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Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 41
Sir
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Chapter 41
Death
1
O death, how bitter it is to remember you for a man at peace among his goods, to a man without worries, who prospers in everything, and still has the strength to feed himself.
2
O death, your sentence is welcome to a man in want, whose strength is failing, to a man worn out with age, worried about everything, disaffected and beyond endurance.
3
Do not dread death’s sentence; remember those who came before you and those who will come after.
4
This is the sentence passed on all living creatures by the Lord, so why object to what seems good to the Most High? Whether your life lasts ten or a hundred or a thousand years, its length will not be held against you in Sheol.
The fate of the wicked
5
Hateful brats, such are the children of sinners, who forgather in the haunts of the godless.
6
The inheritance of sinners’ children is doomed to perish, their posterity will endure lasting reproach.
7
A godless father will be blamed by his children for the reproach he has brought on them.
8
A bad outlook for you, godless men, who have forsaken the Law of God Most High.
9
When you were born, you were born to be accursed, and when you die, that curse will be your portion.
10
All that comes from the earth returns to the earth, so too the wicked proceed from curse to destruction.
11
Men go into mourning for their dead, but the worthless name of sinners will be blotted out.
12
Be careful of your reputation, for it will last you longer than a thousand great hoards of gold.
13
A good life lasts a certain number of days, but a good reputation lasts for ever.
A sense of shame
14
Keep my instructions and be at peace, my children. Wisdom hidden away and treasure undisplayed, what use are either of these?
15
Better a man who hides his folly than one who hides his wisdom.
16
Now, keep your sense of shame with respect to what I am going to say, for not every kind of shame is right to harbour, nor is every situation correctly appraised by all.
17
Be ashamed, before father and mother, of licentious behaviour, and before prince or potentate of telling lies;
18
of wrong-doing before judge or magistrate, and of impiety before the assembly of the people;
19
of sharp practice before your companion and your friend, and of theft before the neighbourhood you live in.
20
Before the truth and covenant of God, be ashamed of leaning elbows on the table,
21
of making gifts before those who despise them, and of ignoring those who greet you:
22
of gazing at a loose woman and of turning your back on a relation,
23
of misappropriating another’s portion or gift, of paying court to another man’s wife,
24
of carrying on with his servant-girl do not go near her bed-
25
of words of abuse before your friends-do not follow up a gift with a taunt-
26
of repeating and retailing gossip and of betraying confidences.
27
Then you will know what true shame is, and you will find yourself in every man’s graces.
Chapters of Ecclesiasticus (Sirach)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
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