King James Version · Under the Greeks
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 26
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1 is the man that hath a virtuous wife, for the number of his days shall be double. 2A virtuous woman rejoiceth her husband, and he shall fulfil the years of his life in peace. 3A good wife is a good , which shall be given in the of them that . 4Whether a man be rich or , if he have a good toward , he shall at all times rejoice with a cheerful countenance. 5There be three things that mine feareth; and for the fourth I was sore afraid: the slander of a city, the gathering together of an unruly multitude, and a false accusation: all these are worse than . 6But a grief of and sorrow is a woman that is over another woman, and a scourge of which communicateth with all. 7An evil wife is a shaken to and fro: he that hath hold of her is as though he held a scorpion. 8A drunken woman and a gadder abroad causeth great , and she will not cover her own . 9The whoredom of a woman may be known in her haughty looks and eyelids. 10If thy daughter be shameless, keep her in straitly, lest she abuse herself through overmuch . 11Watch over an impudent eye: and marvel not if she trespass against thee. 12She will open her , as a thirsty traveller when he hath found a fountain, and drink of every water near her: by every hedge will she sit down, and open her quiver against every arrow. 13The of a wife delighteth her husband, and her discretion will fatten his bones. 14A silent and loving woman is a gift of ; and there is nothing so much worth as a well instructed. 15A shamefaced and woman is a double , and her continent cannot be valued. 16As the sun when it ariseth in the high ; so is the beauty of a good wife in the ordering of her house. 17As the clear is upon the candlestick; so is the beauty of the in ripe age. 18As the golden pillars are upon the sockets of silver; so are the fair feet with a constant . 19My son, keep the flower of thine age sound; and give not thy strength to strangers. 20When thou hast gotten a fruitful possession through all the field, sow it with thine own , trusting in the goodness of thy stock. 21So thy race which thou leavest shall be magnified, having the confidence of their good descent. 22An shall be accounted as spittle; but a married woman is a tower against to her husband. 23A woman is given as a to a man: but a godly woman is given to him that feareth . 24A dishonest woman contemneth : but an honest woman will reverence her husband. 25A shameless woman shall be counted as a dog; but she that is shamefaced will . 26A woman that honoureth her husband shall be judged of all; but she that dishonoureth him in her pride shall be counted ungodly of all. 27A loud crying woman and a scold shall be sought out to drive away the . 28There be two things that grieve ; and the third maketh me angry: a man of war that suffereth ; and men of understanding that are not set by; and one that returneth from to ; prepareth such an one for . 29A merchant shall hardly keep himself from doing wrong; and an huckster shall not be freed from .
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under the Greeks, 332 BC to 63 BC ›
Alexander's conquest and the kingdoms of his successors. Greek language and custom press in everywhere, and the crisis under Antiochus IV provokes the Maccabean revolt.
- The successors
- Alexander dies at thirty-two and his generals carve up the empire. Judea sits on the border between the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria, and is fought over by both for a century and a half, which is the ordinary condition of the corridor.
- Hellenism
- Not just conquest but a culture: the gymnasium, the theatre, Greek names, Greek dress, Greek as the language of anyone with ambitions. Some Jews embraced it, some resisted it, and the argument between them is the real subject of the Maccabean books. In Alexandria the Hebrew scriptures are translated into Greek, producing the Septuagint, which is the Bible most New Testament writers quote.
- The crisis
- Antiochus IV bans the practice of Judaism, plunders the temple, and sets up a pagan altar in it in 167 BC. The revolt under the Maccabees wins, the temple is rededicated in 164 BC, which is the origin of Hanukkah, and Judea has about eighty years of independence under the Hasmoneans before Rome arrives.
- Further afield
- Rome fights Carthage three times and ends up master of the Mediterranean. Euclid writes the Elements and Archimedes does his work at Syracuse. In China the Qin unify the country in 221 BC and the Han follow, opening what becomes the Silk Road.
All of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)