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Ben Sira 23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Ben Sira 23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 23
1 Lord, Father and Master of my life,[a]
do not abandon me to their designs,
do not let me fall because of them!
2 Who will apply the lash to my thoughts,
and to my mind the rod of discipline,
That my failings may not be spared
or the sins of my heart overlooked?
3 Otherwise my failings may increase,
and my sins be multiplied;
And I fall before my adversaries,
and my enemy rejoice over me?
4 Lord, Father and God of my life,
do not give me haughty eyes;
5 remove evil desire from my heart.
6 Let neither gluttony nor lust overcome me;
do not give me up to shameless desires.(A)
Proper Use of the Tongue[b]
7 Listen, my children, to instruction concerning the mouth,
for whoever keeps it will not be ensnared.
8 Through the lips the sinner is caught;
by them the reviler and the arrogant are tripped up.
9 Do not accustom your mouth to oaths,
or habitually utter the Holy Name.(B)
10 Just as a servant constantly under scrutiny
will not be without bruises,
So one who swears continually by the Holy Name
will never remain free from sin.
11 Those who swear many oaths heap up offenses;
and the scourge will never be far from their houses.
If they swear in error, guilt is incurred;
if they neglect their obligation, the sin is doubly great.(C)
If they swear without reason they cannot be declared innocent,
for their households will be filled with calamities.
12 There are words comparable to death;
may they never be heard in the inheritance of Jacob.
To the devout all such words are foreign;
they do not wallow in sin.
13 Do not accustom your mouth to coarse talk,
for it involves sinful speech.
14 Keep your father and mother in mind
when you sit among the mighty,(D)
Lest you forget yourself in their presence
and disgrace your upbringing.
Then you will wish you had never been born
and will curse the day of your birth.
15 Those accustomed to using abusive language
will never acquire discipline as long as they live.
Sins of the Flesh[c]
16 Two types of people multiply sins,
and a third[d] draws down wrath:
Burning passion is like a blazing fire,
not to be quenched till it burns itself out;
One unchaste with his kindred
never stops until fire breaks forth.
17 To the unchaste all bread is sweet;
he is never through till he dies.(E)
18 The man who dishonors his marriage bed
says to himself, “Who can see me?
Darkness surrounds me, walls hide me,
no one sees me. Who can stop me from sinning?”(F)
He is not mindful of the Most High,
19 fearing only human eyes.
He does not realize that the eyes of the Lord,
ten thousand times brighter than the sun,
Observe every step taken
and peer into hidden corners.
20 The one who knows all things before they exist
still knows them all after they are made.
21 Such a man will be denounced in the streets of the city;(G)
and where he least suspects it, he will be apprehended.
22 So it is with the woman unfaithful to her husband,
who offers him an heir by another man.
23 First of all, she has disobeyed the law of the Most High;
second, she has wronged her husband;
Third, through her wanton adultery
she has brought forth children by another man.
24 Such a woman will be dragged before the assembly,[e]
and her punishment will extend to her children.
25 Her children will not take root;
her branches will not bring forth fruit.
26 She will leave behind an accursed memory;
her disgrace will never be blotted out.
27 Thus all who dwell on the earth shall know,
all who remain in the world shall understand,
That nothing is better than the fear of the Lord,
nothing sweeter than obeying the commandments of the Lord.(H)[f]
Footnotes
- 23:1–6 Lord, Father and Master of my life: these words express the tender personal relationship Ben Sira experiences with God, and introduce his prayer for divine assistance and providence in avoiding sins of pride and lust.
- 23:7–15 A warning against sins of the tongue through misuse of the sacred Name, against thoughtless swearing (vv. 7–11), blasphemy (v. 12), coarse talk (vv. 13–14), and abusive language (v. 15).
- 23:16–27 Ben Sira treats sexual sins and their consequences. Lust destroys its victims (vv. 16–17, 22–26). A false sense of security aggravates the adulterer’s inevitable fate (vv. 18–21).
- 23:16 Two types…a third: a numerical proverb, as in 25:1–2, 7–11; 26:5–6, 28; 50:25–26; Prv 6:16–19; 30:15b–16, 18–19, 21–23, 29–31. Ben Sira condemns three kinds of sexual sin: incest (v. 16), fornication (v. 17), and adultery (vv. 18–26).
- 23:24–25 The judgment of the assembly determined the illegitimacy of children born of adultery or incest and excluded them from the “community of the Lord” (Dt 23:3). Cf. Wis 3:16–19; 4:3–6.
- 23:27
Other ancient texts read as v. 28:
It is a great glory to follow after God,
and for you to be received by him is length of days.
Sirach 23
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Sirach 23
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
23 O Lord, Father and Ruler of my life,
do not abandon me to their counsel,
and let me not fall because of them!
2 O that whips were set over my thoughts,
and the discipline of wisdom over my mind![a]
That they may not spare me in my errors,
and that it may not pass by my[b] sins;
3 in order that my mistakes may not be multiplied,
and my sins may not abound;
then I will not fall before my adversaries,
and my enemy will not rejoice over me.
4 O Lord, Father and God of my life,
do not give me haughty eyes,
5 and remove from me evil desire.
6 Let neither gluttony nor lust overcome me,
and do not surrender me to a shameless soul.
7 Listen, my children, to instruction concerning speech;
the one who observes it will never be caught.
8 The sinner is overtaken through his lips,
the reviler and the arrogant are tripped by them.
9 Do not accustom your mouth to oaths,
and do not habitually utter the name of the Holy One;
10 for as a servant who is continually examined under torture
will not lack bruises,
so also the man who always swears and utters the Name
will not be cleansed from sin.
