HOLY BIBLE: Sirach 25 (original) (raw)

17 18 πᾶσαν πληγὴν καὶ μὴ πληγὴν καρδίας 19 καὶ πᾶσαν πονηρίαν καὶ μὴ πονηρίαν γυναικός 20 πᾶσαν ἐπαγωγὴν καὶ μὴ ἐπαγωγὴν μισούντων καὶ 21 πᾶσαν ἐκδίκησιν καὶ μὴ ἐκδίκησιν ἐχθρῶν 22 οὐκ ἔστιν κεφαλὴ ὑπὲρ κεφαλὴν ὄφεως 23 καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν θυμὸς ὑπὲρ θυμὸν ἐχθροῦ συνοικῆσαι λέοντι καὶ δράκοντι εὐδοκήσω ἢ συνοικῆσαι μετὰ γυναικὸς πονηρᾶς 24 πονηρία γυναικὸς ἀλλοιοῖ τὴν ὅρασιν αὐτῆς καὶ σκοτοῖ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτῆς ὡς ἄρκος ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν πλησίον αὐτοῦ 25 ἀναπεσεῖται ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς καὶ ἀκουσίως ἀνεστέναξεν πικρά 26 μικρὰ πᾶσα κακία πρὸς κακίαν γυναικός κλῆρος ἁμαρτωλοῦ ἐπιπέσοι αὐτῇ 27 ἀνάβασις ἀμμώδης ἐν ποσὶν πρεσβυτέρου οὕτως γυνὴ γλωσσώδης ἀνδρὶ ἡσύχῳ 28 μὴ προσπέσῃς ἐπὶ κάλλος γυναικὸς καὶ γυναῖκα μὴ ἐπιποθήσῃς 29 ὀργὴ καὶ ἀναίδεια καὶ αἰσχύνη μεγάλη 30 γυνὴ ἐὰν ἐπιχορηγῇ τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς 31 καρδία ταπεινὴ καὶ πρόσωπον σκυθρωπὸν καὶ πληγὴ καρδίας γυνὴ πονηρά 32 χεῖρες παρειμέναι καὶ γόνατα παραλελυμένα ἥτις οὐ μακαριεῖ τὸν ἄνδρα αὐτῆς 33 ἀπὸ γυναικὸς ἀρχὴ ἁμαρτίας καὶ δ{I'} αὐτὴν ἀποθνῄσκομεν πάντες 34 μὴ δῷς ὕδατι διέξοδον μηδὲ γυναικὶ πονηρᾷ παρρησίαν 35 εἰ μὴ πορεύεται κατὰ χεῖράς σου 36 ἀπὸ τῶν σαρκῶν σου ἀπότεμε αὐτήν

17 There is no sadness but what touches the heart, no mischief but what comes from woman. 18 A man will endure any wound but the heart’s wound, 19 and any malice but a woman’s; 20 just so he will endure any annoyance but from his ill-wishers, 21 any sentence imposed on him but by his enemies.[2] 22 No head so venomous as the viper’s, 23 nor any anger like a woman’s. Better share thy home with lion and serpent both, than with an ill woman’s company. 24 A woman’s ill will changes the very look of her; grim as a bear’s her visage, and she goes like one mourning. See where he sits among his neighbours, 25 that husband of hers, groaning deep and sighing as he listens to them! 26 All other mischief is a slight thing beside the mischief an ill woman does; may she fall to a sinner’s lot! 27 Better climb sandy cliff with the feet of old age, than be a peace-loving man mated with a scold. 28 Let not thy eye be caught by a woman’s beauty; not for her beauty desire her; 29 think of woman’s rage, her shamelessness, the dishonour she can do thee, 30 how hard it goes with a man if his wife will have the uppermost. 31 Crushed spirits, a clouded brow, a heavy heart, all this is an ill woman’s work; 32 faint hand and flagging knee betoken one unblessed in his marriage. 33 Through a woman sin first began; such fault was hers, we all must die for it. 34 Thy cistern thou wouldst not let leak, ever so little; and wouldst thou let a wanton wife roam at large? 35 Leave she once thy side, thou shalt be the laughing-stock of thy enemies; 36 best cut away the ill growth from thy flesh; she will ever be taking advantage of thee.

17

Omnis plaga tristitia cordis est,
et omnis malitia nequitia mulieris.

18
Et omnem plagam, et non plagam videbit cordis: 19
et omnem nequitiam, et non nequitiam mulieris: 20
et omnem obductum, et non obductum odientium: 21
et omnem vindictam, et non vindictam inimicorum. 22
Non est caput nequius super caput colubri, 23
et non est ira super iram mulieris.
Commorari leoni et draconi placebit,
quam habitare cum muliere nequam. 24
Nequitia mulieris immutat faciem ejus:
et obcæcat vultum suum tamquam ursus,
et quasi saccum ostendit.
In medio proximorum ejus 25
ingemuit vir ejus,
et audiens suspiravit modicum. 26
Brevis omnis malitia super malitiam mulieris:
sors peccatorum cadat super illam. 27
Sicut ascensus arenosus in pedibus veterani,
sic mulier linguata homini quieto. 28
Ne respicias in mulieris speciem,
et non concupiscas mulierem in specie. 29
Mulieris ira, et irreverentia,
et confusio magna. 30
Mulier si primatum habeat,
contraria est viro suo. 31
Cor humile, et facies tristis,
et plaga cordis, mulier nequam. 32
Manus debiles et genua dissoluta,
mulier quæ non beatificat virum suum. 33
A muliere initium factum est peccati,
et per illam omnes morimur. 34
Non des aquæ tuæ exitum, nec modicum:
nec mulieri nequam veniam prodeundi. 35
Si non ambulaverit ad manum tuam,
confundet te in conspectu inimicorum. 36
A carnibus tuis abscinde illam,
ne semper te abutatur.

[1] It seems possible that one of the nine beatitudes has fallen out through a textual error, unless we reckon wisdom and skill in verse 13 as separate sources of happiness.

[2] vv. 20, 21: It is difficult to feel certain that our versions have preserved the exact sense of the original. These two verses entirely break up the continuity of the context; in verse 23 the Greek makes matters worse by giving us ‘like an enemy’s’ instead of ‘like a woman’s’. The word translated ‘sentence’ in verse 21 is literally ‘vengeance’; and it is hard to see from what other class of people than one’s enemies vengeance could reasonably be expected.

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