engLXXup: Sirach 34

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[1] Watching for riches consumeth the flesh,

And the care thereof driveth away sleep.

[2] Watching care will not let a man slumber,

As a sore disease breaketh sleep.

[3] The rich hath great labor in gathering riches together;

And when he resteth, he is filled with his delicacies.

[4] The poor laboreth in his poor estate;

And when he leaveth off, he is still needy.

[5] He that loveth gold shall not be justified,

And he that followeth corruption shall have enough thereof.

[6] Gold hath been the ruin of many,

And their destruction was present.

[7] It is a stumbling block unto them that sacrifice unto it,

And every fool shall be taken therewith.

[8] Blessed is the rich that is found without blemish,

And hath not gone after gold.

[9] Who is he? and we will call him blessed:

For wonderful things hath he done among his people.

[10] Who hath been tried thereby, and found perfect?

Then let him glory.

Who might offend, and hath not offended?

Or done evil, and hath not done it?

[11] His goods shall be established,

And the congregation shall declare his alms.

[12] If thou sit at a bountiful table,

Be not greedy upon it,

And say not, There is much meat on it.

[13] Remember that a wicked eye is an evil thing:

And what is created more wicked than an eye?

Therefore it weepeth upon every occasion.

[14] Stretch not thy hand whithersoever it looketh,

And thrust it not with him into the dish.

[15] Judge of thy neighbor by thyself:

And be discreet in every point.

[16] Eat, as it becometh a man, those things which are set before thee;

And devour not, lest thou be hated.

[17] Leave off first for manners’ sake;

And be not unsatiable, lest thou offend.

[18] When thou sittest among many,

Reach not thy hand out first of all.

[19] A very little is sufficient for a man well nurtured,

And he fetcheth not his wind short upon his bed.

[20] Sound sleep cometh of moderate eating:

He riseth early, and his wits are with him:

But the pain of watching, and choler, and pangs of the belly, are with an unsatiable man.

[21] And if thou hast been forced to eat,

Arise, go forth, vomit, and thou shalt have rest.

[22] My son, hear me, and despise me not,

And at the last thou shalt find as I told thee:

In all thy works be quick,

So shall there no sickness come unto thee.

[23] Whoso is liberal of his meat, men shall speak well of him;

And the report of his good housekeeping will be believed.

[24] But against him that is a niggard of his meat the whole city shall murmur;

And the testimonies of his niggardness shall not be doubted of.

[25] Show not thy valiantness in wine;

For wine hath destroyed many.

[26] The furnace proveth the edge by dipping:

So doth wine the hearts of the proud by drunkenness.

[27] Wine is as good as life to a man, if it be drunk moderately:

What life is then to a man that is without wine?

For it was made to make men glad.

[28] Wine measurably drunk and in season

Bringeth gladness of the heart, and cheerfulness of the mind:

[29] But wine drunken with excess maketh bitterness of the mind,

With brawling and quarreling.

[30] Drunkenness increaseth the rage of a fool till he offend:

It diminisheth strength, and maketh wounds.

[31] Rebuke not thy neighbor at the wine,

And despise him not in his mirth:

Give him no despiteful words,

And press not upon him with urging him to drink.

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