Sefarim
Ben Sira41
Sirach / Ecclesiasticus · Chapter 41
O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liveth at rest in his possessions, unto the man that hath nothing to vex him, and that hath prosperity in all things: yea, unto him that is yet able to receive meat!
O death, acceptable is thy sentence unto the needy, and unto him whose strength faileth, that is now in the last age, and is vexed with all things, and to him that despaireth, and hath lost patience!
Fear not the sentence of death, remember them that have been before thee, and that come after; for this is the sentence of the master over all flesh.
And why art thou against the pleasure of the most High? there is no inquisition in the grave, whether thou have lived ten, or an hundred, or a thousand years.
The children of sinners are abominable children, and they that are conversant in the dwelling of the ungodly.
The inheritance of sinners’ children shall perish, and their posterity shall have a perpetual reproach.
The children will complain of an ungodly father, because they shall be reproached for his sake.
Woe be unto you, ungodly men, which have forsaken the torah of the most high Elohim! for if ye increase, it shall be to your destruction:
And if ye be born, ye shall be born to a curse: and if ye die, a curse shall be your portion.
All that are of the earth shall turn to earth again: so the ungodly shall go from a curse to destruction.
The mourning of men is about their bodies: but an ill name of sinners shall be blotted out.
Have regard to thy name; for that shall continue with thee above a thousand great treasures of gold.
A good life hath but few days: but a good name endureth for ever.
My children, keep discipline in peace: for wisdom that is hid, and a treasure that is not seen, what profit is in them both?
A man that hideth his foolishness is better than a man that hideth his wisdom.
Therefore be shamefaced according to my word: for it is not good to retain all shamefacedness; neither is it altogether approved in every thing.
Be ashamed of whoredom before father and mother: and of a lie before a prince and a mighty man;
Of an offence before a judge and ruler; of iniquity before a congregation and people; of unjust dealing before thy partner and friend;
And of theft in regard of the place where thou sojournest, and in regard of the truth of Elohim and his b'rit; and to lean with thine elbow upon the meat; and of scorning to give and take;
And of silence before them that salute thee; and to look upon an harlot;
And to turn away thy face from thy kinsman; or to take away a portion or a gift; or to gaze upon another man’s wife.
Or to be overbusy with his maid, and come not near her bed; or of upbraiding speeches before friends; and after thou hast given, upbraid not;
Or of iterating and speaking again that which thou hast heard; and of revealing of secrets.
So shalt thou be truly shamefaced and find favour before all men.
Sefarim
Ben Sira42
Sirach / Ecclesiasticus · Chapter 42
Of these things be not thou ashamed, and accept no person to sin thereby:
Of the torah of the most High, and his b'rit; and of judgment to justify the ungodly;
Of reckoning with thy partners and travellers; or of the gift of the heritage of friends;
Of exactness of balance and weights; or of getting much or little;
And of merchants’ indifferent selling; of much correction of children; and to make the side of an evil servant to bleed.
Sure keeping is good, where an evil wife is; and shut up, where many hands are.
Deliver all things in number and weight; and put all in writing that thou givest out, or receivest in.
Be not ashamed to inform the unwise and foolish, and the extreme aged that contendeth with those that are young: thus shalt thou be truly learned, and approved of all men living.
The father waketh for the daughter, when no man knoweth; and the care for her taketh away sleep: when she is young, lest she pass away the flower of her age; and being married, lest she should be hated:
In her virginity, lest she should be defiled and gotten with child in her father’s house; and having an husband, lest she should misbehave herself; and when she is married, lest she should be barren.
Keep a sure watch over a shameless daughter, lest she make thee a laughingstock to thine enemies, and a byword in the city, and a reproach among the people, and make thee ashamed before the multitude.
Behold not every body’s beauty, and sit not in the midst of women.
For from garments cometh a moth, and from women wickedness.
Better is the churlishness of a man than a courteous woman, a woman, I say, which bringeth shame and reproach.
