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Sirach 28

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1 ὁ ἐκδικῶν παρὰ κυρίου εὑρήσει ἐκδίκησιν καὶ τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ διατηρῶν διατηρήσει 2 ἄφες ἀδίκημα τῷ πλησίον σου καὶ τότε δεηθέντος σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου λυθήσονται 3 ἄνθρωπος ἀνθρώπῳ συντηρεῖ ὀργήν καὶ παρὰ κυρίου ζητεῖ ἴασιν 4 ἐ{P'} ἄνθρωπον ὅμοιον αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔχει ἔλεος καὶ περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτοῦ δεῖται 5 αὐτὸς σὰρξ ὢν διατηρεῖ μῆνιν τίς ἐξιλάσεται τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ 6 μνήσθητι τὰ ἔσχατα καὶ παῦσαι ἐχθραίνων 7 καταφθορὰν καὶ θάνατον καὶ ἔμμενε ἐντολαῖς 8 μνήσθητι ἐντολῶν καὶ μὴ μηνίσῃς τῷ πλησίον 9 καὶ διαθήκην ὑψίστου καὶ πάριδε ἄγνοιαν

1 He that will be avenged brings on himself the Lord’s vengeance; watch and ward shall be kept over his sins continually. 2 Forgive thy neighbour his fault, and for thy own sins thy prayer shall win pardon; 3 should man bear man a grudge, and yet look to the Lord for healing? 4 Should he refuse mercy to his fellow-man, yet ask forgiveness, 5 should he think to appease God, while he, a mortal man, is obdurate? Who shall plead for his acquittal? 6 Look to thy last end, and leave thy quarrelling; 7 with the grave’s corruption God’s commandments threaten thee.[1] 8 Thy God fear, thy neighbour forgive; 9 the covenant of the most High remember, thy neighbour’s slip forget.

1

Qui vindicari vult, a Domino inveniet vindictam,
et peccata illius servans servabit. 2
Relinque proximo tuo nocenti te,
et tunc deprecanti tibi peccata solventur. 3
Homo homini reservat iram,
et a Deo quærit medelam: 4
in hominem similem sibi non habet misericordiam,
et de peccatis suis deprecatur. 5
Ipse cum caro sit reservat iram,
et propitiationem petit a Deo:
quis exorabit pro delictis illius? 6
Memento novissimorum, et desine inimicari: 7
tabitudo enim et mors imminent in mandatis ejus. 8
Memorare timorem Dei,
et non irascaris proximo. 9
Memorare testamentum Altissimi,
et despice ignorantiam proximi.

10 ἀπόσχου ἀπὸ μάχης καὶ ἐλαττώσεις ἁμαρτίας 11 ἄνθρωπος γὰρ θυμώδης ἐκκαύσει μάχην καὶ ἀνὴρ ἁμαρτωλὸς ταράξει φίλους καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον εἰρηνευόντων ἐμβαλεῖ διαβολήν 12 κατὰ τὴν ὕλην τοῦ πυρὸς οὕτως ἐκκαυθήσεται καὶ κατὰ τὴν στερέωσιν τῆς μάχης ἐκκαυθήσεται κατὰ τὴν ἰσχὺν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ὁ θυμὸς αὐτοῦ ἔσται καὶ κατὰ τὸν πλοῦτον ἀνυψώσει ὀργὴν αὐτοῦ

10 Keep clear of quarrelling, and sin shall less abound. 11 Quick temper sets feuds a-raging, and wicked men there are that will embroil fast friends, and stir up strife among folk that lived at peace. 12 More fuel, more fire; strong man will rage the more, rich man push his vengeance further.

10
Abstine te a lite,
et minues peccata. 11
Homo enim iracundus incendit litem,
et vir peccator turbabit amicos,
et in medio pacem habentium immittet inimicitiam. 12
Secundum enim ligna silvæ sic ignis exardescit:
et secundum virtutem hominis sic iracundia illius erit,
et secundum substantiam suam exaltabit iram suam.

13 ἔρις κατασπευδομένη ἐκκαίει πῦρ καὶ μάχη κατασπεύδουσα ἐκχέει αἷμα 14 ἐὰν φυσήσῃς εἰς σπινθῆρα ἐκκαήσεται καὶ ἐὰν πτύσῃς ἐ{P'} αὐτόν σβεσθήσεται καὶ ἀμφότερα ἐκ τοῦ στόματός σου ἐκπορεύεται 15 ψίθυρον καὶ δίγλωσσον καταράσασθε πολλοὺς γὰρ εἰρηνεύοντας ἀπώλεσεν 16 γλῶσσα τρίτη πολλοὺς ἐσάλευσεν καὶ διέστησεν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ ἔθνους εἰς ἔθνος 17 καὶ πόλεις ὀχυρὰς καθεῖλεν καὶ οἰκίας μεγιστάνων κατέστρεψεν 18 19 γλῶσσα τρίτη γυναῖκας ἀνδρείας ἐξέβαλεν καὶ ἐστέρεσεν αὐτὰς τῶν πόνων αὐτῶν 20 ὁ προσέχων αὐτῇ οὐ μὴ εὕρῃ ἀνάπαυσιν οὐδὲ κατασκηνώσει με{Q'} ἡσυχίας 21 πληγὴ μάστιγος ποιεῖ μώλωπα πληγὴ δὲ γλώσσης συγκλάσει ὀστᾶ 22 πολλοὶ ἔπεσαν ἐν στόματι μαχαίρας καὶ οὐχ ὡς οἱ πεπτωκότες διὰ γλῶσσαν

13 Heat is gendered by the haste of rivalry, and bloodshed by hot blood; but it is tongue of witness that brings death. 14 Spark blown upon will blaze, spat upon will die out; see how of both the mouth is arbiter! 15 A curse on every tale-bearer and traducer that disturbs the world’s peace! 16 Tongue that comes between two friends, how many it has exiled, sent them to wander far away, 17 how many rich cities dismantled, great houses demolished, 18 what armies it has routed, what proud nations brought to ruin, 19 what noble women it has driven out from their homes, and left all their toil unrewarded! 20 Pay heed to it, and thou shalt never rest more, never find friend in whom thou canst trust. 21 Whip that lashes does but bruise the skin; tongue that lashes will break bones; 22 the sword has killed many, the tongue more.

