Sirak 15

¹Rab'den korkan kimse bunu yapacak ve yasaya hakim olan ona kavuşacaktır.

²Onu bir anne gibi karşılayacak ve gençlik döneminin eşi gibi bağrına basacaktır.

³Onu anlayış ekmeğiyle besleyecek ve ona bilgelik suyu içirecektir.

⁴Ona dayanacak ve asla sarsılmayacak, ona tutunacak ve asla utandırılmayacaktır.

⁵Onu akranlarından üstün kılacak ve topluluk meclisinin ortasında onun ağzını açacaktır.

⁶Sevinç, coşku tacı ve sonsuz bir ad miras alacaktır.

⁷Akılsız insanlar ona asla erişemeyecek ve günahkar adamlar onu asla göremeyecektir.

⁸O kibirden çok uzaktır ve yalancı adamlar onu asla anmayacaktır.

⁹Günahkarın ağzında övgü ilahisi uygun düşmez, çünkü o Rab tarafından gönderilmemiştir.

¹⁰Çünkü övgü ancak bilgelikle söylenecektir ve Rab onu başarıya ulaştıracaktır.

¹¹"Rab yüzünden yoldan saptım" deme; çünkü O'nun nefret ettiği şeyleri yapmamalısın.

¹²"Beni O saptırdı" deme; çünkü O'nun günahkar bir adama ihtiyacı yoktur.

¹³Rab her iğrençlikten nefret eder ve O'ndan korkanlar için bu sevilir bir şey değildir.

¹⁴Başlangıçta insanı O yarattı ve onu kendi özgür iradesinin eline bıraktı.

¹⁵Eğer istersen buyrukları tutabilirsin; sadık kalmak senin kendi hoşnutluğuna bağlıdır.

¹⁶Önüne ateşi ve suyu koydu; hangisini istersen elini ona uzatırsın.

¹⁷İnsanların önünde yaşam ve ölüm vardır; hangisini seçerse kendisine o verilecektir.

¹⁸Çünkü Rab'bin bilgeliği büyüktür; O, hükümranlıkta güçlüdür ve her şeyi görendir.

¹⁹O'nun gözleri Kendisinden korkanların üzerindedir ve O, insanın her eylemini tam olarak bilir.

²⁰Kimseye saygısızlık etmesini buyurmadı ve kimseye günah işlemesi için ruhsat vermedi.

¹Ο ΦΟΒΟΥΜΕΝΟΣ Κύριον ποιήσει αὐτό, καὶ ὁ ἐγκρατὴς τοῦ νόμου καταλήψεται αὐτήν·

²καὶ ὑπαντήσεται αὐτῷ ὡς μήτηρ καὶ ὡς γυνὴ παρθενίας προσδέξεται αὐτόν.

³ψωμιεῖ αὐτὸν ἄρτον συνέσεως καὶ ὕδωρ σοφίας ποτίσει αὐτόν.

⁴στηριχθήσεται ἐπ᾿ αὐτὴν καὶ οὐ μὴ κλιθῇ, καὶ ἐπ᾿ αὐτῆς ἐφέξει καὶ οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ·

⁵καὶ ὑψώσει αὐτὸν παρὰ τοὺς πλησίον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν μέσῳ ἐκκλησίας ἀνοίξει στόμα αὐτοῦ.

⁶εὐφροσύνην καὶ στέφανον ἀγαλλιάματος καὶ ὄνομα αἰώνιον κατακληρονομήσει.

⁷οὐ μὴ καταλήψονται αὐτὴν ἄνθρωποι ἀσύνετοι, καὶ ἄνδρες ἁμαρτωλοὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδωσιν αὐτήν·

⁸μακράν ἐστιν ὑπερηφανίας, καὶ ἄνδρες ψεῦσται οὐ μὴ μνησθήσονται αὐτῆς.

⁹Οὐχ ὡραῖος αἶνος ἐν στόματι ἁμαρτωλοῦ, ὅτι οὐ παρὰ Κυρίου ἀπεστάλη·

¹⁰ἐν γὰρ σοφίᾳ ῥηθήσεται αἶνος, καὶ ὁ Κύριος εὐοδώσει αὐτόν.

¹¹μὴ εἴπῃς ὅτι διὰ Κύριον ἀπέστην· ἃ γὰρ ἐμίσησεν, οὐ ποιήσεις.

¹²μὴ εἴπῃς ὅτι αὐτός με ἐπλάνησεν· οὐ γὰρ χρείαν ἔχει ἀνδρὸς ἁμαρτωλοῦ.

¹³πᾶν βδέλυγμα ἐμίσησε Κύριος, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγαπητὸν τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν.

¹⁴αὐτὸς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐποίησεν ἄνθρωπον καὶ ἀφῆκεν αὐτὸν ἐν χειρὶ διαβουλίου αὐτοῦ.

¹⁵ἐὰν θέλῃς, συντηρήσεις ἐντολὰς καὶ πίστιν ποίησαι εὐδοκίας.

¹⁶παρέθηκέ σοι πῦρ καὶ ὕδωρ· οὗ ἐὰν θέλῃς, ἐκτενεῖς τὴν χεῖρά σου.

¹⁷ἔναντι ἀνθρώπων ἡ ζωὴ καὶ ὁ θάνατος, καὶ ὃ ἐὰν εὐδοκήσῃ, δοθήσεται αὐτῷ.

¹⁸ὅτι πολλὴ σοφία τοῦ Κυρίου· ἰσχυρὸς ἐν δυναστείᾳ καὶ βλέπων τὰ πάντα,

¹⁹καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τοὺς φοβουμένους αὐτόν, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπιγνώσεται πᾶν ἔργον ἀνθρώπου.

²⁰καὶ οὐκ ἐνετείλατο οὐδενὶ ἀσεβεῖν καὶ οὐκ ἔδωκεν ἄνεσιν οὐδενὶ ἁμαρτάνειν.

¹He that feareth the Lord will do good, and he that hath the knowledge of the law shall obtain her.

²And as a mother shall she meet him, and receive him as a wife married of a virgin.

³With the bread of understanding shall she feed him, and give him the water of wisdom to drink.

⁴He shall be stayed upon her, and shall not be moved; and shall rely upon her, and shall not be confounded.

⁵She shall exalt him above his neighbours, and in the midst of the congregation shall she open his mouth.

⁶He shall find joy and a crown of gladness, and she shall cause him to inherit an everlasting name.

⁷But foolish men shall not attain unto her, and sinners shall not see her.

⁸For she is far from pride, and men that are liars cannot remember her.

⁹Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner, for it was not sent him of the Lord.

¹⁰For praise shall be uttered in wisdom, and the Lord will prosper it.

¹¹Say not thou, It is through the Lord that I fell away: for thou oughtest not to do the things that he hateth.

¹²Say not thou, He hath caused me to err: for he hath no need of the sinful man.

¹³The Lord hateth all abomination; and they that fear God love it not.

¹⁴He himself made man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of his counsel;

¹⁵If thou wilt, to keep the commandments, and to perform acceptable faithfulness.

¹⁶He hath set fire and water before thee: stretch forth thy hand unto whether thou wilt.

¹⁷Before man is life and death; and whether him liketh shall be given him.

¹⁸For the wisdom of the Lord is great, and he is mighty in power, and beholdeth all things:

¹⁹And his eyes are upon them that fear him, and he knoweth every work of man.

²⁰He hath commanded no man to do wickedly, neither hath he given any man licence to sin.