Ben Sira 23:18-26

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

¹⁸ The man who dishonors his marriage bed
    says to himself, “Who can see me?
Darkness surrounds me, walls hide me,
    no one sees me. Who can stop me from sinning?”^(A)
He is not mindful of the Most High,
¹⁹     fearing only human eyes.
He does not realize that the eyes of the Lord,
    ten thousand times brighter than the sun,
Observe every step taken
    and peer into hidden corners.
²⁰ The one who knows all things before they exist
    still knows them all after they are made.
²¹ Such a man will be denounced in the streets of the city;^(B)
    and where he least suspects it, he will be apprehended.

²² So it is with the woman unfaithful to her husband,
    who offers him an heir by another man.
²³ First of all, she has disobeyed the law of the Most High;
    second, she has wronged her husband;
Third, through her wanton adultery
    she has brought forth children by another man.
²⁴ Such a woman will be dragged before the assembly,^[a]
    and her punishment will extend to her children.
²⁵ Her children will not take root;
    her branches will not bring forth fruit.
²⁶ She will leave behind an accursed memory;
    her disgrace will never be blotted out.