13
Certamen festinatum incendit ignem,
et lis festinans effundit sanguinem:
et lingua testificans adducit mortem. 14
Si sufflaveris in scintillam, quasi ignis exardebit:
et si exspueris super illam, extinguetur:
utraque ex ore proficiscuntur. 15

Susurro et bilinguis maledictus,
multos enim turbabit pacem habentes. 16
Lingua tertia multos commovit,
et dispersit illos de gente in gentem. 17
Civitates muratas divitum destruxit,
et domus magnatorum effodit. 18
Virtutes populorum concidit,
et gentes fortes dissolvit. 19
Lingua tertia mulieres viratas ejecit,
et privavit illas laboribus suis. 20
Qui respicit illam non habebit requiem,
nec habebit amicum in quo requiescat. 21
Flagelli plaga livorem facit:
plaga autem linguæ comminuet ossa. 22
Multi ceciderunt in ore gladii:
sed non sic quasi qui interierunt per linguam suam.

23 μακάριος ὁ σκεπασθεὶς ἀ{P'} αὐτῆς ὃς οὐ διῆλθεν ἐν τῷ θυμῷ αὐτῆς ὃς οὐχ εἵλκυσεν τὸν ζυγὸν αὐτῆς καὶ ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς αὐτῆς οὐκ ἐδέθη 24 ὁ γὰρ ζυγὸς αὐτῆς ζυγὸς σιδηροῦς καὶ οἱ δεσμοὶ αὐτῆς δεσμοὶ χάλκειοι 25 θάνατος πονηρὸς ὁ θάνατος αὐτῆς καὶ λυσιτελὴς μᾶλλον ὁ ᾅδης αὐτῆς 26 οὐ μὴ κρατήσῃ εὐσεβῶν καὶ ἐν τῇ φλογὶ αὐτῆς οὐ καήσονται 27 οἱ καταλείποντες κύριον ἐμπεσοῦνται εἰς αὐτήν καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐκκαήσεται καὶ οὐ μὴ σβεσθῇ ἐπαποσταλήσεται αὐτοῖς ὡς λέων καὶ ὡς πάρδαλις λυμανεῖται αὐτούς 28 ἰδὲ περίφραξον τὸ κτῆμά σου ἀκάνθαις 29 τὸ ἀργύριόν σου καὶ τὸ χρυσίον κατάδησον καὶ τοῖς λόγοις σου ποίησον ζυγὸν καὶ σταθμὸν καὶ τῷ στόματί σου ποίησον θύραν καὶ μοχλόν 30 πρόσεχε μήπως ὀλίσθῃς ἐν αὐτῇ μὴ πέσῃς κατέναντι ἐνεδρεύοντος

23 Blessed is he that is preserved from the tongue’s wickedness, that has never felt its fury, never borne its yoke or worn its chains; 24 that yoke of iron, those chains of bronze! 25 Here is death worse than death itself, here is loss the grave cannot outvie. 26 Not for ever shall its reign persist, but where wicked men go it still follows; the just it cannot consume, 27 but if thou forsake God thou shalt encounter it, a fire that burns thee and will not be quenched, an assault more perilous than assault of lion or pard. 28 Fence thy ears about with thorns, and give the wicked tongue no hearing; make fast thy mouth with bolt and bar. 29 Melt down gold and silver of thine, and get thee a balance that shall weigh thy words, a bridle that shall be the rule of thy mouth;[2] 30 do all that lies in thee to keep thy tongue from speaking amiss, lest lurking enemies triumph over thy ruin, the fatal and final ruin that shall be thine.

23
Beatus qui tectus est a lingua nequam,
qui in iracundiam illius non transivit,
et qui non attraxit jugum illius,
et in vinculis ejus non est ligatus: 24
jugum enim illius jugum ferreum est,
et vinculum illius vinculum æreum est; 25
mors illius mors nequissima:
et utilis potius infernus quam illa. 26
Perseverantia illius non permanebit,
sed obtinebit vias injustorum,
et in flamma sua non comburet justos. 27
Qui relinquunt Deum incident in illam,
et exardebit in illis, et non extinguetur,
et immittetur in illos quasi leo,
et quasi pardus lædet illos. 28
Sepi aures tuas spinis:
linguam nequam noli audire:
et ori tuo facito ostia et seras. 29
Aurum tuum et argentum tuum confla,
et verbis tuis facito stateram,
et frenos ori tuo rectos: 30
et attende ne forte labaris in lingua,
et cadas in conspectu inimicorum insidiantium tibi,
et sit casus tuus insanabilis in mortem.

[1] Literally, in the Latin, ‘Corruption and death threaten in his commandments’; in the Greek ‘(look to) corruption and death, and abide in his commandments’.

[2] vv. 28, 29: The Greek here differs from the Latin considerably, but its effect is the same, and makes it clear that the sacred author is alluding, all through this paragraph, not to the danger of incurring calumny, but to the danger of falling into a habit of calumniating others.

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