Anonymous (Septuagint) · a new plain-English translation from the original language
1| about repeating a matter or a report you have heard, and about revealing hidden words; then you will truly be a man of tact, and one who finds favor before everyone. But do not be ashamed over these things, and do not show partiality so as to sin—
2| about the law of the Most High and the covenant, and about giving judgment to justify the ungodly,
3| about accounting with a partner or with fellow travelers, about the division of an inheritance among companions,
4| about exactness in scales and weights, about acquiring much or little,
5| about impartial dealing in trade and with merchants, and about disciplining children thoroughly, and about drawing blood from a wicked servant's side—
6| over a wicked wife a seal is good, and where there are many hands, keep things locked up.
7| whatever you hand over, let it be counted and weighed, and put every giving and receiving in writing.
8| do not be ashamed to correct the senseless and the foolish, or the very old man who is being judged by the young; then you will truly be a man of instruction, and approved before every living person.
9| a daughter is a secret cause of sleeplessness to her father, and worry over her drives away sleep: while she is young, for fear she may pass her prime unmarried, and once she is married, for fear she may come to be hated;
10| while a virgin, for fear she may be defiled and become pregnant in her father's house; once she has a husband, for fear she may go astray, and once she is married, for fear she may prove barren.
11| over a headstrong daughter keep a strict watch, or else she may make you a laughingstock to your enemies, gossip fodder for the townsfolk and a disgrace among the community, and shame you before the whole assembly.
12| do not gaze upon anyone for their beauty, and do not sit in the company of women.
13| for from clothing comes forth the moth, and from a woman comes a woman's wickedness.
14| better is a man's wickedness than a woman's kindness, for a woman who brings shame is a disgrace.
15| now I will call to mind the works of the Lord, and I will describe what I have seen; by the words of the Lord his works came to be.
16| the sun, shining, has looked out over everything, and his work is full of his glory.
17| the Lord has not enabled even his holy ones to recount all his wonders, which the Lord Almighty has established, that the universe might stand firm in his glory.
18| he has searched out the deep and the heart, and he has understood their crafty schemes; for the Lord knows all knowledge, and he has looked into the sign of the age,
19| declaring what has passed and what is to come, and uncovering the traces of hidden things.
20| no thought escapes him, and not a single word is hidden from him.
21| he has adorned the great works of his wisdom; and he exists before the age and unto the age, he has neither been increased nor diminished, and he has needed the counsel of no one.
22| how desirable are all his works, and how like a spark it is to behold them!
23| all these things live and endure forever, each for its own use, and all obey him.
24| all things come in pairs, one corresponding to the other, and he has made nothing incomplete;
25| each strengthens the good of the other, and who could ever have enough of gazing at his glory?