en_wbms - Sir 37 - Ozzuu Bible

¹ Each friend shall say, And I have coupled friendship; but that is a friend [or but there is a friend], a friend by name alone.

² Whether sorrow is not till to death? Forsooth a fellow of table and a friend shall be turned to enmity.

³ A! the worst presumption [or O! most shrewd presumption], whereof art thou made to cover dry malice, and the guilefulness thereof? [or the treachery of it?]

⁴ A fellow of table shall be merry with a friend in delightings, and in the day of tribulation he shall be adversary.

⁵ A fellow of table shall have sorrow with a friend, for cause [or because] of the womb; and he shall take shield against an enemy.

⁶ Forget thou not thy friend in thy soul, and be thou not unmindful of him in thy works. Do not thou take counsel with the father of thy wife; and hide thou counsel from them that have envy to thee.

⁷ Each counsellor showeth counsel, but there is a counsellor to [or in] himself.

⁸ Keep thy soul from an evil counsellor; first know thou, what is his need, and what he shall think in his soul; lest peradventure he send a stake [or he put a pole or a pale] into the earth,

⁹ and say to thee, Thy way is good, and he stand again-ward, to see what shall befall to thee.

¹⁰ With an unreligious man, treat thou[6] not of holiness, and with an unjust man, not of rightfulness, [With an unreligious man treat of holiness, and with the unrightwise man of rightwiseness,] [7]

¹¹ and with a woman, not of these things which she hateth [or envieth]. With a fearedful man, treat thou not of battle, with a merchant, not of carrying over of merchandises to chapping [or exchanging]; with a buyer, not of selling, with an envious man, not of graces to be done; with an unpiteous man, not of pity, with an unhonest man, not of honesty, with a workman of the field [or the field worker], not of each work; with a workman hired by the year, not of the ending of the year [or the annual worker], with a slow servant, not of much working. Give thou not atten-tion to these men in all counsel [or Take thou not heed to these in all counsel],

¹² but be thou busy with an holy man, whomever thou knowest keeping God’s dread, whose soul is after thy soul. Whoever doubteth in darknesses, shall not have sorrow with thee.

¹³ And stablish thou the heart of good counsel with thee; for why an-other thing is not more than it to thee.

¹⁴ The soul of an holy man telleth out truths sometime; more than seven beholders [or seven lookers about], sitting on high for to behold.

¹⁵ And in all these things beseech thou the Highest, that he dress [or right rule] thy way in truth.

¹⁶ Before all works a soothfast word go before thee; and a steadfast [or stable] counsel go before each deed.

¹⁷ A wicked [or shrewd] word shall change the heart,

¹⁸ of which heart four parts come forth [or spring]; good and evil, life and death; and a busy tongue is lord of those.

¹⁹ A wise man hath taught many men, and he is not sweet to his soul.

²⁰ He that speaketh sophistically, either by sophism, is hateful; he shall be defrauded in each thing.

²¹ For why grace is not given of the Lord to him, for he is defrauded of all wisdom.

²² A wise man is wise to his soul, and the fruits of his wit be worthy to be praised.

²³ A wise man teacheth his people, and the fruits of his wit be faithful.

²⁴ A wise man shall be filled with blessings, and they that see him shall praise him.

²⁵ The life of a man is in the number of days; but the days of Israel be unnumberable.

²⁶ A wise man in the people shall inherit honour, and his name shall be living without end.

²⁷ Son, assay thy soul in thy life; and if it is wicked, give thou not power to it;

²⁸ for why not all things speed to all men, and not each kind pleaseth each soul.

²⁹ Do not thou be greedy in each eating, and shed thou not out thee [or pour thee not out] on each meat.

³⁰ For in many meats shall be sick-ness, and greediness shall nigh unto choler.

³¹ Many men died for gluttony; but he that is abstinent, shall increase [or add] life.