The Bible, Douay Rheims, Book 26: Ecclesiasticus
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22:3. A son ill taught is the confusion of the father: and a foolish
daughter shall be to his loss.
22:4. A wise daughter shall bring an inheritance to her husband: but she
that confoundeth, becometh a disgrace to her father.
22:5. She that is bold shameth both her father and husband, and will not
be inferior to the ungodly: and shall be disgraced by them both.
22:6. A tale out of time is like music in mourning: but the stripes and
instruction of wisdom are never out of time.
22:7. He that teacheth a fool, is like one that glueth a potsherd
together.
22:8. He that telleth a word to him that heareth not, is like one that
waketh a man out of a deep sleep.
22:9. He speaketh with one that is asleep, who uttereth wisdom to a
fool: and in the end of the discourse he saith: Who is this?
22:10. Weep for the dead, for his light hath failed: and weep for the
fool, for his understanding faileth.
For the fool... In the language of the Holy Ghost, he is styled a fool,
that turns away from God to follow vanity and sin. And what is said by
the wise man against fools is meant of such fools as these.
22:11. Weep but a little for the dead, for he is at rest.
22:12. For the wicked life of a wicked fool is worse than death.
22:13. The mourning for the dead is seven days: but for a fool and an
ungodly man all the days of their life.
22:14. Talk not much with a fool and go not with him that hath no sense.
22:15. Keep thyself from him, that thou mayst not have trouble, and thou
shalt not be defiled with his sin.
22:16. Turn away from him, and thou shalt find rest, and shalt not be
wearied out with his folly.
22:17. What is heavier than lead? and what other name hath he but fool?
22:18. Sand and salt, and a mass of iron is easier to bear, than a man
without sense, that is both foolish and wicked.
22:19. A frame of wood bound together in the foundation of a building,
shall not be loosed: so neither shall the heart that is established by
advised counsel.
22:20. The thought of him that is wise at all times, shall not be
depraved by fear.
22:21. As pales set in high places, and plasterings made without cost,
will not stand against the face of the wind:
22:22. So also a fearful heart in the imagination of a fool shall not
resist against the violence of fear.
22:23. As a fearful heart in the thought of a fool at all times will not
fear, so neither shall he that continueth always in the commandments of
God.
22:24. He that pricketh the eye, bringeth out tears: and he that
pricketh the heart, bringeth forth resentment.
22:25. He that flingeth a stone at birds, shall drive them away: so he
that upbraideth his friend, breaketh friendship.
22:26. Although thou hast drawn a sword at a friend, despair not: for
there may be a returning. To a friend,
22:27. If thou hast opened a sad mouth, fear not, for there may be a
reconciliation: except upbraiding, and reproach, and pride, and
disclosing of secrets, or a treacherous wound: for in all these cases a
friend will flee away.
22:28. Keep fidelity with a friend in his poverty, that in his
prosperity also thou mayst rejoice.
22:29. In the time of his trouble continue faithful to him, that thou
mayst also be heir with him in his inheritance.
22:30. As the vapour of a chimney, and the smoke of the fire goeth up
before the fire: so also injurious words, and reproaches, and threats,
before blood.
22:31. I will not be ashamed to salute a friend, neither will I hide
myself from his face: and if any evil happen to me by him, I will bear
it.
22:32. But every one that shall hear it, will beware of him.
22:33. Who will set a guard before my mouth, and a sure seal upon my
lips, that I fall not by them, and that my tongue destroy me not?
Ecclesiasticus Chapter 23
A prayer for grace to flee sin: cautions against profane swearing and
other vices.
23:1. O Lord, father, and sovereign ruler of my life, leave me not to
their counsel: nor suffer me to fall by them.
By them... Viz., the tongue and the lips, mentioned in the last verse of
the foregoing chapter.
23:2. Who will set scourges over my thoughts, and the discipline of
wisdom over my heart, that they spare me not in their ignorances, and
that their sins may not appear:
That they spare me not in their ignorances, etc... That is, that the
scourges and discipline of wisdom may restrain the ignorances, that is,
the slips and offences which are usually committed by the tongue and the
lips.
23:3. Lest my ignorances increase, and my offences be multiplied, and my
sins abound, and I fall before my adversaries, and my enemy rejoice over
me?
23:4. O Lord, father, and God of my life, leave me not to their devices.
23:5. Give me not haughtiness of my eyes, and turn away from me all
coveting.
23:6. Take from me the greediness of the belly, and let not the lusts of
the flesh take hold of me, and give me not over to a shameless and
foolish mind.
