The Book of Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus) [The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus]
Project Gutenberg EPUB edition
Anonymous
7:34 Fail not to be with them that weep, and mourn with them that mourn.
7:35 Be not slow to visit the sick: for that shall make thee to be beloved.
7:36 Whatsoever thou takest in hand, remember the end, and thou shalt never do amiss.
8:1 Strive not with a mighty man, lest thou fall into his hands.
8:2 Be not at variance with a rich man, lest he overweigh thee: for gold hath destroyed many, and perverted the hearts of kings.
8:3 Strive not with a man that is full of tongue, and heap not wood upon his fire.
8:4 Jest not with a rude man, lest thy ancestors be disgraced.
8:5 Reproach not a man that turneth from sin, but remember that we are all worthy of punishment.
8:6 Dishonour not a man in his old age: for even some of us wax old.
8:7 Rejoice not over thy greatest enemy being dead, but remember that we die all.
8:8 Despise not the discourse of the wise, but acquaint thyself with their proverbs: for of them thou shalt learn instruction, and how to serve great men with ease.
8:9 Miss not the discourse of the elders: for they also learned of their fathers, and of them thou shalt learn understanding, and to give answer as need requireth.
8:10 Kindle not the coals of a sinner, lest thou be burnt with the flame of his fire.
8:11 Rise not up [in anger] at the presence of an injurious person, lest he lie in wait to entrap thee in thy words
8:12 Lend not unto him that is mightier than thyself; for if thou lendest him, count it but lost.
8:13 Be not surety above thy power: for if thou be surety, take care to pay it.
8:14 Go not to law with a judge; for they will judge for him according to his honour.
8:15 Travel not by the way with a bold fellow, lest he become grievous unto thee: for he will do according to his own will, and thou shalt perish with him through his folly.
8:16 Strive not with an angry man, and go not with him into a solitary place: for blood is as nothing in his sight, and where there is no help, he will overthrow thee.
8:17 Consult not with a fool; for he cannot keep counsel.
8:18 Do no secret thing before a stranger; for thou knowest not what he will bring forth.
8:19 Open not thine heart to every man, lest he requite thee with a shrewd turn.
9:1 Be not jealous over the wife of thy bosom, and teach her not an evil lesson against thyself.
9:2 Give not thy soul unto a woman to set her foot upon thy substance.
9:3 Meet not with an harlot, lest thou fall into her snares.
9:4 Use not much the company of a woman that is a singer, lest thou be taken with her attempts.
9:5 Gaze not on a maid, that thou fall not by those things that are precious in her.
9:6 Give not thy soul unto harlots, that thou lose not thine inheritance.
9:7 Look not round about thee in the streets of the city, neither wander thou in the solitary place thereof.
9:8 Turn away thine eye from a beautiful woman, and look not upon another’s beauty; for many have been deceived by the beauty of a woman; for herewith love is kindled as a fire.
9:9 Sit not at all with another man’s wife, nor sit down with her in thine arms, and spend not thy money with her at the wine; lest thine heart incline unto her, and so through thy desire thou fall into destruction.
9:10 Forsake not an old friend; for the new is not comparable to him: a new friend is as new wine; when it is old, thou shalt drink it with pleasure.
9:11 Envy not the glory of a sinner: for thou knowest not what shall be his end.
9:12 Delight not in the thing that the ungodly have pleasure in; but remember they shall not go unpunished unto their grave.
9:13 Keep thee far from the man that hath power to kill; so shalt thou not doubt the fear of death: and if thou come unto him, make no fault, lest he take away thy life presently: remember that thou goest in the midst of snares, and that thou walkest upon the battlements of the city.
9:14 As near as thou canst, guess at thy neighbour, and consult with the wise.
9:15 Let thy talk be with the wise, and all thy communication in the law of the most High.
9:16 And let just men eat and drink with thee; and let thy glorying be in the fear of the Lord.
9:17 For the hand of the artificer the work shall be commended: and the wise ruler of the people for his speech.
9:18 A man of an ill tongue is dangerous in his city; and he that is rash in his talk shall be hated.