I will now remember the works of the master, and declare the things that I have seen: In the words of the master are his works.
The sun that giveth light looketh upon all things, and the work thereof is full of the glory of the master.
The master hath not given power to the saints to declare all his marvellous works, which the Almighty master firmly settled, that whatsoever is might be established for his glory.
He seeketh out the deep, and the heart, and considereth their crafty devices: for the master knoweth all that may be known, and he beholdeth the signs of the world.
He declareth the things that are past, and for to come, and revealeth the steps of hidden things.
No thought escapeth him, neither any word is hidden from him.
He hath garnished the excellent works of his wisdom, and he is from everlasting to everlasting: unto him may nothing be added, neither can he be diminished, and he hath no need of any counsellor.
Oh how desirable are all his works! and that a man may see even to a spark.
All these things live and remain for ever for all uses, and they are all obedient.
All things are double one against another: and he hath made nothing imperfect.
One thing establisheth the good or another: and who shall be filled with beholding his glory?
Sefarim
Ben Sira43
Sirach / Ecclesiasticus · Chapter 43
The pride of the height, the clear firmament, the beauty of shamayim, with his glorious shew;
The sun when it appeareth, declaring at his rising a marvellous instrument, the work of the most High:
At noon it parcheth the country, and who can abide the burning heat thereof?
A man blowing a furnace is in works of heat, but the sun burneth the mountains three times more; breathing out fiery vapours, and sending forth bright beams, it dimmeth the eyes.
Great is the master that made it; and at his mitsvah runneth hastily.
He made the moon also to serve in her season for a declaration of times, and a sign of the world.
From the moon is the sign of feasts, a light that decreaseth in her perfection.
The month is called after her name, increasing wonderfully in her changing, being an instrument of the armies above, shining in the firmament of shamayim;
The beauty of shamayim, the glory of the stars, an ornament giving light in the highest places of the master.
At the mitsvah of the Holy One they will stand in their order, and never faint in their watches.
Look upon the rainbow, and praise him that made it; very beautiful it is in the brightness thereof.
It compasseth the shamayim about with a glorious circle, and the hands of the most High have bended it.
By his mitsvah he maketh the snow to fall aplace, and sendeth swiftly the lightnings of his judgment.
Through this the treasures are opened: and clouds fly forth as fowls.
By his great power he maketh the clouds firm, and the hailstones are broken small.
At his sight the mountains are shaken, and at his will the south wind bloweth.
The noise of the thunder maketh the earth to tremble: so doth the northern storm and the whirlwind: as birds flying he scattereth the snow, and the falling down thereof is as the lighting of grasshoppers:
The eye marvelleth at the beauty of the whiteness thereof, and the heart is astonished at the raining of it.
The hoarfrost also as salt he poureth on the earth, and being congealed, it lieth on the top of sharp stakes.
When the cold north wind bloweth, and the water is congealed into ice, it abideth upon every gathering together of water, and clotheth the water as with a breastplate.
It devoureth the mountains, and burneth the wilderness, and consumeth the grass as fire.
A present remedy of all is a mist coming speedily, a dew coming after heat refresheth.
By his counsel he appeaseth the deep, and planteth islands therein.
They that sail on the sea tell of the danger thereof; and when we hear it with our ears, we marvel thereat.
For therein be strange and wondrous works, variety of all kinds of beasts and whales created.
By him the end of them hath prosperous success, and by his word all things consist.
We may speak much, and yet come short: wherefore in sum, he is all.
How shall we be able to magnify him? for he is great above all his works.
The master is terrible and very great, and marvellous is his power.
When ye glorify the master, exalt him as much as ye can; for even yet will he far exceed: and when ye exalt him, put forth all your strength, and be not weary; for ye can never go far enough.
Who hath seen him, that he might tell us? and who can magnify him as he is?
There are yet hid greater things than these be, for we have seen but a few of his works.
For the master hath made all things; and to the godly hath he given wisdom.