23:7. Hear, O ye children, the discipline of the mouth, and he that will
keep it shall not perish by his lips, nor be brought to fall into most
wicked works.
23:8. A sinner is caught in his own vanity, and the proud and the evil
speakers shall fall thereby.
23:9. Let not thy mouth be accustomed to swearing: for in it there are
many falls.
23:10. And let not the naming of God be usual in thy mouth, and meddle
not with the names of saints, for thou shalt not escape free from them.
23:11. For as a slave daily put to the question, is never without a blue
mark: so every one that sweareth, and nameth, shall not be wholly pure
from sin.
23:12. A man that sweareth much, shall be filled with iniquity, and a
scourge shall not depart from his house.
23:13. And if he make it void, his sin shall be upon him, and if he
dissemble it, he offendeth double:
23:14. And if he swear in vain, he shall not be justified: for his house
shall be filled with his punishment.
23:15. There is also another speech opposite to death, let it not be
found in the inheritance of Jacob.
23:16. For from the merciful all these things shall be taken away, and
they shall not wallow in sins.
23:17. Let not thy mouth be accustomed to indiscreet speech: for therein
is the word of sin.
23:18. Remember thy father and thy mother, for thou sittest in the midst
of great men:
23:19. Lest God forget thee in their sight, and thou, by thy daily
custom be infatuated and suffer reproach: and wish that thou hadst not
been born, and curse the day of thy nativity.
23:20. The man that is accustomed to opprobrious words, will never be
corrected all the days of his life.
23:21. Two sorts of men multiply sins, and the third bringeth wrath and
destruction.
23:22. A hot soul is a burning fire, it will never be quenched, till it
devour some thing.
23:23. And a man that is wicked in the mouth of his flesh, will not
leave off till he hath kindled a fire.
23:24. To a man that is a fornicator all bread is sweet, he will not be
weary of sinning unto the end.
23:25. Every man that passeth beyond his own bed, despising his own
soul, and saying: Who seeth me?
23:26. Darkness compasseth me about, and the walls cover me, and no man
seeth me: whom do I fear? the most High will not remember my sins.
23:27. And he understandeth not that his eye seeth all things, for such
a man's fear driveth him from the fear of God, and the eyes of men
fearing him:
23:28. And he knoweth not that the eyes of the Lord are far brighter
than the sun, beholding round about all the ways of men, and the bottom
of the deep, and looking into the hearts of men, into the most hidden
parts.
23:29. For all things were known to the Lord God, before they were
created: so also after they were perfected he beholdeth all things.
23:30. This man shall be punished in the streets of the city, and he
shall be chased as a colt: and where he suspected not, he shall be
taken.
23:31. And he shall be in disgrace with all men, because he understood
not the fear of the Lord.
23:32. So every woman also that leaveth her husband, and bringeth in an
heir by another:
23:33. For first she hath been unfaithful to the law of the most High:
and secondly, she hath offended against her husband: thirdly, she hath
fornicated in adultery, and hath gotten her children of another man.
23:34. This woman shall be brought into the assembly, and inquisition
shall be made of her children.
23:35. Her children shall not take root, and her branches shall bring
forth no fruit.
23:36. She shall leave her memory to be cursed, and her infamy shall not
be blotted out.
23:37. And they that remain shall know, that there is nothing better
than the fear of God: and that there is nothing sweeter than to have
regard to the commandments of the Lord.
23:38. It is great glory to follow the Lord: for length of days shall be
received from him.
Ecclesiasticus Chapter 24
Wisdom praiseth herself: her origin, her dwelling, her dignity, and her
fruits.
24:1. Wisdom shall praise her own self, and shall be honoured in God,
and shall glory in the midst of her people,
24:2. And shall open her mouth in the churches of the most High, and
shall glorify herself in the sight of his power,
24:3. And in the midst of her own people she shall be exalted, and shall
be admired in the holy assembly.
24:4. And in the multitude of the elect she shall have praise, and among
the blessed she shall be blessed, saying:
24:5. I came out of the mouth of the most High, the firstborn before all
creatures:
24:6. I made that in the heavens there should rise light that never
faileth, and as a cloud I covered all the earth:
24:7. I dwelt in the highest places, and my throne is in a pillar of a
cloud.
24:8. I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven, and have penetrated
into the bottom of the deep, and have walked in the waves of the sea,
24:9. And have stood in all the earth: and in every people,
24:10. And in every nation I have had the chief rule:
24:11. And by my power I have trodden under my feet the hearts of all
the high and low: and in all these I sought rest, and I shall abide in
the inheritance of the Lord.
