Ecclesiasticus — Ecclesiasticus Jesu, filii Sirach
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Chapter 26
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Vulgate><Knox Bible><Douay-Rheims
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Mulieris bonæ beatus vir: numerus enim annorum illius duplex.
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Happy the man that has a faithful wife; his span of days is doubled.
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Happy is the husband of a good wife: for the number of his years is double.
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Mulier fortis oblectat virum suum, et annos vitæ illius in pace implebit.
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A wife industrious is the joy of her husband, and crowns all his years with peace.
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A virtuous woman rejoiceth her husband, and shall fulfil the years of his life in peace.
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Pars bona mulier bona, in parte timentium Deum dabitur viro pro factis bonis:
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He best thrives that best wives; where men fear God, this is the reward of their service,
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A good wife is a good portion, she shall be given in the portion of them that fear God, to a man for his good deeds.
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divitis autem et pauperis cor bonum, in omni tempore vultus illorum hilaris.
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good cheer given to rich and poor alike; day in, day out, never a mournful look.
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Rich or poor, if his heart is good, his countenance shall be cheerful at all times.
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A tribus timuit cor meum, et in quarto facies mea metuit:
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Three things daunt me somewhat, a fourth I dare not face.
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Of three things my heart hath been afraid, and at the fourth my face hath trembled:
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delaturam civitatis, et collectionem populi:
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Gossip of the streets, the judgement of the rabble,
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The accusation of a city, and the gathering together of the people:
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calumniam mendacem super mortem omnia gravia:
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and the false charge preferred, all these make death itself seem a light thing.
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And a false calumny, all are more grievous than death.
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dolor cordis et luctus, mulier zelotypa.
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But there is no affliction wrings the heart like a woman’s jealousy;
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A jealous woman is the grief and mourning of the heart.
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In muliere zelotypa flagellum linguæ, omnibus communicans.
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once a woman grows jealous, her tongue is a scourge to all alike.
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With a jealous woman is a scourge of the tongue which communicateth with all.
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Sicut boum jugum quod movetur, ita et mulier nequam: qui tenet illam quasi qui apprehendit scorpionem.
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Easier to guide an unsteady team of oxen than an ill woman; easier to hold a snake than to manage her.
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As a yoke of oxen that is moved to and fro, so also is a wicked woman: he that hath hold of her, is as he that taketh hold of a scorpion.
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Mulier ebriosa ira magna, et contumelia: et turpitudo illius non tegetur.
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Woman that is a sot, vexation shall bring thee, and great dishonour; there is no hiding her shame.
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A drunken woman is a great wrath: and her reproach and shame shall not be hid.
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Fornicatio mulieris in extollentia oculorum, et in palpebris illius agnoscetur.
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Haughty gaze and lowered eye-lid, there goes a wanton.
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The fornication of a woman shall be known by the haughtiness of her eyes, and by her eyelids.
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In filia non avertente se, firma custodiam, ne inventa occasione utatur se.
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Headstrong daughter must be held with a tight rein, or she will find opportunity to bestow her favours;
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On a daughter that turneth not away herself, set a strict watch: lest finding an opportunity she abuse herself.
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Ab omni irreverentia oculorum ejus cave, et ne mireris si te neglexerit.
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beware of that shameless eye, nor think it strange if she defies thee.
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Take heed of the impudence of her eyes, and wonder not if she slight thee.
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Sicut viator sitiens ad fontem os aperiet, et ab omni aqua proxima bibet, et contra omnem palum sedebit, et contra omnem sagittam aperiet pharetram donec deficiat.
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Reckless thou wilt find her as thirsty traveller that puts his mouth to the spring and drinks what water he can get; no stake but she will make fast by it, no arrow comes amiss to her archery, till of dalliance she has had enough.
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She will open her mouth as a thirsty traveller to the fountain, and will drink of every water near her, and will sit down by every hedge, and open her quiver against every arrow, until she fail.
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Gratia mulieris sedulæ delectabit virum suum, et ossa illius impinguabit.
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Great content an industrious wife brings to her husband; health to every bone of his body
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The grace of a diligent woman shall delight her husband, and shall fat his bones.
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Disciplina illius datum Dei est.
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is that good sense of hers. No better gift of God to man
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Her discipline is the gift of God.
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Mulier sensata et tacita, non est immutatio eruditæ animæ.
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than a prudent woman that can hold her tongue; a soul well disciplined is beyond all price.
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Such is a wise and silent woman, and there is nothing so much worth as a well instructed soul.
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Gratia super gratiam mulier sancta et pudorata.
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Grace so gracious is none as woman’s faithfulness and woman’s modesty;
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A holy and shamefaced woman is grace upon grace.
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Omnis autem ponderatio non est digna continentis animæ.
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woman’s continence there is no valuing.
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And no price is worthy of a continent soul.
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Sicut sol oriens mundo in altissimis Dei, sic mulieris bonæ species in ornamentum domus ejus.
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Sun dawning in heaven cannot match the lustre a good wife sheds on her home,
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As the sun when it riseth to the world in the high places of God, so is the beauty of a good wife for the ornament of her house.
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Lucerna splendens super candelabrum sanctum, et species faciei super ætatem stabilem.
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and that beauty lasts into ripe age, like the glow of lights on the holy lamp-stand.
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As the lamp shining upon the holy candlestick, so is the beauty of the face in a ripe age,
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Columnæ aureæ super bases argenteas, et pedes firmi super plantas stabilis mulieris.
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Firm as golden pillar in silver socket rest the feet of steadfast woman on the ground she treads;
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As golden pillars upon bases of silver, so are the firm feet upon the soles of a steady woman.
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Fundamenta æterna supra petram solidam, et mandata Dei in corde mulieris sanctæ.
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and firm as foundations built for all time on solid rock is holy woman’s loyalty to God’s commandments.
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As everlasting foundations upon a solid rock, so the commandments of God in the heart of a holy woman.
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In duobus contristatum est cor meum, et in tertio iracundia mihi advenit:
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Two sad sights my heart knows, and one more that fills it with indignation;
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At two things my heart is grieved, and the third bringeth anger upon me.
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vir bellator deficiens per inopiam; et vir sensatus contemptus;
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warrior left to starve, and wise counsellor unregarded,
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A man of war fainting through poverty: and a man of sense despised:
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et qui transgreditur a justitia ad peccatum: Deus paravit eum ad rhomphæam.
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and a man that leaves right living for ill-doing, ripe for God’s vengeance.
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And he that passeth over from justice to sin, God hath prepared such an one for the sword.
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Duæ species difficiles et periculosæ mihi apparuerunt: difficile exuitur negotians a negligentia, et non justificabitur caupo a peccatis labiorum.
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Two dangers I see that are hard to overcome. How shall a merchant be cured of careless dealing, or a huckster for his lying talk find pardon?
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Two sorts of callings have appeared to me hard and dangerous: a merchant is hardly free from negligence: and a huckster shall not be justified from the sins of the lips.