Commentary on Ben Sira

Commentary on the Book of Ben Sira Again, the commentary on the book of Ben Sira, which belongs to Mar Dionysius, because it is arranged in the form of chapters up to the book of Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach, who is called Sirak. In this order, this teacher also composed this book, and it resembles the book of Solomon, and in a philosophical and ethical manner he treated it, concerning wisdom and folly, which are two kinds of things. Likewise, he also depicts forms that portray virtues and vices in the likeness of things. And he established them against each other. And he portrays virtues as if with the reins of youths, and vices as if with the balance of a scale and the weight of a reward. And with measure he sets words in the manner of Solomon, and he praises the wisdom of the fear of God, and with natural wisdom and the discipline of instruction he spoke his book, and not like Solomon by the Holy Spirit. And he includes the name of wisdom in a general sense, which is established by the powers of God, for the small portion of wisdom of the composition of creatures, and for that of the governance of God, and for that of natural things, and for that of instruction, and for that of the gift of knowledge, and for that of the fear of God. And concerning this last one he began to speak. And this Jesus is the son of Sirach, son of the high priest. And he was in the time of Ptolemy, king of Egypt and Syria, and in the time of the Maccabees, and he did not mention any of them in his book, nor did he mention the holy temple in their time. Bar Sirak called himself, and he did not mention the temple when he was occupied with the common name, just as Abraham called himself dust and ashes, and David a worm. Sirak, however, is dust mixed with the clay of the potter of physicians.

Others say that Sirach is bound, and that he is the son of Shemʿon the bound, who was bound with a spirit until he received the Messiah upon his arms. However, the first opinion is more certain. All wisdom is from the Lord; all wisdom that exists in irrational and rational natures is given by God. And it is with Him. In this, it indicates the infinity of the nature that is not limited, like the drops of rain and the days of the world, in the certainty of its beginning and its end. Likewise, the wisdom about which he speaks is not limited by measure or by quantity. The roots of wisdom are its foundations, which have not been revealed, like the tree whose roots are hidden in the earth and its foundations below in its depths. So also wisdom is hidden in God and concealed from foolishness. One and powerful is He; only God knows it, as He is its maker, and He set its limit in treasuries that are not seen. He examined it and saw it through a precise examination, indicating a precise knowledge, and this is how he saw it. And again, concerning diligence, in that he who sees something better also cares for his own. And he divided all his works; he spoke about wisdom, the natural wisdom that exists in small things, as he said in the cause of the book of this: "I did not err and place in natures all the creatures that exist as its treasuries." And he increased all his fears, along with that which is certain, the teachings of the spirit, and also the fear of God. And this is not found in irrational natures and demons.

Joy and gladness is the work for all who are attached to her, and eternal life she truly gives as the reward of the wise. And with the faithful, from the womb she is, when they were created and formed, faithful. From the womb the excellent are within the womb, a firm bond was, and rejoicing in it as in a beautiful dwelling. She was created not as a new creation sign, but upon her firmness like that which from the day she was created not as a new creation sign, but upon her firmness like that which from the day she was created with the cherub of the Messiah. And she from eternity was created before the establishment of the world, being established and prepared in the knowledge of God. The establishment for truth strikes. Her mercy set up her grace. All her treasures she fills as if for her are held the filling of goods and treasures which from the causes she gives to him. Her roots are the life of the world, the root is named for the beginning of the firmness that is with her. Iniquity for fruits and for beauty that stands. The angels of God rejoice thus the exalted wisdom of the fear of God until even the angels rejoice in her, and instead of being equal to her reality, they raise praise to their Lord while passing over the sign of humility, because all that passes over humility passes over its measure. This entire book is full of life, as if whoever meditates on it in a living manner plucks from its reading. Do not lie in her fear, for lying calls to blasphemy and error, which outwardly appears excellent and inwardly is full of all. And he says: Beware lest with a divided heart you stand in the fear of God, while with two hearts you walk, you are a liar, and another who outwardly appears, you are praise.

