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Wisdom of Ben Sira 9:8-10
New Catholic Bible
Wisdom of Ben Sira 9:8-10
New Catholic Bible
8 Turn away your eyes from a comely woman,
and do not stare at the beauty of another’s wife.
Many have been destroyed as a result of a woman’s beauty,
which causes passion to flare up like a fire.
9 Never dine with a married woman,
or join her to drink some wine,
lest you allow your heart to succumb to her
and in your passion plunge to your destruction.
Watch Your Relationships with Others[a]
10 Do not abandon an old friend,
for a new one will not adequately replace him.
A new friend is like new wine;
only when it has sufficiently aged can you drink it with pleasure.
Footnotes
- Wisdom of Ben Sira 9:10 It is wise not to run to judgment and to choose well those with whom one consorts. The climate of intrigues that surrounds all ambition for power and success had so scandalized the author that he is unable to refrain from evincing a serious pessimism.
