Sirach 7

Wycliffe Bible

7 Do not thou do evils, and those shall not take thee. [Do thou not do evils, and they shall not catch thee.]

² Depart thou from wickedness, and evils shall fail from thee. [Go away from the wicked, and there shall fail evils from thee.]

³ Sow thou not evils in the furrows of unrightfulness, and thou shalt not reap those in sevenfold. [Sow thou not evils in furrows of unrightwiseness, and thou shalt not reap them into the seventhfold.]

⁴ Do not thou seek of a man (the) leading, neither of a king the chair of honour. [Do not thou seek of a man the dignity of a leader, nor of a king the chair of worship.]

⁵ Justify thou not thee (or thyself) before God, for he is the knower of the heart; and do not thou desire to be seen wise with the king.

⁶ Do not thou seek to be made a judge, no but thou mayest break wickednesses by (thy) virtue; lest thou dread the face of a mighty man, and set slander (or a cause of stumbling) in thy swiftness. [Do thou not seek to be made a doomsman, but if thou be able by virtue (to) break wickednesses; lest peradventure thou out dread the face of the mighty, and put a cause of stumbling in thine hither and thither deliberateness.]

⁷ Do not thou sin in (or against) the multitude of a city, neither send thee (or thyself) (down) into the people; [Sin thou not in the multitude of the city, nor put thee into the people;]

⁸ neither bind thou [to] double sins, for thou shalt not be guiltless in one.

⁹ Do not thou be a coward in thy soul, to pray; and despise thou not to do alms-[deeds].

¹⁰ Say thou not, God shall behold in the multitude of my gifts; and when I shall offer to God alder-highest [or to the highest God], he shall take my gifts.

¹¹ Scorn thou not a man in the bitterness of (his) soul; for why God is the beholder, that maketh meek, and enhanceth (or exalteth). [Scorn thou not a man in the bitterness of soul; God forsooth the looker about is, that enhanceth and meeketh.]

¹² Do not thou love a leasing (or a lie) against thy brother; neither do thou in like manner against a friend.

¹³ Do not thou desire to lie any leasing (or any lie); for why the continuance thereof is not good. [Do thou not desire to lie each leasing; the busyness forsooth of them is not good.]

¹⁴ Do not thou be a jangler [or full of words] in the multitude of priests; and rehearse thou not a word in thy prayer.

¹⁵ Hate thou not travailous works, and earth-tithing, made of (or from) the Highest. [Hate thou not travailous works, and churlish doing formed of the Highest.]

¹⁶ Areckon thou not thee in the multitude of unlearned men. Have thou mind on ire, for it shall not tarry. [Not account thou thee in the multitude of men without discipline. Have mind of wrath, for it shall not tarry.]

¹⁷ Make thou meek greatly thy spirit, for why the vengeance of the flesh of an unpious man is fire, and worm(s). [Meek greatly thy spirit, for vengeance of the flesh of the unpious, fire and worm.]

¹⁸ Do not thou trespass against thy friend delaying money; neither despise thou a full dearworth(y) brother for gold.

¹⁹ Do not thou depart [or go away] from a wise woman, and good, whom thou hast gotten in the dread of the Lord; for why the grace of her shamefastness is above gold.

²⁰ Hurt thou not a servant working in truth, neither [or nor] an hired man giving his life.

²¹ A witty, (or a witting, or a knowing) servant be dearworthy to thee as thy (own) soul; defraud thou not him of freedom, neither forsake thou him (when) needy. [A well feeling servant be to thee loved as thy soul; beguile thou not him from freedom, nor forsake thou him helpless.]

²² Beasts be to thee? take thou heed to those; and if those be profitable, dwell those still at thee. [Beasts be to thee? take thou heed to them; and if they be profitable, abide they still with thee.]

²³ Sons be to thee? teach thou them, and bow thou them under chastising from their childhood. [Sons be to thee? teach them, and bow them from the childhood of them.]

²⁴ Daughters be to thee? keep thou the body of them, and show thou not (a) glad face to them. [Daughters be to thee? keep the body of them, and show thou not thy face glad to them.]

²⁵ Give thy daughter to marriage, and thou doest a great work; and give thou her to a wise man.

²⁶ If a woman is to thee after thy soul, cast her not away; and (or but) betake thou not thee in all thine heart to an hateful woman.

²⁷ Honour thy father; and forget thou not the wailings of thy mother.

²⁸ Have thou mind that thou haddest not been, no but by them, and yield thou to them as they did to thee. [Have mind for but by them thou haddest not been, and yield to them (by) what manner and they to thee.]

²⁹ In all thy soul dread thou God, and hallow thou his priests.

³⁰ In all thy virtue (or strength) love thou him that made thee; and forsake thou not his ministers [or (his) servants].

³¹ Honour thou God of (or with) all thy soul; and honour thou priests, and cleanse thee with (thine) arms, that is, by offerings gotten with thy travail. Give thou to them the part of the first fruits, and of purging, as also it is commanded to thee; and of thy negligence purge thou thee with few men. Thou shalt offer to the Lord the gift of thine arms, and the sacrifice of hallowing, the beginnings, that is, the first fruits and dimes (or tithes), of holy men. [Worship thou God of all thy soul; and worship priests, and purge thee forth with arms. Give to them part, as and commandment is to thee, of first fruits, and of purging; and of thy negligence purge thee with few. The gift of thine arms, and the sacrifice of hallowing, thou shalt offer to the Lord, the beginnings of holy things.]

³² And (ad)dress (or direct) thine hand to a poor man, (so) that thy mercy and (thy) blessing be performed. [And to the poor put forth thine hand, that pleasing be performed, and thy blessing.]

³³ Grace is given in the sight of each that liveth; and forbid thou not grace to a dead man. [Grace of gift in the sight of all living; and to the dead hinder or prohibit thou not grace.]

³⁴ Fail thou not in (or to do) comfort to them that weep; and go thou with them that mourn. [Fail thou not to weeping men to be in comforting; and with wailing men go thou.]

³⁵ Be thou not slow to visit a sick man [or the sick]; for by these things thou shalt be made steadfast in love.

³⁶ In all thy works have thou mind on thy last things; and thou shalt not do sin without end. [In all thy works have in mind thy last things; and without end thou shalt not sin.]