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Sirach 32

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1 ἡγούμενόν σε κατέστησαν μὴ ἐπαίρου γίνου ἐν αὐτοῖς ὡς εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν 2 φρόντισον αὐτῶν καὶ οὕτω κάθισον καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν χρείαν σου ποιήσας ἀνάπεσε 3 ἵνα εὐφρανθῇς δ{I'} αὐτοὺς καὶ εὐκοσμίας χάριν λάβῃς στέφανον 4 λάλησον πρεσβύτερε πρέπει γάρ σοι 5 ἐν ἀκριβεῖ ἐπιστήμῃ καὶ μὴ ἐμποδίσῃς μουσικά 6 ὅπου ἀκρόαμα μὴ ἐκχέῃς λαλιὰν καὶ ἀκαίρως μὴ σοφίζου 7 σφραγὶς ἄνθρακος ἐπὶ κόσμῳ χρυσῷ σύγκριμα μουσικῶν ἐν συμποσίῳ οἴνου 8 ἐν κατασκευάσματι χρυσῷ σφραγὶς σμαράγδου μέλος μουσικῶν ἐ{F'} ἡδεῖ οἴνῳ

1 If they will make thee master of the feast, do not give thyself airs; bear thyself as an equal. 2 Make good provision for the guests, and so take thy place among them; thy duty done, recline at ease, 3 and in their pleasure rejoice, accepting the crown that marks their favour, the honour bestowed by their gifts. 4 Speak first, as becomes thy seniority, 5 but with due choice of words; and do not break in when music is a-playing; 6 no need for thy words to flow when none is listening, for thy wisdom to be displayed unseasonably. 7 Music and wine, carbuncle set in gold, 8 music and wine, signet ring of gold and emerald, so the wine be good, and taken in due measure.

1

Rectorem te posuerunt? noli extolli:
esto in illis quasi unus ex ipsis. 2
Curam illorum habe, et sic conside,
et omni cura tua explicita recumbe: 3
ut læteris propter illos,
et ornamentum gratiæ accipias coronam,
et dignationem consequaris corrogationis. 4
Loquere major natu:
decet enim te 5
primum verbum diligenti scientia,
et non impedias musicam. 6
Ubi auditus non est, non effundas sermonem,
et importune noli extolli in sapientia tua. 7
Gemmula carbunculi in ornamento auri,
et comparatio musicorum in convivio vini. 8
Sicut in fabricatione auri signum est smaragdi,
sic numerus musicorum in jucundo et moderato vino.

9 10 λάλησον νεανίσκε εἰ χρεία σου μόλις 11 δὶς ἐὰν ἐπερωτηθῇς κεφαλαίωσον λόγον 12 ἐν ὀλίγοις πολλά γίνου ὡς γινώσκων καὶ ἅμα σιωπῶν 13 ἐν μέσῳ μεγιστάνων μὴ ἐξισάζου καὶ ἑτέρου λέγοντος μὴ πολλὰ ἀδολέσχει 14 πρὸ βροντῆς κατασπεύδει ἀστραπή καὶ πρὸ αἰσχυντηροῦ προελεύσεται χάρις 15 ἐν ὥρᾳ ἐξεγείρου καὶ μὴ οὐράγει ἀπότρεχε εἰς οἶκον καὶ μὴ ῥᾳθύμει ἐκεῖ παῖζε 16 καὶ ποίει τὰ ἐνθυμήματά σου καὶ μὴ ἁμάρτῃς λόγῳ ὑπερηφάνῳ 17 καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις εὐλόγησον τὸν ποιήσαντά σε καὶ μεθύσκοντά σε ἀπὸ τῶν ἀγαθῶν αὐτοῦ

9 Keep silence, and give others a hearing; it shall win thee a name for modesty; 10 if thou art but a young man, be loth to speak even of what concerns thee, 11 and if thou art pressed for an answer, give it in brief. 12 For the most part keep thy knowledge concealed under a mask of silence and enquiry; 13 nor ever be familiar among great men, nor garrulous among the wise. 14 Sure as the lightning is sign of a storm, men’s good word is the sign of a modest nature; they will love thee all the better for thy bashfulness. 15 When the time comes for going, do not linger; get thee gone speedily to thy home, there to divert thyself, and take thy ease, 16 and follow the whim of thy own thoughts, yet innocently and with no word proudly said. 17 And for all this give thanks to God thy maker, that so contents thee with his gifts.