24:12. Then the creator of all things commanded, and said to me: and he
that made me, rested in my tabernacle,
24:13. And he said to me: Let thy dwelling be in Jacob, and thy
inheritance in Israel, and take root in my elect.
24:14. From the beginning, and before the world, was I created, and unto
the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling
place I have ministered before him.
24:15. And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I
rested, and my power was in Jerusalem.
24:16. And I took root in an honourable people, and in the portion of my
God his inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints.
24:17. I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree on
mount Sion.
24:18. I was exalted like a palm tree in Cades, and as a rose plant in
Jericho:
24:19. As a fair olive tree in the plains, and as a plane tree by the
water in the streets, was I exalted.
24:20. I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon, and aromatical balm: I
yielded a sweet odour like the best myrrh:
24:21. And I perfumed my dwelling as storax, and galbanum, and onyx, and
aloes, and as the frankincense not cut, and my odour is as the purest
balm.
24:22. I have stretched out my branches as the turpentine tree, and my
branches are of honour and grace.
24:23. As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odour: and my flowers
are the fruit of honour and riches.
24:24. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and
of holy hope.
24:25. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope
of life and of virtue.
24:26. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my
fruits.
24:27. For my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above
honey and the honeycomb.
24:28. My memory is unto everlasting generations.
24:29. They that eat me, shall yet hunger: and they that drink me, shall
yet thirst.
24:30. He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that
work by me, shall not sin.
24:31. They that explain me shall have life everlasting.
24:32. All these things are the book of life, and the covenant of the
most High, and the knowledge of truth.
24:33. Moses commanded a law in the precepts of justices, and an
inheritance to the house of Jacob, and the promises to Israel.
24:34. He appointed to David his servant to raise up of him a most
mighty king, and sitting on the throne of glory for ever.
A most mighty king... Viz., Christ, who by his gospel, like an
overflowing river, has enriched the earth with heavenly wisdom.
24:35. Who filleth up wisdom as the Phison, and as the Tigris in the
days of the new fruits.
24:36. Who maketh understanding to abound as the Euphrates, who
multiplieth it as the Jordan in the time of harvest.
24:37. Who sendeth knowledge as the light, and riseth up as Gehon in the
time of the vintage.
24:38. Who first hath perfect knowledge of her, and a weaker shall not
search her out.
Who first hath perfect knowledge of her... Christ was the first that had
perfect knowledge of heavenly wisdom.
24:39. For her thoughts are more vast than the sea, and her counsels
more deep than the great ocean.
24:40. I, wisdom, have poured out rivers.
24:41. I, like a brook out of a river of a mighty water; I, like a
channel of a river, and like an aqueduct, came out of paradise.
24:42. I said: I will water my garden of plants, and I will water
abundantly the fruits of my meadow.
24:43. And behold my brook became a great river, and my river came near
to a sea:
24:44. For I make doctrine to shine forth to all as the morning light,
and I will declare it afar off.
24:45. I will penetrate to all the lower parts of the earth, and will
behold all that sleep, and will enlighten all that hope in the Lord.
24:46. I will yet pour out doctrine as prophecy, and will leave it to
them that seek wisdom, and will not cease to instruct their offspring
even to the holy age.
24:47. See ye that I have not laboured myself only, but for all that
seek out the truth.
Ecclesiasticus Chapter 25
Documents of wisdom on several subjects.
25:1. With three things my spirit is pleased, which are approved before
God and men:
25:2. The concord of brethren, and the love of neighbours, and man and
wife that agree well together.
25:3. Three sorts my soul hateth, and I am greatly grieved at their
life:
25:4. A poor man that is proud: a rich man that is a liar: an old man
that is a fool, and doting.
25:5. The things that thou hast not gathered in thy youth, how shalt
thou find them in thy old age?
25:6. O how comely is judgment for a grey head, and for ancients to know
counsel!
25:7. O how comely is wisdom for the aged, and understanding and counsel
to men of honour!
25:8. Much experience is the crown of old men, and the fear of God is
their glory.
25:9. Nine things that are not to be imagined by the heart have I
magnified, and the tenth I will utter to men with my tongue.
25:10. A man that hath joy of his children: and he that liveth and seeth
the fall of his enemies.
25:11. Blessed is he that dwelleth with a wise woman, and that hath not
slipped with his tongue, and that hath not served such as are unworthy
of him.
