en_wyc2014 - Sir 12 - Ozzuu Bible

¹ Have thou mind on thy Creator[1] in the days of thy youth, before that the time of thy torment come, and the years of thy death nigh, of which thou shalt say, Those please not me. (Think thou upon thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before that the time of thy torment come, and the years of thy death approach, of which thou shalt say, These days do not please me at all.)

² Before that the sun be (made) dark, and the light, and stars, and the moon; and the clouds turn again after rain. (Before that the sun, and the light, and the stars, and the moon all be made dark; and the clouds return after the rain.)

³ When the (door)keepers of the house shall be moved, and [the] strongest men shall tremble; and [the] grinders shall be idle, when the number shall be made less, and seers by the holes shall wax dark; (When the guards of the house shall be shaken, and the strong shall tremble; and the grinders shall be idle, when their number shall be made less, and the eyes of those who see out by the windows shall grow dark, or grow dim;)

⁴ and (they) shall close the doors in the street (and they shall close the doors to the street), in the lowness of [the] voice of a grinder; and they shall rise (up) at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of song shall wax deaf.

⁵ And high things shall dread, and shall be afeared in the way (And when they shall fear high places, and shall be afraid to go on the way, or to go out in public); and an almond tree shall flower, a locust shall be made fat, and (the) capers shall be destroyed; for a man shall go into the house of his everlastingness, and wailers shall go about in the street.

⁶ Have thou mind on thy Creator, before that a silveren rope be broken, and a golden lace run against, and a water pot be all-broken on the well, and a wheel be broken (al)together on the cistern; (Think thou upon thy Creator, before that the silver rope is broken, and the golden bowl is broken, and the water pot at the well is broken, and the wheel at the cistern is broken, yea, before that all is ended;)

⁷ and dust turn again into his earth, whereof it was, and the spirit turn again to God, that gave it. (and the dust, or the dirt, return to the earth, where it was before, and the spirit return to God, who gave it.)

⁸ The vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, the vanity of vanities [Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, vanity of vanities], and all things be vanity. (Emptiness and futility, said Ecclesiastes, yea, everything is emptiness and futility.)

⁹ And when Ecclesiastes was most wise (And for Ecclesiastes was most wise), he taught the people, and he told out the things which he did, and he sought out wisdom, and made many parables;

¹⁰ he sought (out) profitable words, and he wrote most rightful words, and full of truth.

¹¹ The words of wise men be as pricks, and as nails fastened deep, which be given of one shepherd by the counsels of masters. (For the words of the wise be like pricks, and like nails driven deep, for they be given from the one Shepherd for the counsel of us all.)

¹² My son, seek thou no more than these; none end there is to make many books, and oft thinking is (a) torment of [the] flesh. (My son, seek thou no more than this; for there is no end to the making of many books, and thinking too much will only torment thy flesh.)

¹³ All we hear together the end of (the) speaking. Dread thou God, and keep his behests; that is (for) to know, every man. (Hear now the end, or the conclusion, of all this speaking. Fear God/Revere God, and obey his commands; that is for everyone to know.)

¹⁴ God shall bring all things into doom, that be done; for each thing covered, either privy, whether it be good, or evil. (For God shall bring all that is done to the judgement; even each thing that is covered, or is done in secret, or privately, whether it be good, or evil.)

¹ If thou doest well, know thou to whom thou doest (it); and much grace shall be to thy goods (or for thy good doings). [If thou shalt well do, know thou to whom thou shalt well do; and there shall be much grace in thy goods.]

² Do thou well to a just man, and thou shalt find great yielding; though not of (or from) him, certainly of (or from) the Lord. [Well do to the rightwise, and thou shalt find great yielding; and if not of him, certainly of the Lord.]

³ It is not well to him that is customable in evils, and to him that giveth not alms; for why the Highest both hateth sinners, and doeth mercy to them that do penance. [It is not well to him that is busy in evils, and to the not giving alms-deeds; for and the Highest to hate hath sinners, and hath mercy to penance-doers.]

⁴ Give thou to a merciful man, and receive thou not a sinner, that is, (one) obstinate in sins; God shall yield vengeance both to unfaithful men and to sinners, keeping them in the day of vengeance. Give thou to a good man, and receive thou not a sinner. [Give to the merciful, and undertake, or receive thou not the sinner; and to unpious and sinners he shall yield vengeance, keeping them in the day of vengeance. Give to the good, and receive thou not the sinner.]

⁵ Do thou good to a meek man, and give thou not to an unpious man, that is, obstinate in sin; forbid thou (or forbid thyself) to give loaves to him, lest in those, he be(come) mightier than thou. For (then) thou shalt find double evils in all goods, whichever thou doest to (or for) him; [Well do to the meek, and give thou not to the unpious; forbid thou to give to him loaves, lest in them he be mightier than thou. For double evils thou shalt find in all goods, whatever thou shalt do to him;]

⁶ for why the Highest both hateth sinners, and shall yield vengeance to unfaithful men. [for and the Highest to hate hath sinners, and to the unpious he shall yield vengeance.]

⁷ (This verse is omitted in the original text.).

⁸ A friend shall not be known in goods (or in good times), and an enemy shall not be hid in evils, that is, adversities.

⁹ In the goods (or in the good times) of a man, his enemies be sorry; and a friend is known in the sorrow and malice of him, that is, in (the) adversity of him. [In the goods of a man the enemies of him; and in the sorrow and in the malice of him the friend is known.]

¹⁰ Believe thou never to thine enemy; for his wickedness rusteth as (or like) iron. [Not trust, or believe, thou to thine enemy into without end; forsooth as brass rusteth out, (so) the shrewdness (or the depravity) of him.]

¹¹ Though he be made meek, and go low, cast away thy soul, and keep thee from him. [And if meeked he go crooked, throw away thy will, and keep thee from him.]

¹² Set thou not him beside thee, neither sit he at thy right side, lest he turn (against thee), and stand in thy place; lest peradventure he turn into thy place, and inquire (about) thy chair, and in (or at) the last time thou know (or remember) my words, and be pricked in (or with) my words. [Set not him beside thee, and sit he not at thy right half, lest turned he stand in thy place; lest peradventure turned into thy place he inwardly seek thy chair, and in the last thou know my words, and in my words thou be pricked.]

¹³ Who shall do medicine to an enchanter smitten of (or by) a serpent, and to all men that nigh to (or approach) beasts,

¹⁴ and to him that goeth with an evil man, and is wrapped (up) in the sins of him? [and that followeth with the wicked man, and is about-wrapped in his sins?]

¹⁵ In one hour he shall dwell with thee; soothly if thou bowest away, he shall not bear up. [One hour with thee he shall abide still; if forsooth thou bow down, he shall not under-bear.]

¹⁶ The enemy maketh sweet in (or with) his lips, and in his heart he setteth treason to overturn thee into the ditch. The enemy weepeth in (or with) his eyes; and (or but) if he findeth (the) time, he shall not be filled of (or with) (enough) blood [or he shall not be full-filled with blood].

¹⁷ If evils befall to thee [or If there shall fall to thee evils], thou shalt find him the former (or the first) there. The enemy shall weep before thine eyes, and he as helping shall undermine thy feet.

¹⁸ He shall stir his head, and he shall beat with (his) hand(s); and he shall speak privily many evils of (or about) thee, and shall change his cheer (or his face). [His head he shall move, and flap (or clap) for joy with the hand(s); and many things grudgingly (or grumblingly) whispering shall with change his cheer.]