Sirach

¹ A wise judge shall judge his people, and the government of a prudent man shall be steady.

² As the judge of the people is himself, so also are his ministers: and what manner of man the ruler of a city is, such also are they that dwell therein.

³ An unwise king shall be the ruin of his people: and cities shall be inhabited through the prudence of the rulers.

⁴ The power of the earth is in the hand of God, and in his time he will raise up a profitable ruler over it.

⁵ The prosperity of man is in the hand of God, and upon the person of the scribe he shall lay his honour.

⁶ Remember not any injury done thee by thy neighbour, and do thou nothing by deeds of injury.

⁷ Pride is hateful before God and men: and all iniquity of nations is execrable.

⁸ A kingdom is translated from one people to another, because of injustices, and wrongs, and injuries, and divers deceits.

⁹ But nothing is more wicked than the covetous man. Why is earth and ashes proud?

¹⁰ There is not a more wicked thing than to love money: for such a one setteth even his own soul to sale: because while he liveth he hath cast away his bowels.

¹¹ All power is of short life. A long sickness is troublesome to the physician.

¹² The physician cutteth off it short sickness: so also a king is today, and tomorrow he shall die.

¹³ For when a man shall die, he shall inherit serpents, and beasts, and worms.

¹⁴ The beginning of the pride of man, is to fall off from God:

¹⁵ Because his heart is departed from him that made him: for pride is the beginning of all sin: be that holdeth it, shall be filled with maledictions, and it shall ruin him in the end.

¹⁶ Therefore hath the Lord disgraced the assemblies of the wicked, and hath utterly destroyed them.

¹⁷ God hath overturned the thrones of proud princes, and hath set up the meek in their stead.

¹⁸ God hath made the roots of proud nations to wither, and hath planted the humble of these nations.

¹⁹ The Lord hath overthrown the lands of the Gentiles, and hath destroyed them even to the foundation.

²⁰ He hath made some of them to wither away, and hath destroyed them, and hath made the memory of them to cease from the earth.

²¹ God hath abolished the memory of the proud, and hath preserved the memory of them that are humble in mind.

²² Pride was not made for men: nor wrath for the race of women.

²³ That seed of men shall be honoured, which feareth God: but that seed shall be dishonoured, which transgresseth the commandments of the Lord.

²⁴ In the midst of brethren their chief is honourable: so shall they that fear the Lord, be in his eyes.

²⁵ The fear of God is the glory of the rich, and of the honourable, and of the poor:

²⁶ Despise not a just man that is poor, and do not magnify a sinful man that is rich.

²⁷ The great man, and the judge, and the mighty is in honour: and there is none greater than he that feareth God.

²⁸ They that are free shall serve a servant that is wise: and a man that is prudent and well instructed will not murmur when he is reproved; and he that is ignorant, shall not be honoured.

²⁹ Extol not thyself in doing thy work, and linger not in the time of distress:

³⁰ Better is he that laboureth, and aboundeth in all things, than he that boasteth himself and wanteth bread.

³¹ My son, keep thy soul in meekness, and give it honour according to its desert.

³² Who will justify him that sinneth against his own soul? and who will honour him that dishonoureth his own soul?

³³ The poor man is glorified by his discipline and fear: and there is a man that is honoured for his wealth.

³⁴ But he that is glorified in poverty, how much more in wealth? and he that is glorified in wealth, let him fear poverty.