Sirach 9:1-9

Women and friends

1 Don't be jealous of your dearly loved wife or teach her a bad lesson that hurts you too.
2 Don't give yourself to a woman so that she crushes your strength.
3 Don't meet up with a female escort, since you might fall into her traps.
4 Don't hang around with a female musician, since you might get caught in her advances.
5 Don't stare at a young woman, since you might incur punishment for her. since you might lose your inheritance.
6 Don't give yourself to prostitutes,
7 Don't look around in the city streets, and don't wander in its deserted areas.
8 Turn your eye away from a shapely woman, and don't stare at beauty belonging to someone else. Many have gone astray because of a woman's beauty, and out of it affection flames up like a fire.
9 Don't ever sit with a married woman, and don't share meals or indulge in wine with her, since your soul might be attracted to her and you might slip into destruction because of your passion.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Or Don’t sit down at a meal.
  • [b]. Heb in your passion; LXX in your blood
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