Sirach 42

1Do not be ashamed of these things, and do not show partiality and sin.

2about the law of the Most High and the statute, and about a judgment that vindicates the wicked.

3about the account of a tenant, a master, and a guest, and about the division of an inheritance and property.

4about cheating with scales and balances, and about measures of ephah and stone weight.

5about livestock, whether much or little, and about the price of merchandise for sale;

6For a bad wife, a seal is good; and where hands are slack, open it.

7For whatever place you appoint, keep count by your hand; and every giving and receiving should be in writing.

8Concerning the discipline of a simpleton and a fool, and an old man who turns back and takes counsel in sexual immorality: be truly careful, and a modest man before every living being.

9A daughter is a hidden cause of deceit to her father, and anxiety over her drives away his sleep: in her youth, lest she remain unmarried, and in her virginity, lest she not be married.

10In her virginity, lest she be seduced, and in her husband’s house, lest she go astray; in her father’s house, lest she become pregnant, and in her husband’s house, lest she be barren.

11Keep a strict watch over your virgin daughter, lest she make you a byword of disgrace, a gossip of the city and a curse of the people, and seat you in the assembly at the gate.

12Do not display your beauty to any man, and do not sit among women in the house.

13For from a garment comes a moth, and from a woman a woman’s wickedness.

14Better a man's wickedness than a woman's goodness, and a woman who brings shame becomes a reproach.

15I will remember the works of God, and what I have seen I will recount. At the word of God is his will, and his work accomplishes his pleasure.

16The sun rises and shines on everything revealed, and the glory of the Lord is over all his works.

17The holy ones of God have not been sufficient to recount the wonders of the Lord. God has strengthened his hosts to be strong before his glory.

18He searches out the deep and the heart, and he understands all their secrets.

19He declares the changes that are coming, and reveals the search of hidden things.

20No understanding is lacking to him, and no word has escaped him.

21He has set in order the mighty works of his wisdom, and he alone is from everlasting. He neither gains increase nor diminishes, and he has no need of any counselor.

22He lives and stands forever; his goodness passes from one thing to another.

23All these live and endure forever; in every need, all obey.

24All things are in pairs, one opposite the other, and he has made nothing lacking.

25One thing complements another's good things, and who can have enough of seeing his glory?