Sirach 9

9Be not jealous of the wife of thy bosom,

Lest she learnmalice against thee.

Give not thyself unto a woman,

So as to let her trample down thy manhood.

Meet nota strange woman,

Lest thou fall into her nets.

With a female singerhave no converse,

Lest thou be taken in her snares.

On a maiden fix not thy gaze,

Lest thou be entrapped in penalties with her.

Give not thyself unto the harlot,

Lest thou losethine inheritance.

Look not round about theein the streets of a city,

And wander not about in the broad places thereof.

Hide thine eye from a lovely woman,

And gaze not upon beauty which is not thine;

By the comeliness of a woman many have been ruined,

And this waypassion flameth like fire.

With a married womansit not at table,

And ^[mingle not^[ wine in her company;

Lest thou incline thine heart towards her,

And in thy blood^[descendest^[ to the Pit.

Forsake not an old friend,

For the new ^[is not his equivalent^[.

New wine is a new friend;

But when old—then thou mayst drink it!

Envy not the ungodly man,

For thou knowest not what his destiny shall be.

Take no pleasurein the arrogant man that prospereth,

Remember that he shall not escape unpunishedtill death.

Keep far from the man that hath power to kill,

And so thou needest have no terrorof death’s terrors.

But when thou comest nigh ⁽him⁽ commit no fault,

Lest he take away thy life.

Know that thou marchest amid snares,

And walkest upon nets.

As far as thou canst associate with thy neighbour,

And converse with the wise.

Withthe intelligent let thy communing be,

And all thy converse in the Law of the Most High.

Let men of rectitude be the companions of thy board;

And in the fear of God be thy boast.

By the cunning-handeda shapely work is devised,

Even so one who ruleth over his people ⁽must be⁽ wise in discernment.

A man ⁽full⁽ of tongue is dangerous in the city,

And he that is ∙hasty in speech is detested.