...the beginning, she is with them. But if it is in the time of labor that wisdom is distributed, and you know that in the mysteries the fear of God is established, I was careful for this one thing, for wisdom, and I strove, and in her I meditated in your books, and nothing else. Woe to you, O men of woe, that you are, and you also, because upon your strength and your power you rely, you. For the Lord praised the father, the Lord who hears the fathers, concerning the sons, and gave them the authority of their wisdom, and commanded the sons to honor the fathers. And the judgment of the mother, the judgment of the law which was established for the sake of the act, he calls. He established upon the foundation of the truth, and said, "Is it not natural that a son is obligated to repay his mother?" God established her truth. Also in the law which he wrote by the hand of Moses, he warned the sons concerning their parents. He raises up good debts, he raises up against God that he will repay the debts. He calls the debts in your entire repayment. "Do not be honored in the smallness of your father," he said, that when your father is small among others, and if you are praised from them, that smallness is for you now, and not honor. In your wealth, in humility, if you have acquired the wealth of the world, or one of the gifts of God has been found for you by which you enrich others, you walk in humility with your parents. And do not raise up pride of spirit over that by which you are rich from them. Where humility is loved, every good thing is with it; where gifts are distributed, humility does not stand. Make yourself small, show yourself to be easy, pliable, and submissive before those who are older than you. When you make yourself small before your stature.

...all the more so that he who has honor from the rest of the others, as this humility is honored by God and limited by the wicked. As much as you were given authority in public, and knowledge was given to you in it, understand yourself when authority reaches you. And you have no authority, nor do you seek the things that are beyond your power and knowledge, like the knowledge of God and the wisdom hidden in nature, while you have no trust in things that are hidden and unknown. And when a man is ignorant of knowledge, he is ignorant of knowledge, and he calls the place blind with folly, and is far from wisdom. Like the blind man whose eyes are open but does not see. Or like a man who is ignorant of the rays of the sun but does not see. He thinks to persuade the place that is far from the knowledge of wisdom, it is not fitting to bring persuasion to every action and to show what he knows, and to think for others the thoughts of wisdom. To show that the established has no, to show that the despicable has, because from the heights of spirit and the carnality of the fear of God, there is no healing among the wicked. Evil inclination is evil thought that dwells in the wicked; it is the child of his thought, a burning fire that consumes water, because he does not think that there is no forgiveness for sins; he says this, that even you, like a fire in sins, burn. But if he repents, even repentance for her is like righteousness, as with the dead, sins are forgiven. He who does good is rich and established and confirmed in his land in every action he does. Do not strive to err, nor to be perverted and to laugh at the place that is narrow.

...the wise one calls the one who is like a mourner in darkness and who narrows the way of afflictions. And at the beginning of his bitter afflictions, he calls the one whose afflictions of thoughts are troubled and whose mixture is changed from bitterness that is poured out in his members. So that also the sweetness of food is given to bitterness in his afflictions. Lift up yourself. And to the rulers, repay, repay, and accomplish what you owe to them, and according to the degree of their rank, honor them as is fitting, and humble yourself before their greatness. Save Elijah from affliction, and do not be a judge; do not let my spirit be remembered in a righteous judgment. But save Elijah in judgment, and God will care for your own as for a beloved son. Wisdom taught in her children after the bitterness towards the disciples, a bitterness as if from the face of wisdom in her children, why did the first ones not have a beginning in the wisdom of the fear of God and a victory like that of the righteous? For all who understand, it is vain for her to teach all who are agitated, why do they not come to her teaching? Her servants, how are they honored with all those who cling to her, like those who serve in the house of God? Again, why does he speak of wisdom as a service that serves at the altar? Pursue the truth, follow the shadow of truth, and reject the lie. He loosed within me like a man who wears a stole by which he appears glorious. Show and prove to me that the mysteries of his way are possible. And I will be initiated into the mystery. When he triumphs in all generations. Keep the feast; he says this, that the feast-keeper and how he begins in your actions. But he says to beware at all times of evils and sins.

