Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 37

CHAPTER 37

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

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

³A! 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?]

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

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

⁶Forget 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.

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

⁸Keep 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,

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

¹⁰With an unreligious man, treat thou 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,][#37:10 (and also in verse 11 below) .; #37:10 In verse 12 of the Early Version, but not in the Later Version, the following sentence appears: Do thou not counsel with him that hath thee suspect, and from men envying to thee, hide thou thy counsel. See verse 37:10 of the .]

¹¹and 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] ,

¹²but 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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