Sirach 16
aligned by seat — same row, same verse, whatever each bible numbers it
| v | Wycliffe |
|---|---|
| 1 | Be thou not glad in wickid sones, if thei ben multiplied; nether delite thou on hem, if the drede of God is not in hem. |
| 2 | Bileue thou not to the lijf of hem, and biholde thou not in to the trauels of hem. |
| 3 | For whi betere is oon dredynge God, than a thousynde wickid sones. |
| 4 | And it is more profitable to die with out sones, than to leeue wickid sones. |
| 5 | A cuntrei shal be enhabitid of o witti man; and it schal be maad desert of thre wickid men. |
| 6 | Myn iye siy many othere thingis, and myn eere herde strongere thingis than these. |
| 7 | Fier schal brenne an hiy in the synagoge of synneris, and yre schal brenne an hiy in a folk vnbileuful. |
| 8 | Elde giauntis that weren distried, tristynge on her vertu, preieden not for her synnes; |
| 9 | and God sparide not the pilgrymage of hem, but he killide hem, and curside hem, for the pride of her word. |
| 10 | He hadde not merci on hem, and he loste al the folk enhaunsynge hem silf in her synnes. |
| 11 | And as he killide sixe hundrid thousynde of foot men, that weren gaderid togidere in the hardnesse of her herte; and if oon hadde be hard nollid, wondur if he hadde be giltles. |
| 12 | For whi merci and ire is with hym; preier is myyti, and schedynge out ire. |
| 13 | Bi his merci, so is the chastisyng of ech man; he is demyd bi hise werkis. |
| 14 | A synnere in raueyn schal not ascape; and the sufferaunce of hym that doith merci schal not tarie. |
| 15 | Al merci schal make place to ech man, aftir the merit of his werkis, and aftir the vndurstonding of his pilgrymage. |
| 16 | Seie thou not, Y schal be hid fro God; and fro the hiyeste, who schal haue mynde on me? |
| 17 | Seie thou not, Y schal not be knowun in a greet puple; for whi which is my soule in so greet a creature? |
| 18 | Lo! heuene, and the heuenes of heuenes, the greet occian, and al erthe, and tho thingis that ben in tho, schulen be mouyd in his siyt; |
| 19 | munteyns togidere, and litle hillis, and the foundementis of erthe; and whanne God biholdith tho, tho schulen be schakun togidere with tremblyng. |
| 20 | And in alle these thingis the herte is vnwijs, and ech herte is vndurstondun of hym. |
| 21 | And who vndurstondith hise weies? and `who vndurstondith a tempest, which the iye of man siy not? |
| 22 | For whi ful many werkis of hym ben `in hid thingis, but who schal telle out the werkis of his riytfulnesse, ether who schal suffre? For whi the testament is fer fro summe men; and the axyng of men is in the endyng. |
| 23 | He that is maad litil in herte, thenkith veyn thingis; and a man vnprudent and a fool thenkith fonned thingis. |
| 24 | Sone, here thou me, and lerne thou techyng of wit, and yyue thou tent to my wordis in thin herte; and Y schal seie techyng in equyte, and Y schal seke to telle out wisdom. And yyue thou tent to my wordis in thin herte; |
| 25 | and Y seie in equyte of spirit the vertues, whiche God hath set on hise werkis at the bigynnyng, and in treuthe Y telle out the kunnyng of him. |
| 26 | In the doom of God ben hise werkis fro the bigynnyng; and in the ordynaunce of tho he departyde the partis of tho, and he departide the bigynnyngis of tho in hise folkis. |
| 27 | He ournede with outen ende the werkis of hem; thei hungriden not, nether traueliden, and thei ceessiden not of her werkis. |
| 28 | Ech schal not make streit the nexte to hym, til in to with outen ende. |
| 29 | Be thou not vnbileueful to the word of him. |
| 30 | Aftir these thingis God bihelde `in to the erthe, and fillide it with hise goodis. |
| 31 | Forsothe the soule of ech lyuynge thing teld bifore his face; and thilke soule is eft the turnyng ayen of tho thinges. |