...and fear of evil. He calls evil every person who harms his companion. And if you are ashamed of your own desire and evil thought, do not be deceived when you are not fulfilled for evil desire, because there is shame in the person who sins when he is deceived by the desire of his will that seeks iniquity. And theft, and with this shame for sins, you are bound. Again, there is shame when, as you are, you are not ashamed before a great man or an elder, and you take him by the face and pray that you may be ashamed, because shame draws many sins to you. Do not be a guide for every spirit, do not give yourself to every thought and every action, whether for this or that. And with this you will resemble a person who is foolish in his error in all his affairs and corrupts his conduct. Whether much or little, do not err, do not destroy any action, whether it is great or small. Do not be delivered into the hand like an ox, do not be enslaved to your evil thoughts and the desire of yourself, so that you do not fall into great evil, nor will you find strength when you wish to come to the virtues and events that happen to you, which happen to the ox that is old and worn out. And again, you cannot be saved and escape the first heavy burden of his labor. Your leaves will be shaken upon you, if you have clothing, go out and wear it, and from the fruits of your summer, eat and be satisfied, and do not be saddened by the seasons, because you do not remain forever, but after a few days you will be left like a dry tree. In simplicity, his summer is upon him, for he is a friend who consumes, and in the time of distress he is not. If you fall, your face falls upon you, if you fall into trouble, turn and go away from you like one who does not know you.

...in the fear of evil. He calls evil every person who harms his companion. And if you are ashamed of your own desire and evil thought, do not be deceived when you are not fulfilled for evil desire, because there is shame in the heart of those lacking heart, those lacking reason, or rather, a petition. Like a heavy stone is the likeness of a lost wisdom. For a foolish man who does not look, when he does not bear with him even one hour, but rather he lets it go from him like a heavy stone that has fallen upon him who lost it, while it is not known where and whence he cast it, its name is like that which is inscribed and heavy upon all who receive whatever it does and teaches, beloved above all more than the nations that are in the world. Do not sow upon the anger of sin, for the seed is named for the work of iniquity. Do not hold back. You will reap the harvest for the reward of rebellion, and he says, Do not sin so that you do not place upon your head a perfect reward for your labors, a covering for you. Do not be distressed in the words of your prayer, that is, do not cut yourself off in your prayer. Do not be stirred up to evil. Concerning a companion in one, he says, that is, one who is with you in unity and equality, mixed with you. Do not be corrupted with him in custom or in causes of stumbling. Do not dwell, that is, do not live with them in their anger so that you do not share in their evil. Again, do not hide, that is, do not abandon the body of God, and among the authorities take hold of a body when your help arrives. Do not change the words of your prayer, that is, even if you approach prayer to God and your requests are not fulfilled, do not change from your faith and be considered as one who has no power, but believe and pray again with diligence, for at the time when he knows that he will help you, he will fulfill your request. For grace is a gift that is given with a joyful heart in all eyes, through distinct signs.

...even if you die, do not trust him when he dies of evil, you are like something that you have trust in him when he dies of deceit, you are like something that you have. Do good to him, the limbs that are suitable for his burial, and the hope for him of the mourners who are over him. Do not be deceived with him. Fall into his hands, lest with your great business with him you learn from him an evil habit. Therefore it is better that you separate from him. With a harsh man, a free and noble man, do not be involved in his affairs or on the path that is his, lest because he is harsh with you, death comes upon you by evil and loss. Because he is opposite, because he in the hardness of his own self is evil and does everything that comes to him. And there is in his kingdom destruction. With a singer do not be seated, that is, do not be distracted and diverted. You will be bound by her dowry, that is, the dowry that is given to the bridegroom calls something that gives sin to the bride, silver and gold and ornaments, and he says, "If you are lightly free in her and your heart is set upon her as if in her you will find one of two things: you will seek her fathers, her bridegroom, the wife, and you will be driven like the command of the law." Do not give yourself to fornication, that is, do not surrender yourself completely to licentiousness. And you will be written in the register of sins, that is, now the record of your sins and of the register of your deed is preserved. As it is written, "Keep away from a brother," the fear of death, that is, from those who are able to condemn to death and to kill, keep away, lest because of your partnership and your business with him you take his likeness and you stand in his sins. A foolish man calls a nobleman and a freeman and everyone who takes upon his mouth deceit and is called by the names of his hearers and is scattered. His mouth is full of his words.

