidden traps, that you are an easy target.
14 Get to know the people around you as well as you can, and take advice only from those who are qualified to give it. 15 Engage in conversation with intelligent people, and let the Law of the Most High be the topic of your discussions. 16 Choose righteous people for your dinner companions. Your chief pride should be your fear of the Lord.
Rulers
17 A skilled worker is admired for the things he makes, and a leader's wisdom is proved by his words. 18 Someone who speaks rashly and recklessly is feared and hated by everyone in town.
Footnotes
- Sirach 9:3 Hebrew other men's wives; Greek immoral women.
Sirach 9
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
9 Be not jealous over the wife of thy bosom, lest she shew in thy regard the malice of a wicked lesson.
2 Give not the power of thy soul to a woman, lest she enter upon thy strength, and thou be confounded.
3 Look not upon a woman that hath a mind for many: lest thou fall into her snares.
4 Use not much the company of her that is a dancer, and hearken not to her, lest thou perish by the force of her charms.
5 Gaze not upon a maiden, lest her beauty be a stumblingblock to thee.
6 Give not thy soul to harlots in any point: lest thou destroy thyself and thy inheritance.
7 Look not round about thee in the ways of the city, nor wander up and down in the streets thereof.
8 Turn away thy face from a woman dressed up, and gaze not about upon another's beauty.
9 For many have perished by the beauty of a woman, and hereby lust is enkindled as a fire.
10 Every woman that is a harlot, shall be trodden upon as dung in the way.
11 Many by admiring the beauty of another man's wife, have become reprobate, for her conversation burneth as fire.
12 Sit not at all with another man's wife, nor repose upon the bed with her:
13 And strive not with her over wine, lest thy heart decline towards her, and by thy blood thou fall into destruction.
14 Forsake not an old friend, for the new will not be like to him.
15 A new friend is as new wine: it shall grow old, and thou shalt drink it with pleasure.
16 Envy not the glory and riches of a sinner: for thou knowest not what his ruin shall be.
17 Be not pleased with the wrong done by the unjust, knowing that even to hell the wicked shall not please.
18 Keep thee far from the man that hath power to kill, so thou shalt not suspect the fear of death.
19 And if thou come to him, commit no fault, lest he take away thy life.
20 Know it to be a communication with death: for thou art going in the midst of snares, and walking upon the arms of them that are grieved:
21 According to thy power beware of thy neighbour, and treat with the wise and prudent.
22 Let just men be thy guests, and let thy glory be in the fear of God.
23 And let the thought of God be in thy mind, and all thy discourse on the commandments of the Highest.
24 Works shall be praised for the hand of the artificers, and the prince of the people for the wisdom of his speech, but the word of the ancients for the sense.
25 A man full of tongue is terrible in his city, and he that is rash in his word shall be hateful.
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