Sirach 31

^aWatching for riches consumeth the flesh,

And ^bthe care thereof driveth away sleep.

²Watching care will not let a man slumber,

As a sore disease breaketh sleep.

³The rich hath great labour in gathering riches together;

And ^cwhen he resteth, he is filled with his delicates.

⁴The poor laboureth in his poor estate;

And when he leaveth off, he is still needy.

^5dHe that loveth gold shall not be justified,

And he that followeth corruption shall have enough thereof.

^6eGold hath been the ruin of many,

And their destruction was present.

⁷It is a stumblingblock unto them ^fthat sacrifice unto it,

And every fool shall be taken therewith.

^8gBlessed is the rich that is found without blemish,

And hath not ^hgone after gold.

⁹Who is he? and we will call him blessed:

For wonderful things hath he done among his people.

¹⁰Who hath been tried thereby, and found perfect?

Then let him glory.

Who might offend, and hath not offended?

Or done evil, and hath not done it?

¹¹His goods shall be established,

And the congregation shall declare his alms.

¹²If thou sit at a bountiful table,

ⁱⁿBe not greedy upon it,

And say not, There is much meat on it.

¹³Remember that ^ja wicked eye is an evil thing:

And what is created more wicked than an eye?

Therefore it weepeth upon every occasion.

^14jjStretch not thine hand whithersoever it looketh,

And thrust it not with him ^kinto the dish.

^15lJudge of thy neighbour by thyself:

And be discreet in every point.

^16mEat, as it becometh a man, those things which are set before thee;

And devour not, lest thou be hated.

¹⁷Leave off first for manners’ sake;

And ⁿbe not unsatiable, lest thou offend.

¹⁸When thou sittest among many,

^jjReach not thine hand out first of all.

¹⁹A very little is sufficient for a man well nurtured,

And he fetcheth not his wind short upon his bed.

²⁰Sound sleep cometh of moderate eating:

He riseth early, and his wits are with him:

But the pain of watching, and ^ocholer, and pangs of the belly, are with an unsatiable man.

²¹And if thou hast been forced to eat,

Arise, go forth, ^pvomit, and thou shalt have rest.

²²My son, hear me, and despise me not,

And ^qat the last thou shalt find as I told thee:

^qqIn all thy works be quick,

So shall there no sickness come unto thee.

^23rWhoso is ^sliberal of his meat, ^tmen shall speak well of him;

And the report of his good housekeeping will be believed.

²⁴But against him that is a niggard of his meat the whole city shall murmur;

And the testimonies of his niggardness shall not be doubted of.

^25uShew not thy valiantness in wine;

For ^vwine hath destroyed many.

²⁶The furnace proveth the edge by dipping:

So doth wine the hearts of the proud by drunkeness.

^27wWine is as good as life to a man, if it be drunk moderately:

What life is then to a man that is without wine?

^wFor it was made to make men ^yglad.

²⁸Wine measurably drunk and in season

Bringeth gladness of the heart, and ^ycheerfulness of the mind:

²⁹But ^xwine drunken with excess maketh bitterness of the mind,

With brawling and quarrelling.

³⁰Drunkenness increaseth the rage of a fool till he offend:

It diminisheth strength, and maketh wounds.

^31wRebuke not thy neighbour at the wine,

And despise him not in his ^ymirth:

Give him no despiteful words,

And ^zpress not upon him with urging him to drink.

XXXII.