9
Audi tacens,
et pro reverentia accedet tibi bona gratia. 10
Adolescens, loquere in tua causa vix. 11
Si bis interrogatus fueris,
habeat caput responsum tuum. 12
In multis esto quasi inscius,
et audi tacens simul et quærens. 13
In medio magnatorum non præsumas:
et ubi sunt senes non multum loquaris. 14
Ante grandinem præibit coruscatio:
et ante verecundiam præibit gratia,
et pro reverentia accedet tibi bona gratia. 15
Et hora surgendi non te trices:
præcurre autem prior in domum tuam,
et illic avocare, et illic lude, 16
et age conceptiones tuas,
et non in delictis et verbo superbo: 17
et super his omnibus benedicito Dominum, qui fecit,
et inebriantem te ab omnibus bonis suis.

18 ὁ φοβούμενος κύριον ἐκδέξεται παιδείαν καὶ οἱ ὀρθρίζοντες εὑρήσουσιν εὐδοκίαν 19 ὁ ζητῶν νόμον ἐμπλησθήσεται αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ ὑποκρινόμενος σκανδαλισθήσεται ἐν αὐτῷ 20 οἱ φοβούμενοι κύριον εὑρήσουσιν κρίμα καὶ δικαιώματα ὡς φῶς ἐξάψουσιν 21 ἄνθρωπος ἁμαρτωλὸς ἐκκλινεῖ ἐλεγμὸν καὶ κατὰ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ εὑρήσει σύγκριμα 22 ἀνὴρ βουλῆς οὐ μὴ παρίδῃ διανόημα ἀλλότριος καὶ ὑπερήφανος οὐ καταπτήξει φόβον 23 24 ἄνευ βουλῆς μηθὲν ποιήσῃς καὶ ἐν τῷ ποιῆσαί σε μὴ μεταμελοῦ 25 ἐν ὁδῷ ἀντιπτώματος μὴ πορεύου καὶ μὴ προσκόψῃς ἐν λιθώδεσιν μὴ πιστεύσῃς ἐν ὁδῷ ἀπροσκόπῳ 26 καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν τέκνων σου φύλαξαι 27 ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ πίστευε τῇ ψυχῇ σου καὶ γὰρ τοῦτό ἐστιν τήρησις ἐντολῶν 28 ὁ πιστεύων νόμῳ προσέχει ἐντολαῖς καὶ ὁ πεποιθὼς κυρίῳ οὐκ ἐλαττωθήσεται

18 If thou fearest the Lord, thou wilt accept the schooling he gives thee, waiting early at his door to win his blessing. 19 In the law, the law’s follower finds deep content, the false heart nothing but a snare to catch it. 20 Those who fear the Lord will discover where right lies, the light of truth shall shine from their awards;[1] 21 the sinner fears to have his life reproved, and will ever be finding precedents for gratifying his own whim. 22 A man of prudence will never throw caution to the winds; his proud enemy feels no dread 23 even upon rashly provoking him, but shall live to rue the assault.[2] 24 Do nothing, my son, save with consideration, and thy deeds shall not bring thee repentance. 25 Take not some ruinous road that shall trip thee with its boulders; some road where all journeying is difficult[3] and thou mayst expose thy life to sudden dangers. 26 Of thy own children beware, be on thy watch against thy own household; 27 be it thine to trust with all thy soul’s confidence,[4] and thou hast kept the commandments. 28 Who trusts in God, keeps well God’s command; confidence in him was never disappointed.

18

Qui timet Dominum excipiet doctrinam ejus:
et qui vigilaverint ad illum invenient benedictionem. 19
Qui quærit legem replebitur ab ea,
et qui insidiose agit scandalizabitur in ea. 20
Qui timent Dominum invenient judicium justum,
et justitias quasi lumen accendent. 21
Peccator homo vitabit correptionem,
et secundum voluntatem suam inveniet comparationem. 22
Vir consilii non disperdet intelligentiam:
alienus et superbus non pertimescet timorem: 23
etiam postquam fecit cum eo sine consilio,
et suis insectationibus arguetur. 24
Fili, sine consilio nihil facias,
et post factum non pœnitebis. 25
In via ruinæ non eas, et non offendes in lapides:
nec credas te viæ laboriosæ, ne ponas animæ tuæ scandalum. 26
Et a filiis tuis cave,
et a domesticis tuis attende. 27
In omni opere tuo crede ex fide animæ tuæ,
hoc est enim conservatio mandatorum. 28
Qui credit Deo attendit mandatis:
et qui confidit in illo non minorabitur.

[1] Or perhaps ‘examples of obedience’ (to the Law).

[2] vv. 22, 23: The language here is very confused, and it seems likely that the true text may have been lost.

[3] In the Greek, ‘where there is no danger of stumbling’.

[4] Or perhaps, ‘to trust with all confidence in thy own soul’, that is, in thyself; this is probably the meaning of the Greek. But, in these later chapters, we have a Hebrew text to consult, which doubtless goes back (though with certain alterations) to the original manuscript from which Jesus, son of Sirac, made his Greek translation. And this, supported by the Syriac version, gives us ‘keeps watch over his own soul’ instead of ‘trusts his own soul’.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd