Sirach 23
23
Sirach 23
1 #
v 4
O Lord, Father and Master of my life,
do not abandon me to their designs,
and do not let me fall among them!
2 #
Tob 3.3
Who will set whips over my thoughts
and the discipline of wisdom over my mind,
so as not to spare me in my errors
and not overlook my#23.2 Gk their sins?
3 #
Ps 13.4; Tob 3.3 Otherwise my mistakes may be multiplied,
and my sins may abound,
and I may fall before my adversaries,
and my enemy may rejoice over me.#23.3 Other ancient authorities add From them the hope of your mercy is remote
4 #
v 1
; Ps 101.5O Lord, Father and God of my life,
do not give me haughty eyes,
5and remove desire from me.
6 #
Rom 13.13; Gal 5.21; Eph 5.18 Let neither gluttony nor lust overcome me,
and do not give me over to shameless passion.
Discipline of the Tongue#23.7 This heading is included in the Gk text.
7Listen, my children, to instruction concerning the mouth;
the one who observes it will never be caught.
8 #
Ps 59.12; Prov 12.13 Sinners are overtaken through their lips;
by them the reviler and the arrogant are tripped up.
9 #
Ex 20.7; Sir 27.14 Do not accustom your mouth to oaths
nor habitually utter the name of the Holy One,
10 #
Sir 27.14; 28.17 for as a slave who is constantly under scrutiny
will not lack bruises,
so also the person who always swears and utters the Name
will never be cleansed#23.10 Syr be free from sin.
11 #
Lev 5.1; 19.12; Mt 5.33; 23.16 The one who swears many oaths is full of iniquity,
and the scourge will not leave his house.
If he swears in error, his sin remains on him,
and if he disregards it, he sins doubly;
if he swears a false oath, he will not be justified,
for his house will be filled with calamities.
Foul Language
12 #
Lev 24.16; 1 Kings 21.10, 13; Mk 3.28, 29 There is a manner of speaking comparable to death;#23.12 Other ancient authorities read clothed about with death
may it never be found in the inheritance of Jacob!
Such conduct will be far from the godly,
and they will not wallow in sins.
13Do not accustom your mouth to lewd ignorance,
for it involves sinful speech.
14 #
Ex 20.12; Job 3.3; Sir 7.27 Remember your father and mother
when you sit among the great,
or you may forget yourself in their presence,
and behave like a fool through habit;
then you will wish that you had never been born,
and you will curse the day of your birth.
15Those who are accustomed to using abusive language
will never become disciplined as long as they live.
Concerning Sexual Sins
16 #
v 18
; Sir 25.2; 26.28Two kinds of individuals multiply sins,
and a third incurs wrath.
Hot passion that blazes like a fire
will not be quenched until it burns itself out;
those who commit incest with their near of kin
will never cease until the fire burns them up.
17 #
Prov 9.17; 20.17 To the sexually immoral all bread is sweet;
he will never weary until he dies.
18 #
Job 24.15; Ps 10.11; Prov 7.9; Isa 29.15 The one who sins against his marriage bed
says to himself, “Who can see me?
Darkness surrounds me, the walls hide me,
and no one sees me. Why should I worry?
The Most High will not remember my sins.”
19 #
Prov 5.21; Sir 15.19; Heb 4.13 His fear is confined to human eyes,
and he does not realize that the eyes of the Lord
are ten thousand times brighter than the sun;
they look upon every aspect of human behavior
and see into hidden corners.
20 #
Gen 1.31
Before the universe was created, it was known to him,
and so it is since its completion.
21 #
Lev 20.10; Prov 6.32–35 This man will be punished in the streets of the city,
and where he least suspects it he will be seized.
22So it is with a woman who leaves her husband
and presents him with an heir by another man.
23 #
Ex 20.14; Mt 19.18 For, first of all, she has disobeyed the law of the Most High;
second, she has committed an offense against her husband;
and third, through sexual immorality she has committed adultery
and brought forth children by another man.
24 #
Gen 38.24; Lev 21.9; Deut 22.21 She herself will be brought before the assembly,
and her punishment will extend to her children.
25 #
Job 18.16; Mal 4.1; Wis 4.3 Her children will not take root,
and her branches will not bear fruit.
26She will leave behind an accursed memory,
and her disgrace will never be blotted out.
27 #
Ps 119.103, 104; Sir 25.11; 40.26 Those who survive her will recognize
that nothing is better than the fear of the Lord
and nothing sweeter than to heed the commandments of the Lord.#23.27 Other ancient authorities add as 23.28: It is a great honor to follow God, and to be received by him is long life.
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Sirach 23: NRSVUE
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New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, copyright © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.