德訓篇:Chapter 19

德訓篇:Chapter 19

德訓篇	Sirach
¹好醉酒的工人，不會致富；凡輕忽小事的，不久必會失足。	¹He who does so grows no richer; he who wastes the little he has will be stripped bare.
²醇酒與美女，迷惑明智人，使聰明人遭受責斥。	²Wine and women make the mind giddy, and the companion of harlots becomes reckless.
³凡與娼婦結合的，必放蕩不羈，必為腐爛與蛆蟲所佔有；人必將他提出來，作為殷鑒；冒失的人，必要喪亡。	³He who lightly trusts in them has no sense, and he who strays after them sins against his own life.
⁴輕信的人，必然心地輕浮，他必被小看；犯罪的人，是傷害自己的靈魂。	⁴Rottenness and worms will possess him, for contumacious desire destroys its owner.
⁵喜愛惡事的，必被定罪；厭惡勸戒的，必縮短自己的性命。憎惡閒談的，必能避免邪惡。	⁵ He who gloats over evil will meet with evil, and he who repeats an evil report has no sense.
⁶犯罪害自己靈魂的，必要後悔；愛好邪惡的，必受責斥。	⁶Never repeat gossip, and you will not be reviled.
⁷切不可重述一句猥褻和粗魯的話；如此，你就不至於受害。	⁷Tell nothing to friend or foe; if you have a fault, reveal it not,
⁸不論是朋友，或是仇人，都不要向他們述說你的心意；假使你不吐露，為你不是罪過。	⁸For he who hears it will hold it against you, and in time become your enemy.
⁹因為，凡聽你的人，必要防備你，時機一到他就辨明自己無罪，而憎恨你，並且常要這樣對待你。	⁹Let anything you hear die within you; be assured it will not make you burst.
¹⁰你聽見了什麼攻擊別人的話嗎？讓它死在你心裏；放心，它不會撐破你的。	¹⁰When a fool hears something, he is in labor, like a woman giving birth to a child.
¹¹愚人為保守一句話，感到痛苦，有如臨產的婦女。	¹¹Like an arrow lodged in a man's thigh is gossip in the breast of a fool.
¹²一句話在愚人心裏，就如一枝箭射在大腿上一樣。	¹²Admonish your friend--he may not have done it; and if he did, that he may not do it again.
¹³你應質問朋友，也許他沒有做；他若做了，叫他不要再做。	¹³Admonish your neighbor--he may not have said it; and if he did, that he may not say it again.
¹⁴你應質問鄰人，也許他沒有說；他若說了，叫他不要再說。	¹⁴Admonish your friend--often it may be slander; every story you must not believe.
¹⁵你應質問朋友，因為多次發生誣謗的事；	¹⁵Then, too, a man can slip and not mean it; who has not sinned with his tongue?
¹⁶因此，不可盡信所有的話。有人說滑了口，卻不是出於有心。	¹⁶Admonish your neighbor before you break with him; thus will you fulfill the law of the Most High.
¹⁷誰沒有因自己的舌頭犯過罪呢？在恐嚇人以前，應先詢問他；	¹⁷ All wisdom is fear of the LORD; perfect wisdom is the fulfillment of the law.
¹⁸你要給至高者的法律留有餘地。	¹⁸The knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom, nor is there prudence in the counsel of sinners.
¹⁹作惡的知識，不是智慧；罪人的計謀，也不是明智。	¹⁹There is a shrewdness that is detestable, while the simple man may be free from sin.
²⁰有一種能幹是討厭的，有一種愚蒙，是缺乏智慧的。	²⁰There are those with little understanding who fear God, and those of great intelligence who violate the law.
²¹寡知少識而敬畏天主的人，勝於多智而干犯至高者法律的人。	²¹There is a shrewdness keen but dishonest, which by duplicity wins a judgment.
²²有一種奸滑的聰明，也是不義的；有一種人，為討人喜歡，竟妄下論斷。	²²There is the wicked man who is bowed in grief, but is full of guile within;
²³有一種壞人，外面表示謙恭後悔，心裏卻滿懷欺詐。	²³He bows his head and feigns not to hear, but when not observed, he will take advantage of you:
²⁴有人低頭裝聾，假裝看不見別人不知道的事，但是在你不提防時，他卻來加害你。	²⁴Even though his lack of strength keeps him from sinning, when he finds the opportunity, he will do harm.
²⁵假使因軟弱無力，不能犯罪，一旦遇到機會，他必要作惡。	²⁵One can tell a man by his appearance; a wise man is known as such when first met.
²⁶由外表，可以認識人；從面貌上，可以看出他是否明智。	²⁶A man's attire, his hearty laughter and his gait, proclaim him for what he is.
²⁷人的服裝、喜笑和步伐，都表示他的為人。	²⁷
²⁸好淩辱人的人，在怒氣中的責斥，是騙人的；有的責斥，是不合時宜的；緘口不言的人，卻是明智的。	²⁸