Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 25

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

¹In three things it is pleased to my spirit, which be approved before God and men; according or the accord of brethren, and love of neighbours, and a man and woman well con-senting to themselves.

²My soul hated three species, and I am grieved greatly to the soul of them; a poor man proud, and a rich man that is a liar, and an eld or old man that is a fool and unwitting or doted.

³How shalt thou find in thine eld age those things, which thou gather-ed not in thy youth?

⁴Doom of discretion is full fair in hoariness or How fair the doom in hoariness, either eld man, and to priests to know counsel.

⁵Wisdom is full fair to eld or old men, and glorious understanding, and counsel.

⁶The crown of eld or old men is in much knowing or wisdom; and the glory of them is the dread of God.

⁷I magnified nine things unsus-pected of the heart; and I shall say the tenth thing by tongue to men. A man which living is merry or joyed in sons, and seeing the destroying of his enemies.

⁸He is blessed or Blissful that dwelleth with a witting woman, and he that fell not or is not slidden by his tongue, and he that served not to men unworthy to himself.

⁹He is blessed or Blissful that findeth a very friend, and he that telleth out rightfulness or rightwise-ness to an ear hearing or the hearing ear.

¹⁰He is full great that findeth wisdom and knowing; but he is not above him that dreadeth God.

¹¹The dread of God hath set itself above all things. Blessed is the man to whom it is given to have the dread of God; to whom shall he be likened, that holdeth that dread?

¹²The dread of God is the begin-ning of his love; forsooth the begin-ning of faith is to be fast-joined thereto or to be joined to him.

¹³The sorrow of heart is each wound; and the wickedness of a woman is all or each malice. A leech shall see each wound, and not the wound of heart; and all wicked-ness, and not the wickedness of a woman;

¹⁴and each covering or all hid thing, that is, colouring of malice, and not the covering or hid thing of haters; and each or all vengeance, and not the vengeance of enemies.

¹⁵None head is worse than or wickeder over the head of an adder dwelling in shadow; and none ire is above the ire of a woman or there is not wrath over the wrath of a woman.

¹⁶It shall please more to dwell with a lion and a dragon, than to dwell with a wicked woman.

¹⁷The wickedness of a woman changeth her face; and she blinded her cheer as a bear doeth, and she shall show as a sackcloth in the midst of neighbours.

¹⁸Her husband wailed; and his wicked wife heard, and sighed a little. The husband of her greatly wailed; and hearing, sighed a little.

¹⁹All malice is short on or little compared to the malice of a woman; the part or the lot of sinners, that is, the pain of hell, fall on her.

²⁰As a going-up full of gravel in the feet of an eld or old man, so is a woman that is a great jangler to a peaceable man or a tonguey woman to a quiet man.

²¹Behold thou not the fairness of a woman, and covet thou not a woman for her fairness.

²²The ire and unreverence of a woman to her husband is a great shame. If a woman hath the first dignity or mastery, either chief governail, she is contrary to her husband.

²³A low heart, and sorrowful face, and wound of death, is a wicked woman. Feeble hands and knees unbound, cometh from a woman that blesseth not her husband or a woman that maketh not blissful or blessful her husband.

²⁴The beginning of sin was made of a woman; and all we die by her or by her all we die.

²⁵Give thou not issue to thy water, yea, not a little issue; neither to a wicked woman freedom, or leave, of going forth or going out.

²⁶If she goeth not at thine hand, she shall shame thee in the sight of thine enemies. Cut her away from thy fleshes, lest evermore she mis-use thee.