Sirach · WEB-C
Sirach
26
Bible textSynthetic voice (AI)
Happy is the husband of a good wife. The number of his days will be doubled. A faithful wife gives joy to her husband. He will fulfill his years in peace. A good wife is a great gift. She will be given to those who fear the Lord. Whether a man is rich or poor, a good heart makes a cheerful face at all times. Of three things my heart was afraid, and concerning the fourth kind I made supplication: The slander of a city, the assembly of a mob, and a false accusation. All these are more grievous than death. A grief of heart and sorrow is a woman who is jealous of another woman. Her tongue-lashing makes it known to all. A wicked woman is like a chafing yoke. He who takes hold of her is like one who grasps a scorpion. A drunken woman causes great wrath. She will not cover her own shame. The fornication of a woman is in the lifting up of her eyes; it will be known by her eyelids. Keep strict watch on a headstrong daughter, lest she find liberty for herself, and use it. Watch out for an impudent eye, and don’t be surprised if it sins against you. She will open her mouth like a thirsty traveller, and drink from every water that is near. She will sit down at every post, and open her quiver to any arrow. The grace of a wife will delight her husband. Her knowledge will strengthen his bones. A silent woman is a gift of the Lord. There is nothing worth so much as a well-instructed soul. A modest woman is grace upon grace. There are no scales that can weigh the value of a self-controlled soul. As the sun when it arises in the highest places of the Lord, so is the beauty of a good wife in her well-organized home. As the lamp that shines upon the holy lampstand, so is the beauty of the face on a well-proportioned body. As the golden pillars are upon a base of silver, so are beautiful feet with the breasts of one who is steadfast. For two things my heart is grieved, and for the third anger comes upon me: a warrior who suffers for poverty, men of understanding who are counted as garbage, and one who turns back from righteousness to sin— the Lord will prepare him for the sword! It is difficult for a merchant to keep himself from wrong doing, and for a retailer to be acquitted of sin.
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Notes · Haydock (1859, public domain)19 notes
Notes in English 19th-century Catholic commentary by Fr. George Leo Haydock, shown as published.
These notes keep the polemics of their time: some speak harshly of the Jewish people or of other Christians. The Church teaches otherwise today. The Jewish people may not be blamed for the death of Christ (Nostra Aetate 4; Catechism 597–598), and Christians of other communities are our brothers and sisters in the Lord (Unitatis Redintegratio 3). Christian unity
Sirach 26:1
Ver. 1. Double. Uneasiness deprives a person of much comfort. W.
↑ 1Sirach 26:3
Ver. 3. To a, &c. is not in Gr. H.
↑ 3Sirach 26:5
Ver. 5. Fourth. A jealous wife. v. 8.
↑ 5Sirach 26:6
Ver. 6. City. When all are charge with a crime, or when all rise up against a man. C.
↑ 6Sirach 26:8
Ver. 8. Woman. Gr. adds, "against another woman."
↑ 8Sirach 26:9
Ver. 9. With. Gr. "and the scourge of the tongue, which," &c. H. --- Back-biting occasions the four evils aforesaid. Grot.
↑ 9Sirach 26:10
This 19th-century note uses polemical language; read it in the light of the note at the top of this panel.
Ver. 10. Woman. When oxen move, the yoke moves also: Thus heresy will suffer none to rest.
W. --- The yoke ought to fit the neck, and not be fastened to the horns. Colum.
ii. 2.
↑ 10Sirach 26:11
Ver. 11. Hid. She will be given to debauchery. S. Chrys. C. --- Romulus ordered wives to be slain, like adulteresses, who had drunk wine at home. V. Max. vi. 3.
↑ 11Sirach 26:12
Ver. 12. Eye-lids. Shewing her impudence. 2 Pet. ii. 14. Is. iii. 16.
↑ 12Sirach 26:13
Ver. 13. Herself. From gazing at men. C. --- Love manifests itself by the eyes.
Propert.
↑ 13Sirach 26:15
Ver. 15. Hedge. Or "stake," palum, (H.) on which tents are fixed. Gen. xxxviii.
14. C. --- Fail.
Incontinence will at last ruin her health. H.
↑ 15Sirach 26:16
Ver. 16. Bones. The Catholic faith is the ground of all virtues. W.
↑ 16Sirach 26:18
Ver. 18. Worth. Lit. "exchange." Gr. (H.) such a wife is above all price. M.
↑ 18Sirach 26:20
Ver. 20. Continent. Adhering to virtue. C.
↑ 20Sirach 26:22
Ver. 22. Holy. Made of gold, and placed in the sanctuary. M.
↑ 22Sirach 26:23
Ver. 23. Soles. Gr. "heels." Comp. "solid pavement." A long addition follows in this edition, which is inserted by Grabe, (H. but is not in the best copies. C.) instead of the following verse.
H.
↑ 23Sirach 26:26
Ver. 26. Poverty. The Romans provided for veteran soldiers, as Louis XIV. did with great magnificence. C. --- Greenwich hospital is for the same purpose. H.
--- Despised. Solomon make the same complaint. Eccle. ix. 15.
↑ 26Sirach 26:27
Ver. 27. To sin. He is less excusable, as he knows what he abandons. Jer. ii. 12.
C.
↑ 27Sirach 26:28
Ver. 28. Two. Gr. "scarcely is a merchant exempt from negligence, and the seller of wine, and eatables, (Grot.) or retailer (Voss. kapelos) shall not be justified from sin." H. --- Negligence.
That is, from the neglect of the service of God: because the eager pursuit of the mammon of this world, is apt to make men of that calling forget the great duties of loving God above all things, and their neighbours as themselves. ---
A huckster. Or a retailer of wine. Men of that profession are both greatly exposed to danger of sin themselves, and are too often accessary to the sins of others. Ch. --- Lips. Innkeepers talk too much to please, and thus fall into danger. Prov. x. 19.
W. --- They are also exposed to lying, (M.) and to adulterate their merchandise.
C.
↑ 28License: Notes by Fr. George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), from the Douay-Rheims Bible with Haydock's commentary (first ed. Thomas Haydock, Manchester/Dublin, 1811–1814; New York: Edward Dunigan & Brother, 1859); New Testament notes compiled with Fr. Benedict Rayment. Public domain. Digital text: "The Haydock Bible", Internet Archive (archive.org/details/TheHaydockBible), uploaded 2011 under the Public Domain Mark. · Credits and licenses