Call the proud and the arrogant to account. Beware and do not participate in any sinful deed, for it is the beginning of blindness. And concerning both of them, he speaks about God, the knower of hearts. Pride is like a complete destruction, because the source of sin is pride; it is a complete destruction, for thus the proud are evil before God, those who are exalted with those who are lowly. God distinguishes their punishments, that is, he distinguishes for them severe torments with which he strikes them, the evil ones, with all torments. He calls the struggle the movement against all evil with which a person struggles. A heavy seed. Fear of God is that which is born in the world and comes into being, and before your heart, from his childhood, the conduct of righteousness, as if he were beloved of God, and in the good deeds, in this which is fitting, the fear of God and the observance of the commandments. By your humility, honor your soul, that is, in that which you find yourself, whether in poverty or in that which is a deed. Do not let it become heavy and contemptible upon you. And give it taste, that is, and with the labors of the present, do not deprive your soul of patience, but be prepared with profit, you yourself. Again, he calls humility to need and says that at the time of your need, give patience to your soul with taste. As much as it is fitting for it, that is, in measure according to your poverty, nourish your soul, and after surpluses do not go out; do not become a glutton. The causes, that is, do not run and mock a person because of the blindness of his appearance or because of his need, for you do not know what will happen to you.

Take a likeness from the bramble, for when it is bent by its own weight, in the morning it casts its fruit to the ground, and you see good things coming forth from its humility. Its fruit is called the bramble of the servant. Consider beforehand, before every action that approaches you, how its end will be, and only then begin the deed. Its ends are fitting. Do not set your hand to what is not revealed to you. In it, iniquity will increase, and if you see iniquity in a person, do not increase and add to it oppression and injustice, lest evil also increase against you. My son, do not run, because it is difficult for a person to acquire a clear mind by which he attains virtues. He says this: that you should not hasten to discourse on wisdom night and day, for your knowledge will not be perfected in its understanding with the likeness of a certain runner who runs in the stadium, for if they do not run, they do not attain the prize of victory. There is running, because there are many who run at all times after wisdom and knowledge and are nourished on the bread of the day. And the word of the Lord upon them is good, even in the world it is found, like one who, because he did not attain righteousness, does not rest in goods, but in the end, the confession of God is for the righteous upon him, good, when it crowns him. My son, stand firmly on your path in the action of humility, stand firmly, trustingly, and without wavering, while you are supported by its causes. And in its deeds, go as long as you are in life; do not be too lazy to do good. By the fire of the day, it is completed and without end. It is possible to obtain good from God, the son of his day, and easily.

The end of man is the sigh of death, in which the afflictions of the world cease. Like a partridge that hunts with a decoy—that is, in the likeness of a partridge, or like a quail that hunts and is caught in the entrails of the snares of forgiveness, or like a decoy that goes out and cannot, and calls and entices its companions to fall into the trap that is set for them. So is the thought of the proud, or the insolent, and the fool who has no mercy on his companions when he casts them into afflictions. And like a spy—that is, he is like a spy of the enemy who watches at every moment for the downfall of the enemies who are opposite. Like a wolf that enters every house and disturbs—that is, he alone watches for how to plunder and rob. And by the entrails of desire—that is, the entrails of desire call his thoughts, which are fulfilled according to his desire and will. Fear from the evil one—that is, beware of him. For he is clothed in a mantle that is prepared and ready to do evil to others. He is ready for a stumbling block, for afflictions, by which he casts down others. One or two in the time of your need—that is, the evil one, when he finds an opportunity against you, patiently endures evils and afflictions for you, and especially when the time changes against you and you come to your need. The entrails of your provision—do not give to him; that is, the entrails of provision call food and drink, or other dealings, or that which reveals his thoughts, and he says: Do not give any help, lest he have an opportunity and through it, as with provision, he contend with you. Give to the humble, for he does not become wise—that is, he is not able, and does not perceive true mercy. But when he does good, simply and purely, he is provided for by it. Do not trust in a fool.

His companion—that is, of this one—the decoy calls you near in the likeness of that serpent which by its evil scent attracts and destroys its companion by its hiss. By its lips it signifies the serpent, and by its poisonous words its evil thought and its gloomy countenance are made known. And it seeks to uproot you; thus it speaks and deceives and leads you astray, for with all its heart it seeks to uproot your deeds and your ways on earth. The potter's clay participates, and it breaks it like the clay of a weak potter before the fire of a strong serpent. This rich man simply strikes the net. The fire of the serpent is a wheel, and it has spokes that resemble those of doors. Until it does its will with you, in whatever it desires to do with you. It opens a door for you, shows you the face of deception, so that it may do with you whatever it wants. When you give a bone to a dog, it is like there is no peace and no equality; it does not act like a hand that hunts for a dog, but at that very moment it runs to kill him. This is also the rich man hunting for the net. The rich man falls; when he is evil, the rich man indeed falls, but with his wealth he falls into poverty. The net, however, when it falls into poverty, falls into the distress of death. The rich man speaks, and many are his helpers, his flatterers and his sycophants. The sound of the grindstone is like the voice of the millstone that returns something that eats the grass; his face is made known by his countenance, whether it is good or evil. The tracks of the heart are the deep thoughts of the soul that are made known whether they are pleasant or not, by the faces that are joyful and bright.

