Sirach 23

1Lord, Father and Master of my life, do not abandon me to their counsel; do not let me fall by them.

2Who will set whips over my thoughts, and the discipline of wisdom over my heart, so that they may not spare me for my ignorances, and may not overlook their sins?

3so that my ignorances may not multiply, and my sins may not increase, and I may fall before my adversaries, and my enemy may rejoice over me.

4Lord, Father and God of my life, do not give me haughty eyes,

5and turn desire away from me;

6Do not let the appetite of the belly and sexual intercourse overtake me, and do not give me over to a shameless soul.

7Hear instruction of the mouth, children, and the one who keeps it will certainly not be caught.

8By his lips the sinner will be caught, and the reviler and the proud will stumble by them.

9Do not accustom your mouth to an oath, and do not become accustomed to invoking the Holy One by name.

10For just as a servant being constantly examined will not be spared bruises, so also one who swears and names the Name continually will never be cleansed from sin.

11A man who swears many oaths will be filled with lawlessness, and the whip will not depart from his house. If he stumbles, his sin is upon him; and if he disregards it, he has sinned doubly. And if he swore in vain, he will not be justified, for his house will be filled with afflictions.

12There is a word wrapped in death; may it not be found in the inheritance of Jacob. For all these things will depart from the godly, and they will not wallow in sins.

13Do not accustom your mouth to crude ignorance, for in it there is a word of sin.

14Remember your father and your mother, for you sit in the midst of great men; lest you be forgotten before them, and by your habit become foolish, and wish that you had not been born, and curse the day of your birth.

15A man accustomed to words of reproach will never be disciplined all his days.

16Two kinds multiply sins, and the third will bring wrath.

17To a promiscuous man every bread is sweet; he will not stop until he comes to his end.

18A man transgressing from his bed says in his soul, “Who sees me?”

19and the fear of him is in the eyes of men,

20Before all things were created, it was known to him; so also after they are completed.

21This man will be punished in the streets of the city, and where he did not suspect it, he will be caught.

22So also a woman who leaves her husband and presents an heir by another man;

23For first, she disobeyed the law of the Most High; and second, she committed an offense against her husband; and third, in sexual immorality she committed adultery and presented children from another man.

24She will be brought out before the assembly, and there will be an inspection concerning her children.

25Her children will not take root, and her branches will not bear fruit;

26She will leave her memory for a curse, and her disgrace will not be wiped away.

27And those who are left behind will know that nothing is better than the fear of the Lord, and nothing is sweeter than paying attention to the commandments of the Lord.