Home Master Index
←Prev   Sirach 7 as rendered by/in  Next→ 



7:1  Don’t do evil things, and evil will never catch up with you.
7:2  Keep your distance from anything unjust, and it will turn away from you.
7:3  Don’t sow in furrows of injustice, and you won’t reap evil things sevenfold.
7:4  Don’t seek political power from the Lord or a seat of honor from the king.
7:5  Don’t justify yourself in the Lord’s presence, and don’t make a show of your wisdom with a king.
7:6  Don’t aspire to become a judge; you might not be strong enough to get rid of injustice. Perhaps you will be too cautious in the presence of a powerful person and bring a scandal on your good name.
7:7  Don’t sin against a city’s inhabitants, and don’t bring yourself down in their estimation.
7:8  Don’t repeat a sin, for you won’t be innocent even of committing it the first time.
7:9  Don’t say, “He will look at the heap of my gifts, and when I make an offering to the Most High, he will accept it.”
7:10  Don’t be timid in your prayer, and don’t neglect caring for those in need.
7:11  Don’t mock a person who is bitter in spirit; for there’s one who humbles and who exalts.
7:12  Don’t cultivate a lie against your relative or do the same thing to a friend.
7:13  Don’t desire to tell a lie; continuing in a lie results in no good.
7:14  Don’t babble when the elders are assembled, and don’t repeat yourself when praying.
7:15  Don’t hate hard work and farming, which were created by the Most High.
7:16  Don’t count yourself among a group of sinners; remember that God’s anger won’t delay.
7:17  Humble your whole being as much as possible, because fire and worms are the punishment of the ungodly.
7:18  Don’t trade a friend for cash or a genuine friend for the gold of Ophir.
7:19  Don’t neglect a wise and good wife, for her grace is worth more than gold.
7:20  Don’t abuse household slaves who work hard or laborers who devote themselves to their work.
7:21  Cherish household servants who are intelligent; don’t deprive them of freedom.
7:22  Do you have cattle? Look after them. If they are useful to you, keep them.
7:23  Do you have children? Instruct them. Train them to be obedient from their youth.
7:24  Do you have daughters? Be attentive to their chastity, and don’t be too cheerful with them.
7:25  Give a daughter in marriage, and you will have completed a great deed, but present her to an understanding husband.
7:26  Do you have a wife who is a soul mate? Don’t divorce her, and don’t trust yourself to a woman whom you hate.
7:27  Honor your father with all your heart, and don’t forget your mother’s labor pains.
7:28  Remember that you were born because of your parents. How will you pay them back for what they have done for you?
7:29  Revere the Lord with your whole being, and honor his priests.
7:30  With all your might love the one who made you, and don’t neglect his ministers.
7:31  Fear the Lord and honor the priest. Give the priest his portion, just as you were commanded: early produce, a sin offering, the gift of the shoulders, the dedicatory offering, and the early produce from the holy things.
7:32  Extend your hand to the poor so that your blessing may be complete.
7:33  The kindness of a gift stands before all who are alive; moreover, don’t withhold kindness from the dead.
7:34  Walk beside those who weep, and mourn with those who mourn.
7:35  Don’t hesitate to visit the sick, because you will be loved on account of these acts.
7:36  In all of your words, remember your end, and you will never sin.