Sirach 23

Wycliffe Bible

23 Lord, father, and lordly governor of my life, forsake thou me not in the thought and (the) counsel of them, that is, of fools and unfaithful men; neither suffer (or allow) thou me to fall in that shame. [Lord, father, and lordshipper of my life, not forsake thou me in the thinking and the counsel of them; and suffer thou me not to fall in that reproving.]

² Who setteth above in my thought(s) beatings, and in mine heart the teaching of wisdom, that in the uncunnings, (or the unknowings, or ignorances) of them he spare not me, and that the trespasses of them appear not? [Who putteth upon in my thinking scourges, and in mine heart doctrine of wisdom, that to the unknowings of them he spare not to me, and appear not the guilts of them?]

³ Lest mine uncunnings (or my unknowings, or mine ignorances) increase, and my trespasses be multiplied, and my sins be plenteous; and lest I fall in the sight of mine adversaries, and mine enemy have joy. [Lest wax to mine uncunningnesses, and be multiplied my guilts, and my sins abound; and I fall in the sight of mine adversaries, and mine enemy joy.]

⁴ Lord, Father, and God of my life, forsake thou not me in the thought(s) of them. Give thou not to me enhancing of mine eyes, yea, suffer not (or do not allow) that pride be lord over me;

⁵ and turn thou away from me all shrewd (or depraved) desire. [and all desire turn away from me.]

⁶ Do thou away from me the covetousnesses of the womb, and the covetousnesses of lechery take me not; and give thou not me (over) (in)to a soul unreverent and undiscreet or unsavoury. [Do away from me lusts of the womb, and the lyings of lust not take they me; and to unreverent inwit and undiscreet not take thou me.]

⁷ Sons, hear ye the teaching of (the) mouth; and he that keepeth it, shall not perish by his lips, neither shall be caused to stumble in worst works. [The doctrine of the mouth hear ye, sons; and that shall keep it, shall not perish in his lips, nor shall be caused to stumble in wickedest works.]

⁸ A sinner and proud man shall be taken in his vanity; and a cursed man shall be caused to stumble in those. [In his vanity is caught the sinner and the proud man; and the cursed shall be caused to stumble in them.]

⁹ Thy mouth be not customable to swearing; for why many fallings be therein. [To swearing use not thy mouth; many forsooth fallings be in it.]

¹⁰ Forsooth the naming of God be not customable in thy mouth, and be thou not meddled to, (or mixed with), the names of saints; for thou shalt not be guiltless of them. [The naming forsooth of God be not continual in thy mouth, and to the names of saints be thou not mingled (or mixed with); for thou shalt not be harmless of them.]

¹¹ For as a servant that is asked busily, shall not want (or lack) wanness, [or envy]; so each man swearing and naming shall not purged of sin in all. A man swearing much shall be filled with wickedness; and vengeance shall not go away from his house. And if he deceiveth a brother, his trespass shall be above him; and if he feigneth, he shall trespass doubly [or And if he shall beguile the brother, the guilt of him upon him shall be; and if he shall feign, he shall trespass double]. And if he sweareth in vain, he shall not be justified; for why his house shall be filled with worst yielding.

¹² Also againward another speech is into death [or There is and another speech againward into death]; be it not found in the heritage of Jacob. For why all these things shall be done away from merciful men; and they shall not delight in trespasses.

¹³ Thy mouth be not customable (or accustomed) to unreverent speech; for why a word of sin is in it. [To the undisciplined speech use not thy mouth; forsooth there is in it the word of sin.]

¹⁴ Have thou mind (or Think upon) thy father and mother; for (or when) thou standest in the midst of great men. Lest peradventure God forget thee in the sight of them; and lest thou made a fool by thus customableness, suffer shame, either scorning [or and through thy busyness greatly made (a) fool, reproof thou suffer], and haddest rather to be not born, and curse the day of thy birth.

¹⁵ A man customable in the words of shame, in all (his) days shall not be taught. [A man used in (or to) words of reproof, in all his days shall not be learned.]

¹⁶ Two kinds be plenteous [or abound] in sins, and the third bringeth ire [or wrath] and perdition. An hot soul burning as fire shall not be quenched, till it swallow something; and a wicked, [or shrewd, (or depraved)] man in the mouth of his flesh shall not fail, till he kindle (a) fire.

¹⁷ Each bread is sweet to a lecherous man; he shall not be made weary, trespassing till to the end.

¹⁸ Each man that passeth [or that over-goeth] his bed, doeth despite against his soul, and saith, [or saying], Who seeth me? Darknesses (en)compass me, and (the) walls cover me, and no man beholdeth me. Whom dread I? The Highest shall not have mind on my sins.

¹⁹ And he understandeth not, that the eye of him, that is, of God, seeth all things; for why the dread of such a man putteth away from him the dread of God, and the eyes of men that dread him put away from him God’s dread. And he knew not, that the eyes of the Lord be much more clearer than the sun, and behold all the ways of men, and the depth of the sea, and they behold the hearts of men into hid parts. [And he understandeth not, for all things the eye of him seeth, for he put away from him the dread of God; of such a manner man is dread, and the eyes of men dreading him. And he knew not, for the eyes of the Lord be much more lighter over the sun, beholding about all the ways of men, and the depth of the sea, and the hearts of men beholding into the hid parts.]

²⁰ For why all things were known to the Lord, before that they were made (out) of nought; so and after the making, he beholdeth all things. [To the Lord God forsooth, ere they were formed, all things be known; so and after the performed he beholdeth all things.]

²¹ This man shall be punished in the streets of the city; he shall be driven away as an horse colt, and he shall be taken, where he hopeth not. And he shall be shame to all men; for he understood not the dread of the Lord. [This in the streets of the city shall be venged; as an horse colt he shall be driven (away), and where he hopeth not, he shall be caught. And he shall be villainy, (or vileness), to all men; for-thy that he understood not the dread of the Lord.]

²² So and each woman forsaking her husband shall do sin, and ordaining heritage, that is, (an) heir of her husband, of (or by) an alien matrimony.

²³ For first she was unbelieveful in the law of the Highest, and the second time she forsook her husband; and the third time she was defouled in adultery, and ordained to him sons of (or by) another man. [First in the law of the Highest she was unbelieveful, and (in) the second her husband she forsook; (and in) the third in adultery she did lechery, and of another man’s sons she set to herself.]

²⁴ She this/This woman shall be brought into the church, and men shall behold on her sons.

²⁵ Her sons shall not give, and her branches shall not give fruit. [The sons of her shall not take roots, and the branches of her shall not give fruit.]

²⁶ They shall leave the mind (or the memory) of her into cursing, and the shame, [or the villainy, (or the vileness)] of her shall not be done away.

²⁷ And they that be left shall know, that nothing is better than the dread of God, and nothing is sweeter than to behold in the commandments of the Lord.

²⁸ It is great glory to (pur)sue [or to follow] the Lord; for why length of days shall be taken of him (or shall be received from him).