Sirak 14

¹Ne mutlu o adama ki, ağzıyla hata yapıp sürçmemiştir ve günahın verdiği kederle yüreği sarsılmamıştır.

²Ne mutlu o kişiye ki, kendi canı kendisini mahkum etmemiştir ve umudundan aşağı düşmemiştir.

³Küçük hesaplar yapan cimri bir adama zenginlik yaraşmaz; hasetçi bir insanın neyine gerek para?

⁴Kendi canından kısarak biriktiren başkaları için biriktirir; onun iyi şeyleriyle başkaları sefa sürecektir.

⁵Kendisine karşı kötü olan birinin kime iyiliği dokunur? O, kendi servetiyle bile keyif bulamaz.

⁶Kendine haset edip cimrilik yapandan daha kötüsü yoktur; bu onun kendi kötülüğünün cezasıdır.

⁷İyilik yapacak olsa bile bunu unutuş içinde yapar; sonunda yine de kötülüğünü açığa vurur.

⁸Gözüyle haset eden insan kötüdür; yüzünü çevirir ve canları görmezden gelir.

⁹Doyumsuzun gözü payına düşenle doymaz; kötü haksızlık insanın canını kurutur.

¹⁰Kötü göz ekmeğe karşı kıskançtır ve kendi sofrasında ekmek her zaman eksiktir.

¹¹Oğlum, elinde ne varsa kendin için iyi değerlendir ve Rabbe layık olduğu sunuları sun.

¹²Unutma ki ölüm gecikmeyecektir ve ölüler diyarının antlaşması sana gösterilmemiştir.

¹³Ölmeden önce dostuna iyilik et; gücünün yettiği ölçüde elini uzat ve ona ver.

¹⁴Güzel bir günün nimetinden kendini mahrum etme ve iyi bir arzunun payının seni geçip gitmesine izin verme.

¹⁵Emeklerini bir başkasına ve zahmetlerini miras paylaşımına bırakmayacak mısın?

¹⁶Ver ve al, kendi canını avut; çünkü ölüler diyarında sefa aramak yoktur.

¹⁷Her beden bir giysi gibi eskir; çünkü başlangıçtan beri geçerli olan yasa şudur: "Kesinlikle öleceksin."

¹⁸Sık yapraklı bir ağacın üzerindeki yeşil yapraklar gibidir: Kimi dökülürken kimi yeniden sürgün verir; etten ve kandan olan insan kuşağı da böyledir: Biri ölürken diğeri doğar.

¹⁹Çürüyen her iş yok olup gider ve onu yapan işçi de onunla birlikte çekip gider.

²⁰Ne mutlu bilgelik içinde ölecek olana ve kendi anlayışıyla akıl yürütene!

²¹Yüreğinde onun yollarını tasarlayan, onun gizli şeyleri üzerinde düşünecektir.

²²Bir iz sürücü gibi onun peşinden git ve onun girişlerinde pusu kur.

²³Onun pencerelerinden içeri eğilip bakan ve kapı eşiklerinde kulak kabartan,

²⁴onun evinin yakınında konaklayan ve duvarlarına çadır kazığını çakan,

²⁵çadırını onun ellerinin yanına kuran ve iyiliklerin barınağında konaklayan,

²⁶çocuklarını onun koruması altına yerleştiren ve dallarının altında barınan,

²⁷onun sayesinde sıcaktan korunan ve onun görkeminde konaklayan insana ne mutlu!

¹ΜΑΚΑΡΙΟΣ ἀνήρ, ὣς οὐκ ὠλίσθησεν ἐν στόματι αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐ κατενύγη ἐν λύπῃ ἁμαρτίας.

²μακάριος οὗ οὐ κατέγνω ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὃς οὐκ ἔπεσεν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐλπίδος αὐτοῦ.

³᾿Ανδρὶ μικρολόγῳ οὐ καλὸς ὁ πλοῦτος, καὶ ἀνθρώπῳ βασκάνῳ ἱνατί χρήματα;

⁴ὁ συνάγων ἀπὸ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ συνάγει ἄλλοις, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς αὐτοῦ τρυφήσουσιν ἕτεροι.

⁵ὁ πονηρὸς ἑαυτῷ τίνι ἀγαθὸς ἔσται; καὶ οὐ μὴ εὐφρανθήσεται ἐν τοῖς χρήμασιν αὐτοῦ.

⁶τοῦ βασκαίνοντος ἑαυτὸν οὐκ ἔστι πονηρότερος, καὶ τοῦτο ἀνταπόδομα τῆς κακίας αὐτοῦ·

⁷κἂν εὖ ποιῇ, ἐν λήθῃ ποιεῖ, καὶ ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτων ἐκφαίνει τὴν κακίαν αὐτοῦ.

⁸πονηρὸς ὁ βασκαίνων ὀφθαλμῷ, ἀποστρέφων πρόσωπον καὶ ὑπερορῶν ψυχάς.

⁹πλεονέκτου ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ ἐμπίπλαται μερίδι, καὶ ἀδικία πονηρὰ ἀναξηραίνει ψυχήν.

¹⁰ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρὸς φθονερὸς ἐπ᾿ ἄρτῳ καὶ ἐλλιπὴς ἐπὶ τῆς τραπέζης αὐτοῦ.

¹¹Τέκνον, καθὼς ἐὰν ἔχῃς, εὖ ποίει σεαυτὸν καὶ προσφορὰς Κυρίῳ ἀξίως πρόσαγε.

