Ecclesiasticus 9

Do not be jealous over the wife you hold close, and do not teach her an evil lesson that will be used against you.

1Be not jealous over the wife of thy bosom, and teach her not an evil lesson against thyself.

NoteThis chapter is a teacher's advice to a young male student, which is why every warning is addressed to a man. "The wife of thy bosom" is an old idiom meaning simply your own wife, the woman who shares your bed. The second half is compressed: the warning is that groundless jealousy puts the idea in her head, so that the husband ends up teaching her the very thing he fears and it is used against him.

2Do not hand yourself over to a woman so that she tramples on your strength.

2Give not thy soul unto a woman to set her foot upon thy substance.

Note"Give not thy soul" means hand yourself over, surrender control of yourself; "soul" here is the whole person, not a spiritual part of one. "Substance" in 1611 English meant property and wealth, but the Greek word behind it can mean strength or high ground, and the picture is of a victor planting a foot on what has been conquered.

3Do not go to meet a woman who works as a prostitute, or you may fall into her traps.

3Meet not with an harlot, lest thou fall into her snares.

Note"Harlot" is the King James word for a prostitute.

4Do not spend much time with a woman who is a singer, or you may be caught by her tricks.

4Use not much the company of a woman that is a singer, lest thou be taken with her attempts.

NoteWomen who sang and played at banquets were hired entertainers, and in this period they were widely assumed to be available for sex as well, which is why a warning about a singer is a warning about seduction. "Attempts" in 1611 English meant ventures or moves made on someone, not efforts in the modern sense.

5Do not stare at a young unmarried woman, or you may stumble and have to pay the penalties owed for her.

5Gaze not on a maid, that thou fall not by those things that are precious in her.

Note"Maid" means a young unmarried woman, not a servant. "Those things that are precious in her" is obscure in the King James; the Greek word means penalties, and refers to the legal compensation a man owed for seducing an unbetrothed girl, the bride price paid to her father, with marriage required in some cases (Exodus 22:16-17; Deuteronomy 22:28-29).

6Do not hand yourself over to prostitutes, or you will lose what your family has passed down to you.

6Give not thy soul unto harlots, that thou lose not thine inheritance.

NoteThe inheritance is the family's land and property, passed from father to son and meant to stay in the family line. Losing it to prostitutes means losing the household's permanent security, not merely spending cash.

7Do not look all around you in the streets of the city, and do not wander in its empty places.

7Look not round about thee in the streets of the city, neither wander thou in the solitary place thereof.

NoteThe verse pictures a man walking the city scanning it for an encounter. The "solitary place" is a deserted quarter of the same city, the sort of place where such a meeting would go unseen.

8Turn your eye away from a beautiful woman, and do not gaze at beauty that belongs to another man. Many have been led astray by a woman's beauty, and by it love is set burning like a fire.

8Turn away thine eye from a beautiful woman, and look not upon another’s beauty; for many have been deceived by the beauty of a woman; for herewith love is kindled as a fire.

NoteThe word the King James renders "love" is the Greek word for burning desire, not affection or devotion.

9Do not sit with another man's wife at all, and do not sit with her in your arms, and do not spend your money feasting with her over wine. Your heart may lean toward her, and through your desire you may fall into ruin.

9Sit not at all with another man’s wife, nor sit down with her in thine arms, and spend not thy money with her at the wine; lest thine heart incline unto her, and so through thy desire thou fall into destruction.

NoteAt a formal meal guests reclined on couches rather than sitting on chairs, so "sit down with her in thine arms" describes lying beside her at table; the Greek manuscripts differ here, and some read something like "lean on your elbow with her." "At the wine" means at the drinking that followed the meal.

10Do not abandon an old friend, because a new one is not equal to him. A new friend is like new wine; when it has aged, you will drink it with pleasure.

10Forsake not an old friend; for the new is not comparable to him: a new friend is as new wine; when it is old, thou shalt drink it with pleasure.

NoteNew wine straight from the press was raw and still working, and had to age before it was good to drink. The proverb turns on that fact: like the wine, the friendship is worth having only after time has been put into it.

11Do not envy the splendor of a sinner, because you do not know how he will end.

11Envy not the glory of a sinner: for thou knowest not what shall be his end.

Note"Glory" in the King James usually means visible splendor: wealth, rank, display. "What shall be his end" means how his life will finish, not what he is thinking.

12Do not take pleasure in what ungodly people enjoy. Remember that they will not reach the grave unpunished.

12Delight not in the thing that the ungodly have pleasure in; but remember they shall not go unpunished unto their grave.

NoteThe Greek can be read two ways, and the King James keeps the ambiguity: either that punishment overtakes such people before they die, or that it stays with them all the way to the grave.

13Keep far away from the man who has the power to kill, and then you will not be troubled by the fear of death. If you do come to him, make no mistake, or he may take your life at once. Remember that you walk in the middle of traps and that you are walking along the top of the city wall.

13Keep thee far from the man that hath power to kill; so shalt thou not doubt the fear of death: and if thou come unto him, make no fault, lest he take away thy life presently: remember that thou goest in the midst of snares, and that thou walkest upon the battlements of the city.

NoteThis is someone with legal power to put a person to death, a ruler or official; in this world capital justice belonged to the king and his officers, and giving offense could be fatal. "Make no fault" means commit no offense. "Presently" in 1611 English meant at once, immediately, not "at the present time." The "battlements" are the walkway along the top of the city wall, high and narrow and unrailed, so the image is of walking where a single wrong step is the end of you.

14As well as you are able, size up your neighbors, and take advice from those who are wise.

14As near as thou canst, guess at thy neighbour, and consult with the wise.

Note"Guess" in 1611 English meant to estimate or size up, forming as accurate a judgment as the evidence allows. It does not mean idle guesswork.

15Let your talk be with the wise, and let all your conversation be about the law of the Most High.

15Let thy talk be with the wise, and all thy communication in the law of the most High.

Note"The law of the most High" is the Torah, the five books of Moses and the body of instruction in them. In this book it is the normal subject of study and conversation among the wise.

16Let upright people eat and drink at your table, and let your boasting be in the fear of the Lord.

16And let just men eat and drink with thee; and let thy glorying be in the fear of the Lord.

Note"The fear of the Lord" is this book's recurring phrase for reverence toward God, an awed respect that governs how a person behaves, rather than fright. "Glorying" means boasting, the thing you take pride in publicly.

17A piece of work is praised because of the skilled hand of the craftsman, and the one who rules the people is counted wise for the way he speaks.

17For the hand of the artificer the work shall be commended: and the wise ruler of the people for his speech.

18A man with a loose tongue is a danger in his city, and the man who is reckless in his talk will be hated.

18A man of an ill tongue is dangerous in his city; and he that is rash in his talk shall be hated.

Note"A man of an ill tongue" translates a Greek word for a man of loose, unrestrained speech, a babbler. In a small city under foreign rule, careless talk could bring the authorities down on neighbors, which is why such a man is called a danger.