25:12. Blessed is he that findeth a true friend, and that declareth
justice to an ear that heareth.
25:13. How great is he that findeth wisdom and knowledge! but there is
none above him that feareth the Lord.
25:14. The fear of God hath set itself above all things:
25:15. Blessed is the man, to whom it is given to have the fear of God:
he that holdeth it, to whom shall he be likened?
25:16. The fear of God is the beginning of his love: and the beginning
of faith is to be fast joined unto it.
25:17. The sadness of the heart is every plague: and the wickedness of a
woman is all evil.
25:18. And a man will choose any plague, but the plague of the heart:
25:19. And any wickedness, but the wickedness of a woman:
25:20. And any affliction, but the affliction from them that hate him:
25:21. And any revenge, but the revenge of enemies.
25:22. There is no head worse than the head of a serpent:
25:23. And there is no anger above the anger of a woman. It will be more
agreeable to abide with a lion and a dragon, than to dwell with a wicked
woman.
25:24. The wickedness of a woman changeth her face: and she darkeneth
her countenance as a bear: and sheweth it like sackcloth. In the midst
of her neighbours,
25:25. Her husband groaned, and hearing he sighed a little.
25:26. All malice is short to the malice of a woman, let the lot of
sinners fall upon her.
25:27. As the climbing of a sandy way is to the feet of the aged, so is
a wife full of tongue to a quiet man.
25:28. Look not upon a woman's beauty, and desire not a woman for
beauty.
25:29. A woman's anger, and impudence, and confusion is great.
25:30. A woman, if she have superiority, is contrary to her husband.
25:31. A wicked woman abateth the courage, and maketh a heavy
countenance, and a wounded heart.
25:32. Feeble hands, and disjointed knees, a woman that doth not make
her husband happy.
25:33. From the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all die.
25:34. Give no issue to thy water, no, not a little: nor to a wicked
woman liberty to gad abroad.
25:35. If she walk not at thy hand, she will confound thee in the sight
of thy enemies.
25:36. Cut her off from thy flesh, lest she always abuse thee.
Ecclesiasticus Chapter 26
Of good and bad women.
26:1. Happy is the husband of a good wife: for the number of his years
is double.
26:2. A virtuous woman rejoiceth her husband, and shall fulfil the years
of his life in peace.
26:3. A good wife is a good portion, she shall be given in the portion
of them that fear God, to a man for his good deeds.
26:4. Rich or poor, if his heart is good, his countenance shall be
cheerful at all times.
26:5. Of three things my heart hath been afraid, and at the fourth my
face hath trembled:
26:6. The accusation of a city, and the gathering together of the
people:
26:7. And a false calumny, all are more grievous than death.
26:8. A jealous woman is the grief and mourning of the heart.
26:9. With a jealous woman is a scourge of the tongue which
communicateth with all.
26:10. As a yoke of oxen that is moved to and fro, so also is a wicked
woman: he that hath hold of her, is as he that taketh hold of a
scorpion.
26:11. A drunken woman is a great wrath: and her reproach and shame
shall not be hid.
26:12. The fornication of a woman shall be known by the haughtiness of
her eyes and by her eyelids.
26:13. On a daughter that turneth not away herself, set a strict watch:
lest finding an opportunity she abuse herself.
26:14. Take heed of the impudence of her eyes, and wonder not if she
slight thee.
26:15. She will open her mouth as a thirsty traveller to the fountain,
and will drink of every water near her, and will sit down by every
hedge, and open her quiver against every arrow, until she fail.
26:16. The grace of a diligent woman shall delight her husband, and
shall fat his bones.
26:17. Her discipline is the gift of God.
26:18. Such is a wise and silent woman, and there is nothing so much
worth as a well instructed soul.
26:19. A holy and shamefaced woman is grace upon grace.
26:20. And no price is worthy of a continent soul.
26:21. As the sun when it riseth to the world in the high places of God,
so is the beauty of a good wife for the ornament of her house.
26:22. As the lamp shining upon the holy candlestick, so is the beauty
of the face in a ripe age,
26:23. As golden pillars upon bases of silver, so are the firm feet upon
the soles of a steady woman.
26:24. As everlasting foundations upon a solid rock, so the commandments
of God in the heart of a holy woman.
26:25. At two things my heart is grieved, and the third bringeth anger
upon me.
26:26. A man of war fainting through poverty, and a man of sense
despised:
26:27. And he that passeth over from justice to sin, God hath prepared
such an one for the sword.
