Sirach 42:9-14

On daughters

9 A daughter is a hidden source of sleeplessness for her father, and anxiety about her deprives him of sleep: in her youth, that she doesn't pass her prime, and when she's married, that she not be hated;
10 while she's a virgin, that she not be seduced and become pregnant while still living at home; when she's married, that she not go straying; or having married, that she not be infertile.
11 Keep a strict watch over an unruly daughter so that she doesn't make you an object of ridicule to your enemies, a topic of talk in the city and the assembly of the people, and she shame you before the crowd.
12 Don't consider the beauty of any person, and don't spend time among women.
13 Moths come out of clothes, and a woman's wickedness comes from a woman.
14 A man's wickedness is better than a woman who does good and a disgraced woman who brings shame.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Heb Don’t allow any latticework in her room nor a place that overlooks the entrance to the house; don’t let her display her beauty before any man.
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