Sefarim
Ben Sira35
Sirach / Ecclesiasticus · Chapter 35
He that keepeth the torah bringeth offerings enough: he that taketh heed to the mitsvah offereth a peace offering.
He that requiteth a goodturn offereth fine flour; and he that giveth alms sacrificeth praise.
To depart from wickedness is a thing pleasing to the master; and to forsake unrighteousness is a propitiation.
Thou shalt not appear empty before the master.
For all these things
are to be done because of the mitsvah.
The offering of the righteous maketh the altar fat, and the sweet savour thereof is before the most High.
The sacrifice of a just man is acceptable. and the memorial thereof shall never be forgotten.
Give the master his honour with a good eye, and diminish not the firstfruits of thine hands.
In all thy gifts shew a cheerful countenance, and dedicate thy tithes with gladness.
Give unto the most High according as he hath enriched thee; and as thou hast gotten, give with a cheerful eye.
For the master recompenseth, and will give thee seven times as much.
Do not think to corrupt with gifts; for such he will not receive: and trust not to unrighteous sacrifices; for the master is judge, and with him is no respect of persons.
He will not accept any person against a poor man, but will hear the prayer of the oppressed.
He will not despise the supplication of the fatherless; nor the widow, when she poureth out her complaint.
Do not the tears run down the widow’s cheeks? and is not her cry against him that causeth them to fall?
He that serveth the master shall be accepted with favour, and his prayer shall reach unto the clouds.
The prayer of the humble pierceth the clouds: and till it come nigh, he will not be comforted; and will not depart, till the most High shall behold to judge righteously, and execute judgment.
For the master will not be slack, neither will the Mighty be patient toward them, till he have smitten in sunder the loins of the unmerciful, and repayed vengeance to the heathen; till he have taken away the multitude of the proud, and broken the sceptre of the unrighteous;
Till he have rendered to every man according to his deeds, and to the works of men according to their devices; till he have judged the cause of his people, and made them to rejoice in his mercy.
Mercy is seasonable in the time of affliction, as clouds of rain in the time of drought.
Sefarim
Ben Sira36
Sirach / Ecclesiasticus · Chapter 36
Have mercy upon us, O master Elohim of all, and behold us:
And send thy fear upon all the nations that seek not after thee.
Lift up thy hand against the strange nations, and let them see thy power.
As thou wast sanctified in us before them: so be thou magnified among them before us.
And let them know thee, as we have known thee, that there is no Elohim but only thou, O Elohim.
Shew new signs, and make other strange wonders: glorify thy hand and thy right arm, that they may set forth thy wondrous works.
Raise up indignation, and pour out wrath: take away the adversary, and destroy the enemy.
Sake the time short, remember the b'rit, and let them declare thy wonderful works.
Let him that escapeth be consumed by the rage of the fire; and let them perish that oppress the people.
Smite in sunder the heads of the rulers of the heathen, that say, There is none other but we.
Gather all the tribes of Ya'aqov together, and inherit thou them, as from the beginning.
O master, have mercy upon the people that is called by thy name, and upon Yisra'el, whom thou hast named thy firstborn.
O be merciful unto Yerushalayim, thy holy city, the place of thy rest.
Fill Sion with thine unspeakable oracles, and thy people with thy glory:
Give testimony unto those that thou hast possessed from the beginning, and raise up nevi'im that have been in thy name.
Reward them that wait for thee, and let thy nevi'im be found faithful.
O master, hear the prayer of thy servants, according to the blessing of Aharon over thy people, that all they which dwell upon the earth may know that thou art the master, the eternal Elohim.
The belly devoureth all meats, yet is one meat better than another.
As the palate tasteth divers kinds of venison: so doth an heart of understanding false speeches.
A froward heart causeth heaviness: but a man of experience will recompense him.
A woman will receive every man, yet is one daughter better than another.
The beauty of a woman cheereth the countenance, and a man loveth nothing better.
If there be kindness, meekness, and comfort, in her tongue, then is not her husband like other men.
He that getteth a wife beginneth a possession, a help like unto himself, and a pillar of rest.
Where no hedge is, there the possession is spoiled: and he that hath no wife will wander up and down mourning.
Who will trust a thief well appointed, that skippeth from city to city? so
who will believe a man that hath no house, and lodgeth wheresoever the night taketh him?
Sefarim
Ben Sira37
Sirach / Ecclesiasticus · Chapter 37
Every friend saith, I am his friend also: but there is a friend, which is only a friend in name.
Is it not a grief unto death, when a companion and friend is turned to an enemy?
O wicked imagination, whence camest thou in to cover the earth with deceit?
There is a companion, which rejoiceth in the prosperity of a friend, but in the time of trouble will be against him.
There is a companion, which helpeth his friend for the belly, and taketh up the buckler against the enemy.
Forget not thy friend in thy mind, and be not unmindful of him in thy riches.
Every counsellor extolleth counsel; but there is some that counselleth for himself.
Beware of a counsellor, and know before what need he hath; for he will counsel for himself; lest he cast the lot upon thee,
And say unto thee, Thy way is good: and afterward he stand on the other side, to see what shall befall thee.
Consult not with one that suspecteth thee: and hide thy counsel from such as envy thee.
Neither consult with a woman touching her of whom she is jealous; neither with a coward in matters of war; nor with a merchant concerning exchange; nor with a buyer of selling; nor with an envious man of thankfulness; nor with an unmerciful man touching kindness; nor with the slothful for any work; nor with an hireling for a year of finishing work; nor with an idle servant of much business: hearken not unto these in any matter of counsel.
But be continually with a godly man, whom thou knowest to keep the mitsvot of the master, whose, mind is according to thy mind, and will sorrow with thee, if thou shalt miscarry.
And let the counsel of thine own heart stand: for there is no man more faithful unto thee than it.
For a man’s mind is sometime wont to tell him more than seven watchmen, that sit above in an high tower.
And above all this pray to the most High, that he will direct thy way in truth.
Let reason go before every enterprize, and counsel before every action.
The countenance is a sign of changing of the heart.
Four manner of things appear: good and evil, life and death: but the tongue ruleth over them continually.
There is one that is wise and teacheth many, and yet is unprofitable to himself.
There is one that sheweth wisdom in words, and is hated: he shall be destitute of all food.
For grace is not given, him from the master, because he is deprived of all wisdom.
Another is wise to himself; and the fruits of understanding are commendable in his mouth.
A wise man instructeth his people; and the fruits of his understanding fail not.
A wise man shall be filled with blessing; and all they that see him shall count him happy.
The days of the life of man may be numbered: but the days of Yisra'el are innumerable.
A wise man shall inherit glory among his people, and his name shall be perpetual.
My son, prove thy nephesh in thy life, and see what is evil for it, and give not that unto it.
For all things are not profitable for all men, neither hath every nephesh pleasure in every thing.
Be not unsatiable in any dainty thing, nor too greedy upon meats:
For excess of meats bringeth sickness, and surfeiting will turn into choler.
By surfeiting have many perished; but he that taketh heed prolongeth his life.