1O Lord, Father and Master of my life,

do not abandon me to their designs,

and do not let me fall because of them!

2Who will set whips over my thoughts,

and the discipline of wisdom over my mind,

so as not to spare me in my errors,

and not overlook my23.2 Gk their sins?

3Otherwise my mistakes may be multiplied,

and my sins may abound,

and I may fall before my adversaries,

and my enemy may rejoice over me.23.3 Other ancient authorities add From them the hope of your mercy is remote

4O Lord, Father and God of my life,

do not give me haughty eyes,

5and remove evil desire from me.

6Let neither gluttony nor lust overcome me,

and do not give me over to shameless passion.

DISCIPLINE OF THE TONGUE23.7 This heading is included in the Gk text.

7Listen, my children, to instruction concerning the mouth;

one who observes it will never be caught.

8Sinners are overtaken through their lips;

by them the reviler and the arrogant are tripped up.

9Do not accustom your mouth to oaths,

nor habitually utter the name of the Holy One;

10for as a servant who is constantly under scrutiny

will not lack bruises,

so also the person who always swears and utters the Name

will never be cleansed23.10 Syr be free from sin.

11One who swears many oaths is full of iniquity,

and the scourge will not leave his house.

If he swears in error, his sin remains on him,

and if he disregards it, he sins doubly;

if he swears a false oath, he will not be justified,

for his house will be filled with calamities.

Foul Language

12There is a manner of speaking comparable to death;23.12 Other ancient authorities read clothed about with death

may it never be found in the inheritance of Jacob!

Such conduct will be far from the godly,

and they will not wallow in sins.

13Do not accustom your mouth to coarse, foul language,

for it involves sinful speech.

14Remember your father and mother

when you sit among the great,

or you may forget yourself in their presence,

and behave like a fool through bad habit;

then you will wish that you had never been born,

and you will curse the day of your birth.

15Those who are accustomed to using abusive language

will never become disciplined as long as they live.

Concerning Sexual Sins

16Two kinds of individuals multiply sins,

and a third incurs wrath.

Hot passion that blazes like a fire

will not be quenched until it burns itself out;

one who commits fornication with his near of kin

will never cease until the fire burns him up.

17To a fornicator all bread is sweet;

he will never weary until he dies.

18One who sins against his marriage bed

says to himself, ‘Who can see me?

Darkness surrounds me, the walls hide me,

and no one sees me. Why should I worry?

The Most High will not remember sins.’

19His fear is confined to human eyes

and he does not realize that the eyes of the Lord

are ten thousand times brighter than the sun;

they look upon every aspect of human behaviour

and see into hidden corners.

20Before the universe was created, it was known to him,

and so it is since its completion.

21This man will be punished in the streets of the city,

and where he least suspects it, he will be seized.

22So it is with a woman who leaves her husband

and presents him with an heir by another man.

23For first of all, she has disobeyed the law of the Most High;

second, she has committed an offence against her husband;

and third, through her fornication she has committed adultery

and brought forth children by another man.

24She herself will be brought before the assembly,

and her punishment will extend to her children.

25Her children will not take root,

and her branches will not bear fruit.

26She will leave behind an accursed memory

and her disgrace will never be blotted out.

27Those who survive her will recognize

that nothing is better than the fear of the Lord,

and nothing sweeter than to heed the commandments of the Lord.23.27 Other ancient authorities add as verse 28, It is a great honour to follow God, and to be received by him is long life.