26:28. Two sorts of callings have appeared to me hard and dangerous: a
merchant is hardly free from negligence: and a huckster shall not be
justified from the sins of the lips.
From negligence... That is, from the neglect of the service of God:
because the eager pursuit of the mammon of this world, is apt to make
men of that calling forget the great duties of loving God above all
things, and their neighbours as themselves.-Ibid. A huckster... Or, a
retailer of wine. Men of that profession are both greatly exposed to
danger of sin themselves, and are too often accessary to the sins of
others.
Ecclesiasticus Chapter 27
Dangers of sin from several heads: the fear of God is the best
preservative. He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it.
27:1. Through poverty many have sinned: and he that seeketh to be
enriched, turneth away his eye.
27:2. As a stake sticketh fast in the midst of the joining of stones, so
also in the midst of selling and buying, sin shall stick fast.
27:3. Sin shall be destroyed with the sinner.
27:4. Unless thou hold thyself diligently in the fear of the Lord, thy
house shall quickly be overthrown.
27:5. As when one sifteth with a sieve, the dust will remain: so will
the perplexity of a man in his thoughts.
27:6. The furnace trieth the potter's vessels, and the trial of
affliction just men.
27:7. As the dressing of a tree sheweth the fruit thereof, so a word out
of the thought of the heart of man.
27:8. Praise not a man before he speaketh, for this is the trial of men.
27:9. If thou followest justice, thou shalt obtain her: and shalt put
her on as a long robe of honour, and thou shalt dwell with her: and she
shall protect thee for ever, and in the day of acknowledgment thou shalt
find a strong foundation.
27:10. Birds resort unto their like: so truth will return to them that
practise her.
27:11. The lion always lieth in wait for prey: so do sins for them that
work iniquities.
27:12. A holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun: but a fool is changed
as the moon.
27:13. In the midst of the unwise keep in the word till its time: but be
continually among men that think.
27:14. The discourse of sinners is hateful, and their laughter is at the
pleasures of sin.
27:15. The speech that sweareth much shall make the hair of the head
stand upright: and its irreverence shall make one stop his ears.
27:16. In the quarrels of the road is the shedding of blood: and their
cursing is a grievous hearing.
27:17. He that discloseth the secret of a friend loseth his credit, and
shall never find a friend to his mind.
27:18. Love thy neighbour, and be joined to him with fidelity.
27:19. But if thou discover his secrets, follow no more after him.
27:20. For as a man that destroyeth his friend, so is he that destroyeth
the friendship of his neighbour.
27:21. And as one that letteth a bird go out of his hand, so hast thou
let thy neighbour go, and thou shalt not get him again.
27:22. Follow after him no more, for he is gone afar off, he is fled, as
a roe escaped out of the snare because his soul is wounded.
27:23. Thou canst no more bind him up. And of a curse there is
reconciliation:
And of a curse there is reconciliation... That is, it is easier to
obtain a reconciliation after a curse, than after disclosing a secret.
27:24. But to disclose the secrets of a friend, leaveth no hope to an
unhappy soul.
27:25. He that winketh with the eye forgeth wicked things, and no man
will cast him off:
27:26. In the sight of thy eyes he will sweeten his mouth, and will
admire thy words: but at the last he will writhe his mouth, and on thy
words he will lay a stumblingblock.
27:27. I have hated many things but not like him, and the Lord will hate
him.
27:28. If one cast a stone on high, it will fall upon his own head: and
the deceitful stroke will wound the deceitful.
27:29. He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it: and he that setteth a
stone for his neighbour, shall stumble upon it: and he that layeth a
snare for another, shall perish in it.
27:30. A mischievous counsel shall be rolled back upon the author, and
he shall not know from whence it cometh to him.
27:31. Mockery and reproach are of the proud, and vengeance as a lion
shall lie in wait for him.
27:32. They shall perish in a snare that are delighted with the fall of
the just: and sorrow shall consume them before they die.
27:33. Anger and fury are both of them abominable, and the sinful man
shall be subject to them.
Ecclesiasticus Chapter 28
Lessons against revenge and quarrels. The evils of the tongue.
28:1. He that seeketh to revenge himself, shall find vengeance from the
Lord, and he will surely keep his sins in remembrance.
28:2. Forgive thy neighbour if he hath hurt thee: and then shall thy
sins be forgiven to thee when thou prayest.
28:3. Man to man reserveth anger, and doth he seek remedy of God?
28:4. He hath no mercy on a man like himself, and doth he entreat for
his own sins?
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