Sirach 25-27

Good News Translation

People Who Deserve Praise

³ Unless you learn what you can while you are young, you will never be wise when you reach old age. ⁴ Sound judgment, good advice, and gray hair go together beautifully. ⁵ Wisdom, understanding, and sound counsel are appropriate to the aged and the respected. ⁶ Elderly people wear the crown of long experience, and they can boast of nothing finer than their fear of the Lord.

¹¹ Such a person has no equal, because the fear of the Lord is the most important thing in the world.^[d]

Advice about Women

¹³ No wound is as serious as wounded love. No troubles are as serious as the troubles that women cause. ¹⁴ No sufferings are worse than the sufferings caused by people who hate you. No revenge is worse than revenge taken by an enemy. ¹⁵ No poison is deadlier than the poison of a snake, and no anger is deadlier than the anger of a woman.^[e]

¹⁶ I would rather live in the same house with a lion or a dragon than with a bad wife. ¹⁷ When a wife is in a bad mood, her expression changes until she looks like an angry bear. ¹⁸ Her husband has to go and eat with the neighbors, where he can't hold back his bitter sighs.

¹⁹ Compared with the troubles caused by a woman, any other trouble looks small. May such women suffer the fate of sinners!

²⁰ A quiet man living with a nagging wife is like an old man climbing up a sandy hill.

²¹ Never lose your head over a woman's beauty, and don't try to win a woman because she is wealthy.^{[f] 22} When a man is supported by his wife, there is sure to be anger, arrogance, and humiliation. ²³ A bad wife will make her husband gloomy and depressed, and break his heart. Show me a timid man who can never make up his mind, and I will show you a wife who doesn't make her husband happy. ²⁴ Sin began with a woman, and we must all die because of her. ²⁵ Don't let a bad wife have her way, any more than you would allow water to leak from your cistern. ²⁶ If she won't do as you tell her, divorce her.

26 The husband of a good wife is a fortunate man; he will live twice as long because of her. ² A fine wife is a joy to her husband, and he can live out his years in peace. ³ A good wife is among the precious blessings given to those who fear the Lord. ⁴ Whether such men are rich or poor, they will be happy and always look cheerful.

⁵ There are four things that scare me: vicious rumors spread around town, a gathering mob, false accusations—these are all worse than death. ⁶ But a woman jealous of another woman causes heartache and grief; her tongue lashes out at everyone.

⁷ A bad wife is like a yoke that doesn't fit. Trying to control her is like holding a scorpion. ⁸ A drunken woman is an infuriating sight; she can't conceal her shameless behavior. ⁹ You can tell an unfaithful wife by the bold and flirting look in her eyes.

¹⁰ If your daughter is determined to have her own way, keep a close watch on her. If you don't, she'll take advantage of any chance she gets. ¹¹ If she is too self-willed, be on guard, and don't be surprised if she disappoints you. ¹² She'll spread her legs anywhere for any man who wants her, just as a thirsty traveler will drink whatever water is available.

¹³ A gracious wife is her husband's delight; her abilities make him a stronger man.^{[g] 14} A wife who doesn't talk too much is a gift from the Lord. Such restraint is admirable beyond words. ¹⁵ A modest wife has endless charm; it is a quality too precious to measure. ¹⁶ The beauty of a good wife in her well-kept home is like the noonday sun shining in the Lord's sky. ¹⁷ Her beautiful face and attractive figure are^[h] as lovely as the light from the sacred lampstand in the Temple, ¹⁸ and like its gold shaft set on its silver base are her shapely legs and strong ankles.^[i][j]

Sad Observations

²⁹ A merchant can hardly avoid doing wrong; every salesman is guilty of sin. 27 ¹ Many people have sinned while looking for a profit; if you want to be rich you have to keep blinders on your eyes. ² It is hard to remove a peg that is stuck between two stones of a house, and it is just as hard to remove dishonesty from buying and selling. ³ Unless you are determined in your fear of the Lord, your house is going to come down on you.

Speech Reflects True Feelings

⁴ Your talk shows your faults; it is like a sieve that separates out the rubbish. ⁵ The way you think shows your character just as surely as a kiln shows any flaws in the pottery being fired. ^6 (A)You can tell how well a tree has been cared for by the fruit it bears, and you can tell a person's feelings by the way he expresses himself. ⁷ Never praise anyone before you hear him talk; that is the real test.

Honesty

⁸ If you try to be honest, you can be, and it will improve your character as handsome clothing improves your appearance. ⁹ Birds come to roost with those of their own kind, and the habit of honesty comes to those who try to be honest. ¹⁰ Sin waits for those looking for a chance to sin, just as a lion waits for prey.

Foolish Talk

¹¹ When devout people talk, what they say always makes sense, but foolish people are always contradicting themselves. ¹² When you find yourself with stupid people, look for some excuse to leave, but when you are with serious-minded people, stay as long as you can.

¹³ The stories that foolish people tell are offensive, and they make jokes about the worst kinds of sin. ¹⁴ When such people curse, it is enough to make your hair stand on end, and when they start arguing among themselves, all you can do is to stop up your ears. ¹⁵ It is painful to listen to them insult each other, and such blustering can lead to violence.

Betraying Secrets

^16 (B)If you repeat secrets that have been told to you, you are destroying the confidence others have in you, and you will never have a close friend. ¹⁷ Respect your friends, and keep faith with them. If you do betray a friend's confidence, you may as well forget you have a friend. ¹⁸ You have killed that friendship just as surely as if you had taken a weapon and killed an enemy. ¹⁹ Your friend is gone. You can no more get him back than you can get a bird to come back to your hand once you let it go. ²⁰ Don't bother going after him. It's too late. He is gone, like a deer escaped from a trap. ²¹ Wounds can be bandaged and insults can be forgiven, but if you betray a confidence, it is hopeless.

Hypocrisy

²² When someone starts winking at you, he has something bad in mind, and nothing can stop him from going through with it. ²³ When he's with you, his talk is so nice! He compliments you on every word you say. But behind your back it's a different story; he will take what you have said and turn it against you. ²⁴ There is nothing in the world that I hate as much as a person like that—and the Lord hates him too.

²⁵ Throw a stone straight up in the air and it will come down on your head. Strike a blow, and you yourself will be wounded. ²⁶ People who set traps fall into them themselves. ²⁷ People who hurt others will be hurt by their own actions and will have no idea why.

²⁸ Arrogant people insult others and make fun of them,^[k] but someone is waiting like a lion for a chance to take revenge on them. ²⁹ Those who are happy to witness the downfall of devout people are going to fall into a trap and die a painful death.

Resentment

³⁰ Anger and a hot temper are horrible things, but sinners have both.