Sirach 3

Wycliffe Bible

3 Dearworthy sons, hear ye the doom of the father; and do ye so, (so) that ye be safe (or saved). [The doom of the father heareth, ye loved sons; and so doeth, that ye be safe.]

² For why God honoured the father in (or over) (the) sons, and he seeketh, and hath made steadfast the doom of the mother into (or over) (the) sons.

³ He that loveth God, shall pray for (his) sins, and he shall abstain himself from those, and he shall be heard in the prayer of days. [Who loveth God, shall full out pray for sins, and shall withhold him from them, and in the orison of days he shall be full out heard.]

⁴ And as he that treasureth, so he that honoureth his mother.

⁵ He that honoureth his father, shall be made merry in sons, and he shall be heard in the day of his prayer. [Who worshippeth his father, shall be made merry in sons, and in the day of his orison he shall be full out heard.]

⁶ He that honoureth his father, shall live by [or with] longer life; and he that obeyeth [or obeisheth] to the father, shall refresh the mother, that is, shall comfort her.

⁷ He that dreadeth the Lord, honoureth father and mother; and he shall serve in work, and word, and in all patience to them that (en)gendered [or begat] him, as to lords.

⁸ Honour thy father, (so) that the blessing of God come to thee; and his blessing dwelleth in the last.

⁹ The blessing of the father maketh steadfast the houses of sons; but the cursing of the mother draweth out the foundaments (or the foundations) [by the root].

¹⁰ Have thou not glory in the despising of thy father; for it is not glory to thee, but confusion. [Not glory thou in the wrong of thy father; forsooth it is not to thee glory, but shame.]

¹¹ For why the glory of a man is of the honour of his father; and the shame (or the reproof) of the son is a father without honour.

¹² Son, receive the eld (age) of thy father, and make thou not him sorry in his life; [Son, meekly take the last age of thy father, and not sorrow thou him in his life;]

¹³ and if he faileth in wit, give thou forgiveness, and despise thou not him in thy virtue (or in thy strength);

¹⁴ for why the alms-(deeds) of (or for) the father shall not be (in) forgetting (or forgotten). For why good shall be restored to thee for the sin of the mother, and building (up) shall be made to thee in rightfulness; [forsooth the alms-deed of the father shall not be in forgetting. For why for the sin of the mother shall be restored to thee good, and in rightwiseness it shall be built up to thee;]

¹⁵ and it shall remember of thee in the day of tribulation, and thy sins shall be released, as ice in (the) clearness, either heat, of the sun. [and in the day of tribulation it shall be remembered of thee, and as ice in clear, thy sins shall be loos(en)ed.]

¹⁶ He is of full evil fame, that forsaketh the father; and he that wratheth the mother, is cursed of (or by) God.

¹⁷ Son, perform thy works in mildness (or in meekness), and thou shalt be loved over the glory of men.

¹⁸ In as much as thou art great, make thee meek in all things, and thou shalt find grace before God;

¹⁹ (This verse is omitted in the original text.)

²⁰ for why the power of God alone is great, and he is honoured of (or by) meek men.

²¹ Seek thou not higher things than thou, and inquire thou not (about) stronger things than thou; [Higher things than thyself seek thou not, and stronger things than thyself not search thou;]

²² but (for)ever(more) think thou (upon) those things, which God commanded to thee; and be thou not curious in (or about) (the) full many works of him. For it is not needful to (or for) thee to see with thine eyes those things, that be hid. [but the things that God commanded to thee, think (upon) them evermore; and in (the) many works of him be thou not curious. Forsooth it is not needful to thee, those things that be hid, to see with thine eyes.]

²³ In superfluous things do not thou seek many-fold; and be thou not curious in (the) many works of him; for why full many things above the wit of men be showed to thee. [In overvoid things do thou not ensearch many-fold; and in many works of him thou shalt not be curious; many forsooth things over the wit of men be showed to them.]

²⁴ For the suspicion of many men hath deceived them(selves), and withheld their wits in vanity. [Many forsooth supplanted the suspicion of them, and in vanity held down the wits of them.]

²⁵ (This verse is omitted in the original text.)

²⁶ An hard heart shall have evil in the last time; and he that loveth peril shall perish therein. An heart that entereth by two ways, that is, that hath the knowing of good in understanding, and malice in will, shall not have prosperities, either rest; and a man of shrewd (or depraved) heart, shall be slandered in those (or shall be caused to stumble by them). [The hard heart shall have evil in the last; and that loveth peril, in it shall perish. The heart going into two ways, shall not have welsome chances; and the shrewd (or depraved) heart in them shall be caused to stumble.]

²⁷ A wicked heart shall be grieved in sorrows; and a sinner shall heap to, or add to, [or lay to], to do sin.

²⁸ Health (or Deliverance) shall not be to the synagogue of proud men; for why the thick wood of sin shall be drawn out by the root in them, and it shall not be understood, of (or by) sinners who will not think on God’s dooms. [To the synagogue of proud men shall not be health; forsooth the thick bush of sin in them shall be taken up by the root, and it shall not be understanded.]

²⁹ The heart of a wise man is understood in wisdom, and a good ear shall hear wisdom with all covetousness. A wise heart and able to understand shall abstain itself from sins, and shall have prosperities in the works of rightfulness. [The heart of the wise man is understanded in wisdom, and the good ear shall hear with all coveting wisdom. The wise heart and understandable shall abstain himself from sins, and in works of rightwiseness welsome after-comings shall have.]

³⁰ Water quencheth (a) fire burning, and alms-[deeds] against-standeth sins.

³¹ And God, the beholder of him that yieldeth grace, that is, (that) doeth alms(-deeds), hath mind afterward; and he shall find steadfastness in the time of his fall. [And God is the forelooker of him that yieldeth grace; he hath mind into afterward, and in time of his falling he shall find fastening.]