Sirach 9

Wycliffe Bible

9 Love thou not jealously the woman of thy bosom; lest she show on thee the malice of evil doctrine. [Be thou not jealous to the woman of thy bosom; lest she show upon thee the malice of shrewd (or depraved) doctrine.]

² Give thou not to a woman the power of (or over) thy soul; lest she enter in thy virtue, and thou be shamed [or be confounded].

³ Behold thou not a woman of many wills (or desires), that coveteth now this man, now that man; lest peradventure thou fall into the snares of her.

⁴ Be thou not customable with a danceress [or with a leaperess, or (a) tumbler], neither hire thou her; lest peradventure thou perish in the speedy work of her.

⁵ Behold thou not a virgin [or a maiden]; lest peradventure thou be caused to stumble in (or by) the fairness of her.

⁶ Give thou not thy soul to whores in anything; lest thou lose thee, and thy soul, and thine heritage (or lest thou destroy thyself, and thy soul, and thy inheritance).

⁷ Do not thou behold about in the lanes of the city; neither err thou in the large streets thereof. [Do thou not behold about in the ways of the city; nor err thou about in the streets of it.]

⁸ Turn away thy face from a woman well arrayed; and behold thou not about the fairness of another or of another man’s wife. Many men have perished for the fairness of a woman; and thereby covetousness [or lust] burneth on high as fire/and thereby concupiscence burneth out as fire. Each woman which is an whore, either customable to fornication, shall be defouled as a fen, or a turd, in the way [or Each woman that is lecherous, as a thost (or dung) in the way shall be trodden]. Many men wondering on the fairness of an alien woman were made reprovable, for why the speech of her burneth on high as fire.

⁹ Sit thou not in any manner with an alien woman, neither rest thou with her on a bed; and jangle thou not with her in wine, lest peradventure thine heart bow into her, and thou fall into perdition by thy blood. [With an alien woman utterly sit thou not, nor lie thou with her upon the arm; and strive thou not with her in wine, lest peradventure she bow down thine heart into her, and by thy blood thou slide into perdition.]

¹⁰ Forsake thou not an eld friend; for a new friend shall not be like him. New wine is (like) a new friend; (after) it shall wax eld, and (then) thou shalt drink it with sweetness. [Forsake thou not an old friend; forsooth the new shall not be like to him. New wine a new friend; it shall wax old, and with sweetness thou shalt drink it.]

¹¹ Covet thou not the glory and riches of a sinner; for thou knowest not, what destroying of him shall come. [Love thou not the glory and riches of the sinner; forsooth thou knowest not, what be to come (of) the turning upside-down of him.]

¹² The wrong of unjust men please not thee, and know thou that a wicked man shall not please till to hells (or unto the grave). [Please not to thee the wrong of unrightwise men, witting for unto hell the unpious shall not (be able to) please.]

¹³ Be thou far from a man that hath power to slay, that is, from a cruel tyrant, and thou shalt not have suspicion of the dread of death; and if thou nighest (or approachest) to him, do not thou do any trespass, lest peradventure he take away thy life. Know thou the communing of death; for thou shalt enter into the midst of snares, and thou shalt go on the armours, (or the arms, or the weapons), of them that sorrow. [Afar be thou away from a man having power of slaying, and not of rearing, and thou shalt not over-trust the dread of death; and if thou nighest to him, do thou not anything do amiss, lest peradventure he take away thy life. The communion of death know thou; for in the middle of grins (or snares) thou shalt go in, and upon the arms of men sorrowing thou shalt go.]

¹⁴ By thy virtue keep thee (away) from thy neighbour that may speak against thee to a tyrant; and treat thou with wise men and prudent men.

¹⁵ Just men be guests, or meat-frères, (or meal companions), to thee; and thy glorying be in the dread of God. [Rightwise men be they to thee meat-fellows; and in the dread of God be to thee glorying.]

¹⁶ And the thought of God be to thee in wit, that is, apply thy wit to think on God; and all thy telling be in the behests (or about the commands) of the Highest. [And in the wit be to thee thinking of God; and all thy telling-out in the behests of the Highest.]

¹⁷ Works shall be praised in (or from) the hand of craftsmen, and the prince of the people in the wisdom of his word; forsooth in the wit of elder men a word shall be praised. [In the hand of craftsmen works shall be praised, and the prince of a people in wisdom of his sermon; in the wit forsooth of elders a word.]

¹⁸ A man, a jangler is dreadful in his city; and a fool-hardy man in his word shall be hateful. [Fearful is in his city a tonguey man; and the fool-hardy in his word hateful shall be.]