the small one—that is, of this one—the decoy calls you near in the likeness of that serpent which by its evil scent attracts and destroys its companion by its hiss. By its lips it signifies the serpent, and by its poison it multiplies the bitterness and places bread, yet its bitterness is not hidden in that which the bread is strange and the fruits which are with the bread it places. Serve and turn—that is, bring yourself in what you have and do not set for days and weeks that which already you have not reached. And remember that until now you have not been seen—that is, still you have not seen death. And to Sheol—that is, the house of the dead—you have not descended, but with all the portion that is cut for you, you and the house of the dead go. Like the leaves of trees, which are flesh and blood that are not distinguished, the generations of the righteous with the leaves of those trees, which whenever they dry up, fall, and still the tree is preserved like a tree not distinguished, in that they are preserved for the judgment of the fragrance of the generation that dies. All the works of the generation that comes after him are arranged before him and are shown and arranged before God after his judgment with this, and still the generation is destroyed, but its works are hidden until the day of judgment, whether good or evil. Wicked men do not—that is, to wisdom, because they do not care for its honor or to delight in the sight of its actions. Here it hints at care, and that he who rules over it—that is, he who learns it rules over it, like an heir in the decoy of his father.

He who is small—that is, of this one—the decoy calls you near in the likeness of that serpent which by its evil scent attracts and destroys its companion by its hiss. By its lips it signifies the serpent, and by its poison. When God created the creatures, he gave to them authority and will, a ruling power, and by their will he permitted that every one who wishes might pray and strive to pray and be moved, which is called motion. That which is hidden from the Lord, do not think in your thought that it is possible to be hidden from God. Behold, the heavens and the firmaments in their revelation; behold, the heavens and the rest, when he makes revelation upon them with great fear, while the trembling and the revealed stand before him. The roots of the mountains are hidden workings, like these. When it is seen upon them that they perform their work with trembling, they stand before him. How then should it be divided, because it is destined to be revealed and to reward each one according to his deeds? I did not set my heart—that is, it did not come upon my mind—this matter, that there is something hidden from God, and in my ways, how should I perceive and know the workings which in secret he performs? The fool says, "Hear and receive—that is, listen to me with your hearing—these things which I say to you: When God created, he divided his laws." A fixed standing he gave to the heavens, and fixedness to the earth. To the sun and to the moon he gave a law to proceed in their orders in measured times. Thus also to the rest of his creatures in this law and boundary is established, so that they do not enter one into another. The species of all living things are filled—that is, the species of all living things are filled. The species move upon animals, cattle, birds, and reptiles which are in her, he says. And he gathered into her all—that is, into her he gathered and contained all the creatures which he created. He set before them covenants—that is, he speaks concerning the laws which he taught them from Adam until Abraham.

The covenant of the world—whether of the causes of the earth or of the goods in it—as long as the world stands. How many are the friends of God who strive for repentance and marvel at the friends of God. When the sun passes, he speaks about those who do not repent, that when the sun sets with the course of these twelve which are called hours, also this place in which they are, the serpent rules in it according to the changes that are covered in it, because at times it becomes light and at times darkness in it. In this, it is also in the head of a man who does not suppress his thought in repentance. When he passes with these living beings, he becomes in the judgment that is to come. Because by flesh and blood he speaks about one who loves the life of his body and does not suppress it in repentance, he will not escape the judgment that is to come. To show his works—because many desire to know in what manner God is—he said this. His works are indeed his judgments, by which he knows all, and his mighty deeds which he performs in the suppression of the rebellious, how Christ is to show. The whole world is examined, that is, chosen, in judgment all at once in a single moment. And the Lord alone is found to conquer in all. In the judgment that does this, it is chosen. At the end of the wicked, he adds another marvel concerning one of the aspects of divine victory. Or perhaps, because they desire in the wicked that they hear and understand the works of God, they are not able, because when they thought that they had completed hearing, they are again found as if they had begun, having begun while they are unable to finish his praises.

