Sirach 2

Wycliffe Bible

2 Son, nighing (or approaching) to the service of God, stand thou in rightfulness, and dread; and make ready thy soul to (or for) temptation. [Son, nighing (or approaching) to the servage of God, stand in rightwiseness, and dread; and prepare thou thy soul to tempting.]

² Bear down thine heart, and suffer, and bow down thine ear, and take the words of understanding, and haste thou not into the time of death. [Bear down thine heart, and suffer, and bow in thine ear, and undertake the words of understanding, and hie thou not in time of oppressing.]

³ Suffer thou the sustainings of God; be thou joined to God, and abide thou, (so) that thy life wax, (or grow, or increase) in the last time.

⁴ Take thou all thing that is set to thee, and suffer thou in sorrow, and have thou patience in thy lowness. [All that to thee shall be laid to, take and in sorrow sustain, and in thy meekness have patience.]

⁵ For why gold and silver is proved in fire; forsooth men worthy to be received be proved in the chimney of lowness. [For in fire is proved gold and silver; men forsooth receivable in the chimney of meekness.]

⁶ Believe thou to God, and he shall recover thee; and (ad)dress (or direct) thou thy way, and hope thou into him. Keep thou his dread, and wax thou eld therein. [Give faith to God, and he shall recover thee; and (ad)dress thy way, and hope into him. Keep the dread of him, and in him wax old.]

⁷ Ye that dread the Lord, abide his mercy, and bow ye not away from him, lest ye fall down [or lest ye fall].

⁸ Ye that dread the Lord, believe to (or in) him, and your meed (or your reward) shall not be voided (away). [Ye that dread the Lord, giveth faith to him, and there shall not be voided away your meed.]

⁹ Ye that dread the Lord, hope into him, and mercy shall come to you into delighting. [Ye that dread the Lord, hopeth into him, and into liking shall come to you mercy.]

¹⁰ Ye that dread the Lord, love him, and your hearts shall be lightened or enlightened. Sons, behold ye the nations of men, and know ye, that no man hoped in the Lord, and was shamed (or was confounded); none dwelled [or abode still] in his behests (or in his commandments), and was forsaken; either who inwardly called him, and he despised him?

¹¹ For why God is piteous (or compassionate), and merciful, and he shall forgive sins in the day of tribulation; and he is (the) defender to (or of) all men, that seek him in truth.

¹² Woe to the double in heart, and with cursed lips, and mis-doing hands; and to a sinner entering into the land by two ways. [Woe to the double in heart, and to the lips of the hideously guilting, and to the hands evil-doing; and to the sinner going into the earth two ways.]

¹³ Woe to them that be dissolute of heart, that believe not to God; and therefore they shall not be defended of (or by) him. [Woe to the dissolute, or unstable, in heart, that give not faith to God; and therefore they shall not be defended of him.]

¹⁴ Woe to them that have lost patience, and that have forsaken rightful ways, and have turned away into shrewd (or depraved) ways. And what shall they do, when the Lord shall begin to behold (upon them)? [Woe to them that have lost suffering, and that have forsaken right ways, and have turned aside into shrewd ways. And what shall they do, when the Lord shall begin to inwardly look?]

¹⁵ They that dread the Lord, shall not be unbelieveful to his word; and they that love him, shall keep his way(s).

¹⁶ They that dread the Lord, shall inquire (of) those things, that be well pleasant (or well-pleasing) to him; and they that love him, shall be filled with his law. [Who dread the Lord, shall inwardly seek, that be well-pleased things to him; and that love him, shall be full-filled with the law of him.]

¹⁷ They that dread the Lord, shall make ready [or shall prepare] their hearts, and shall hallow their souls in his sight. They that dread the Lord, shall keep his commandments, and they shall have patience till to the beholding of him;

¹⁸ and shall say, If we do not penance, we shall fall into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of men. For by the greatness of him, so and his mercy is with him. The sons of wisdom be the church of just men, and the nation of them is obedience and love. [saying, If penance we shall not do, we shall fall into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of men. Forsooth after the muchliness of him, so and his mercy is with him. The sons of wisdom the church of rightwise men, and the nation of them obeisance and loving.]