Sirach 7

7Do no evil, and evil will not overtake thee;

Avoid iniquity, and it will turn from thee.

Sow not in the furrows of unrighteousness,

Lest thou reap it sevenfold.

Seek not dominion from God,

Nor a seat of honour from the king.

Justify not thyself in the sight of God,

Nor display thy wisdom before the king.

Seek not to be a judge,

Lest thou be not ableto put down presumption,

⁽And⁽ lest thou be in fear in the presence of a mighty man,

And thou put a stumbling-block in ⁽the way of⁽ thy uprightness.

Sin not against the assembly in the gate,

That it cast thee not downamong the multitude.

Do not wickedly continue in sin,

For in respect of one ⁽sin⁽ thou art not without guilt.

Say not, ‘He will look upon the multitude of my gifts,

And when I offer ⁽them⁽ to the Most High God He will accept ⁽them⁽.’

Be not impatient in thy prayer,

And in righteousness be not behindhand.

Despise no man ⁽who is⁽ in bitterness of spirit,

Remember that there is one who exalteth and humbleth.

Devise not evil against a brother,

Nor do the like against a friend or a neighbour withal.

Take no delight in lies of any sort,

For the outcome thereof will not be pleasant.

Prate not in the assembly of elders,

And repeat not ⁽thy⁽ words in ⁽thy⁽ prayer.

Hate not laborious work,

Nor husbandry, for it was ordained of God.

Number not thyself among sinful men,

Remember that wrath will not tarry.

Humble ⁽thy⁽ pride greatly,

For the expectation of man is decay.

^[Hasten not to say, ‘Violence’;

Commit ⁽thyself⁽ unto God, and delight ⁽in⁽ His way.^[

Change not a friend for money,

Nor a natural brother for gold of Ophir.

Reject not a wise wife;

And a well-favoured ⁽wife⁽ is above pearls.

Maltreat not a servant that serveth truly,

Nor a hireling who giveth his life ⁽for thee⁽.

A wise slave love as thyself,

And withhold not from him ⁽his⁽ freedom.

Hast thou cattle, look ⁽to them⁽ thyself,

And if they are profitable, keep them.

Hast thou sons, correct them,

And give them wives in their youth.

Hast thou daughters, keep their bodies,

And show them not a pleasant countenance.

Marry thy daughter, and sorrow will depart ^[from thy house^[,

But bestow her upon a man of understanding.

Hast thou a wife, abhor her not,

But trust not thyself to one that hateth ⁽thee⁽.

Honour thy father with thy whole heart,

And forget not thy mother who bare thee in pangs.

Remember that of them thou wast born,

And how canst thou recompense them for what they have done for thee?

Fear God with all thy heart,

And reverence His priests.

With all thy strength love Him that made thee,

And forsake not His ministers.

Glorify God and honour the priest,

And give ⁽them⁽ their portion as it is commanded ⁽thee⁽;

The food of the trespass-offering, and the heave-offering of the hand,

The sacrifices of righteousness, and the offerings of holy things.

Also to the poor stretch out thy hand,

That the blessing may be perfected.

A gift is acceptable in the sight of every man living,

And also from the dead withhold not kindness.

Withdraw not thyself from them that weep,

And mourn with them that mourn.

Forget not to visit the sick,

For thou wilt be loved for that.

In all thy doings remember thy last end,

Then wilt thou never do corruptly.