If again he is occupied with repentance and marvels at the thoughts of the friends of God, and it is not possible to show again, and at their end, that of the evil ones is like their beginning, so also their end. If with good things he begins good things, he is rewarded, and that which is the opposite is likewise. How many are the friends who are ashamed, the friends who receive her through the insults and reproach which he pours out upon them. Until the good of your generations is not exhausted, with the generation of the left. And her acquaintances, for example, are those who know wisdom, they are praised. For if he does the will of every one who does the desire of his body, like that one who does the desire of his mind and seeks to kill him, in the multitude of distractions. He is foolish when it comes to you in a measured way, be prudent and do not rejoice in the multitude of solutions and dispersions which have no measure, which do not bring you need in a sparing manner. Do not be foolish and drunk and empty, with these flee from fruits which are the love of solutions and dispersions. Emptiness speaks in vain. Hear the word, let it die in your heart, for it is not difficult for you to go out. Like an arrow that is forced when it is shot from the flesh. Before the word, before its violence, in its likeness to the mother of Job and the reproach of when her bonds are loosened. And she is suffocated by the violence through her child, so also the fool, like the violent one, something errs to the word within himself and finds when he destroys and gives birth to her. There is sin and not when it is not prepared, but when the affairs of others are disturbed towards this, and not at all when sins are because he is not careful with his tongue.

And there is one who stumbles, and it is not that he is not prepared for these words, but rather from the fellowship of fools he falls into sin, and there is no one to set him on his head. The gifts of a fool. The rewards are set for him, what the fool gave. Something is not good, or he adds to it, because it is set for him that he takes more than what he gave. He does not look at his gift equally, and he is repaid with that which is not as he gave in equality, but he seeks to take more and abundantly. The day adds to the reward, in that which he chooses and distinguishes, so that he may look and choose and take in greater reward. There is one who destroys himself because of his shame, because of shame and falsehood, great false oaths are sworn, while he is unable to complete them. Again, there is one who, when he sees his brother sinning, and because he is ashamed to rebuke him, leaves him in his sin; for this reason God destroys him by a decree of judgment because of his shame. When he covers his face, he finishes, like a man who, when he is ashamed, covers his face; thus also this one, because of his shame, finishes and struggles with setting a divine beginning. Concerning one who does not restrain himself and rebuke his brother, who by means of concealment has already turned from sin. From morning to evening, it destroys; thus the evil yoke of injustice destroys quickly many dwellings full of good things and palaces that were houses of great men, uprooting and overthrowing. He seeks his house by force, that is, by iniquity and oppression of the weak; he seeks the houses of others, and not his own wealth; this one who seeks for himself a grave and a house that he seeks is not established. Stones for his body, for his burial, because many stones are heaped upon the grave. He keeps the law of God.

He restrains his nature, that he might be tested in the furnace of God, and does not allow desire to rule over him. Wisdom is like fetters; it is like a man who is bound and imprisoned, and it leads him thus. Likewise, a fool, when he approaches wisdom, it is like a fetter to him. It is like a ring; a ring is placed on the arm, as a ring adorns the arm, so wisdom adorns the foolish. And like a bracelet on it; as a bracelet of gold adorns the neck of its wearer. The mouth of the wicked speaks from the substance of his soul; when the wicked speaks, the word comes forth destructively to the detriment of his standing. The mouth of a fool is his words. As in his heart, so he speaks; it is not considered where he speaks, but at that moment the thought that arises in him, he pours it out like water. Like a stone of the field is the fool. Like a stone that is cast and placed as a stumbling block, and everything flees from its breaking and the lamentations of the dead, from the foul smell that comes from his mouth. That which is lacking is like a rotten head in the market. Until a man goes out to the market; if a man wishes to go out to the market and meets a fool, he quickly receives harm from him, and he is silent; his harm came about because he was not cautious and went out. The house of mourning for the dead is like the custom which the Jews call "the seven," because for seven days they mourn over the dead, or again concerning completion, he says. And the house of the foolish is entirely about that which is not completed, a seed in wisdom. Like the bark of a tree. In the fullness of his thought, it is like the bark which, with choice pieces of wood bound in the corners of the house, holds them to the wood and strikes thus, so the heart is moved by the fullness of wisdom and by the thought of the fool is fixed.