¹²μνήσθητι ὅτι θάνατος οὐ χρονιεῖ καὶ διαθήκη ᾅδου οὐχ ὑπεδείχθη σοι·

¹³πρίν σε τελευτῆσαι, εὖ ποίει φίλῳ καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἰσχύν σου ἔκτεινον καὶ δῷς αὐτῷ.

¹⁴μὴ ἀφυστερήσῃς ἀπὸ ἀγαθῆς ἡμέρας, καὶ μερὶς ἐπιθυμίας ἀγαθῆς μή σε παρελθάτω.

¹⁵οὐχὶ ἑτέρῳ καταλείψεις τοὺς πόνους σου καὶ τοὺς κόπους σου εἰς διαίρεσιν κλήρου;

¹⁶δὸς καὶ λάβε καὶ ἀπάτησον τὴν ψυχήν σου, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ᾅδου ζητῆσαι τρυφήν.

¹⁷πᾶσα σὰρξ ὡς ἱμάτιον παλαιοῦται, ἡ γὰρ διαθήκη ἀπ᾿ αἰῶνος· θανάτῳ ἀποθανῇ.

¹⁸ὡς φύλλον θάλλον ἐπὶ δένδρου δασέος, τὰ μὲν καταβάλλει, ἄλλα δὲ φύει, οὕτως γενεὰ σαρκὸς καὶ αἵματος, ἡ μὲν τελευτᾷ, ἑτέρα δὲ γεννᾶται.

¹⁹πᾶν ἔργον σηπόμενον ἐκλείπει, καὶ ὁ ἐργαζόμενος αὐτὸ μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἀπελεύσεται.

²⁰Μακάριος ἀνήρ, ὃς ἐν σοφίᾳ τελευτήσει καὶ ὃς ἐν συνέσει αὐτοῦ διαλεχθήσεται,

²¹ὁ διανοούμενος τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτῆς ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀποκρύφοις αὐτῆς νοηθήσεται.

²²ἔξελθε ὀπίσω αὐτῆς ὡς ἰχνευτής, καὶ ἐν ταῖς εἰσόδοις αὐτῆς ἐνέδρευε.

²³ὁ παρακύπτων διὰ τῶν θυρίδων αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν θυρωμάτων αὐτῆς ἀκροάσεται.

²⁴ὁ καταλύων σύνεγγυς τοῦ οἴκου αὐτῆς καὶ πήξει πάσσαλον ἐν τοῖς τοίχοις αὐτῆς,

²⁵στήσει τὴν σκηνὴν αὐτοῦ κατὰ χεῖρας αὐτῆς καὶ καταλύσει ἐν καταλύματι ἀγαθῶν·

²⁶θήσει τὰ τέκνα αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ σκέπῃ αὐτῆς καὶ ὑπὸ τοὺς κλάδους αὐτῆς αὐλισθήσεται·

²⁷σκεπασθήσεται ὑπ᾿ αὐτῆς ἀπὸ καύματος καὶ ἐν τῇ δόξῃ αὐτῆς καταλύσει.

¹Blessed is the man that hath not slipped with his mouth, and is not pricked with the multitude of sins.

²Blessed is he whose conscience hath not condemned him, and who is not fallen from his hope in the Lord.

³Riches are not comely for a niggard: and what should an envious man do with money?

⁴He that gathereth by defrauding his own soul gathereth for others, that shall spend his goods riotously.

⁵He that is evil to himself, to whom will he be good? he shall not take pleasure in his goods.

⁶There is none worse than he that envieth himself; and this is a recompence of his wickedness.

⁷And if he doeth good, he doeth it unwillingly; and at the last he will declare his wickedness.

⁸The envious man hath a wicked eye; he turneth away his face, and despiseth men.

⁹A covetous man’s eye is not satisfied with his portion; and the iniquity of the wicked drieth up his soul.

¹⁰A wicked eye envieth his bread, and he is a niggard at his table.

¹¹My son, according to thy ability do good to thyself, and give the Lord his due offering.

¹²Remember that death will not be long in coming, and that the covenant of the grave is not shewed unto thee.

¹³Do good unto thy friend before thou die, and according to thy ability stretch out thy hand and give to him.

¹⁴Defraud not thyself of the good day, and let not the part of a good desire overpass thee.

¹⁵Shalt thou not leave thy travails unto another? and thy labours to be divided by lot?

¹⁶Give, and take, and sanctify thy soul; for there is no seeking of dainties in the grave.

¹⁷All flesh waxeth old as a garment: for the covenant from the beginning is, Thou shalt die the death.

¹⁸As of the green leaves on a thick tree, some fall, and some grow; so is the generation of flesh and blood, one cometh to an end, and another is born.

¹⁹Every work rotteth and consumeth away, and the worker thereof shall go withal.

²⁰Blessed is the man that doth meditate good things in wisdom, and that reasoneth of holy things by his understanding.

²¹He that considereth her ways in his heart shall also have understanding in her secrets.

²²Go after her as one that traceth, and lie in wait in her ways.

²³He that prieth in at her windows shall also hearken at her doors.

²⁴He that doth lodge near her house shall also fasten a pin in her walls.

²⁵He shall pitch his tent nigh unto her, and shall lodge in a lodging where good things are.

²⁶He shall set his children under her shelter, and shall lodge under her branches.

²⁷By her he shall be covered from heat, and in her glory shall he dwell.