11 A man who swears many oaths will be filled with iniquity,
and the scourge will not leave his house;
if he offends, his sin remains on him,
and if he disregards it, he sins doubly;
if he has sworn needlessly, he will not be justified,
for his house will be filled with calamities.
Foul Language
12 There is an utterance which is comparable to death;[c]
may it never be found in the inheritance of Jacob!
For all these errors will be far from the godly,
and they will not wallow in sins.
13 Do not accustom your mouth to lewd vulgarity,
for it involves sinful speech.
14 Remember your father and mother
when[d] you sit among great men;
lest you be forgetful in their presence,
and be deemed a fool on account of your habits;
then you will wish that you had never been born,
and you will curse the day of your birth.
15 A man accustomed to use insulting words
will never become disciplined all his days.
Concerning Sexual Sins
16 Two sorts of men multiply sins,
and a third incurs wrath.
The soul heated like a burning fire
will not be quenched until it is consumed;
a man who commits fornication with his near of kin[e]
will never cease until the fire burns him up.
17 To a fornicator all bread tastes sweet;
he will never cease until he dies.
18 A man who breaks his marriage vows
says to himself, “Who sees me?
Darkness surrounds me, and the walls hide me,
and no one sees me. Why should I fear?
The Most High will not take notice of my sins.”
19 His fear is confined to the eyes of men,
and he does not realize that the eyes of the Lord
are ten thousand times brighter than the sun;
they look upon all the ways of men,
and perceive even the hidden places.
20 Before the universe was created, it was known to him;
so it was also after it was finished.
21 This man will be punished in the streets of the city,
and where he least suspects it, he will be seized.
22 So it is with a woman who leaves her husband
and provides an heir by a stranger.
23 For first of all, she has disobeyed the law of the Most High;
second, she has committed an offense against her husband;
and third, she has committed adultery through harlotry
and brought forth children by another man.
24 She herself will be brought before the assembly,
and punishment will fall on her children.
25 Her children will not take root,
and her branches will not bear fruit.
26 She will leave her memory for a curse,
and her disgrace will not be blotted out.
27 Those who survive her will recognize
that nothing is better than the fear of the Lord,
and nothing sweeter than to heed the commandments of the Lord.[f]
Footnotes
- Sirach 23:2 Or Who will set whips . . . my mind?
- Sirach 23:2 Gk their
- Sirach 23:12 Other authorities read clothed about with death
- Sirach 23:14 Gk for
- Sirach 23:16 Gk in the body of his flesh
- Sirach 23:27 Other authorities add 28 It is a great honor to follow God, and to be received by him is long life.
Sirach 23
Good News Translation
Sirach 23
Good News Translation
23 O Lord, my Father and Master of my life, do not leave me at the mercy of my own words; don't let them cause my downfall. 2 I wish I could be whipped for my thoughts, so that Wisdom could discipline my mind. I would not want to be spared when I am wrong; I would not want a single sin to be overlooked! 3 Then I would not keep on sinning, making one mistake after another. I could not fall to my enemies and be humiliated by them.
4 O Lord, my Father, God of my life, keep me from being arrogant; 5 protect me from evil desires. 6 Keep me from being overcome by greed or lust; do not leave me at the mercy of these shameless passions.
Taking Oaths
7 My children, listen to what I have to say about proper speech; do as I teach you and you will never get trapped. 8 Sinners are caught by their own arrogant, insulting words.
9 (A)Don't fall into the habit of taking oaths, and don't use God's holy name too freely. 10 A slave who is constantly beaten will never be free of bruises; someone who is always taking an oath by the Holy Name will never be free of sin. 11 Anyone who takes oaths all the time is sinful to the core, and punishment is never far away from his household. If he fails to fulfill his oath, he is guilty. If he ignores his oath, he is twice as guilty. If his oath was insincere in the first place, he cannot be pardoned and will have a house full of trouble.
Filthy Talk
12 There is one way of speaking that is like death itself—may no Israelite ever be guilty of it! Devout people do not wallow in such sin, and they will keep away from such behavior. 13 Don't fall into the habit of coarse, profane talk; it is sinful. 14 You might forget yourself while in the company of important people and make a fool of yourself with some foul word that comes to you naturally. Think how your parents would feel! You would curse the day you were born and wish you were dead! 15 If you fall into the habit of using offensive language, you will never break yourself of it as long as you live.
Sexual Sins
16 There are any number of ways to sin and bring down the Lord's anger, but sexual passion is a hot, blazing fire that cannot be put out at will; it can only burn itself out. A man who lives for nothing but sexual enjoyment will keep on until that fire destroys him. 17 To such a man all women are desirable, and he can never get enough as long as he lives.
18 The man who is unfaithful to his wife thinks to himself,
No one will ever know. It's dark in here, and no one sees me. I have nothing to worry about. As for the Most High, he won't even notice. 19 This man is only afraid of other people. He doesn't realize that the eyes of the Lord are 10,000 times brighter than the sun, that he sees everything we do, even when we try to hide it. 20 He knew everything before he created the world, as well as after. 21 That sinful man will be caught when he least expects it, and punished publicly.
22 The same is true of a woman who is unfaithful to her husband and presents him with a child by another man. 23 In the first place, she has broken the Law of the Most High. In the second place, she has wronged her husband. And in the third place, she has made a whore of herself by committing adultery and bearing the child of a man not her husband. 24-25 The children will suffer for her sin. They will not be able to find a place in society or establish families. She herself will be brought before the assembly 26 and permanently disgraced. There will be a curse on her memory. After she is gone, 27 everyone will realize that nothing is better than fearing the Lord, nothing is sweeter than keeping his commands.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
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Good News Translation (GNT) 
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