A small bond upon him, like a small bond placed upon a stone that is thrown, because of its lightness it is carried by the wind. And like a garment of linen and wool, because of their lightness they do not stand before a strong wind and a violent storm. Thus, if his heart and his thoughts are light, they are easily broken before affliction; the sword is drawn, he does not fear; it will cut off the hope of such a one, and he gives himself to love recklessly. He has an exit, he has a barrier, so that when the wind goes out to its desire, that one who draws the sword is the one upon whom the sword is drawn. Before the fire, smoke. The sign is that before the fire blazes, smoke first appears; like a woman who is inflamed with fire, so also before the swords come to shed blood, first comes anger, and with anger and wrath, death is born immediately, because these are violent in the secret of love. But when he set guards over my mouth, that I might keep the secret and not reveal the secret of my companions, and not become angry in this matter. "My God, my father," and he asks for this in prayer; he says, "My God, like a father, and my father, like a good one, do not let me be hindered because of them, and not even in the sins that come from my mouth, my tongue, my lips, and my thought, am I hindered. But set over them guards, the power of your teachings. By their purity, they did not become a snare to his limbs," he says, "his mouth, his eyes, and his hands, along with his senses, so that the rest would not become a snare to him and take authority and be enslaved to their desire.

wind. And here he calls a small bond a "lightness" and says that everything that hinders him from true love is far from him. And everything that is good does not escape me nor is it far from my side. And the fleshly passion is not the lightness that is clearly practiced, but he alludes to being lightened in this matter concerning the desires of the flesh and the passions. Also to folly, also to falsehood: "Do not let your mouth or your self learn words of falsehood or iniquity," he recalls nearby that father and mother are guides. And mother is the dust of the great ones that you have, so that you are not despised before them, nor condemned, and before them you are ashamed. And by your teaching you will be diminished, because of evil teaching and evil habits of falsehood that your mouth learns, you are diminished by them, and immediately you will be accused concerning your birth and your being in the world, and you will curse the day on which you were born. The second is about the strong ones. And the third alludes to falsehood and pride and arrogance, for these are bound together. For everyone who is proud is false and arrogant and separates, and immediately mixes them, a man who sees the shame of his flesh and the shame of his body, as Jacob deceived and lied and did not escape from the fire of anger of the judge. To the flesh of a man it is pleasant, and the whole body of a woman is a hand that is received and strikes it, pleasant and beloved upon him, his bond. A yoke over all flesh. All bread is from the likeness of a loaf of bread that is baked, all bread that is placed before him, whether of barley or of wheat, he eats thus. Also passions are not distinguished from a beautiful woman by an evil one.

A man who lies, who serves falsehood against the truth of his bed when he is baptized. And he thinks in his soul that no one sees him, and does not know that God, even before his creatures, judges him, that the water is destined to become with him and the water will act. And he perceives in darkness, the opposite of that which is hidden from those who are stirred up from him secretly, and as in darkness, so are things revealed before him like that which is opposite his face, and before his eyes those who are stirred up are left in all that is sought in the world, the world calls him a liar. Those who are sought are those who live. The wisdom of praise praises herself by her beautiful laws and canons, and within her people are her powers. This mother, from the mouth of the high one, went forth on Mount Sinai. Good news, commandments, or rather words, at the roots of the abyss of the lower regions of the abyss of the sea of the end. At the springs of the waters of the Jordan, and at the foundations of the earth of the kingdom. And over all the peoples and islands that exist, peoples with their tribes, she ruled. For in which island did the superiority of a people or of nations dwell? In Jacob he began to dwell. Not as though now the Lord of all was revealed, but from the beginning and from eternity. And in Christ. Before him, his power served. Not all that is found can this mother establish. Like the cedars, like the cedars of Lebanon. So also this mother sends this before him without being shaken. And like a tree, he speaks about that tree which becomes with him oil when its bark is struck. A mountain of snow for that which does not pass with him snow. An evening and a rose, he calls the clouds that make flowers and blossoms that resemble roses. A proclamation.

A man who lies, who serves falsehood against the truth of his bed when he is baptized. And he thinks in his soul that no one sees him, and does not know that God, even before his creatures, judges him, that the water is a tree, that is, a beginning and a scent, and it is said concerning him that when he does not sleep with anything, and a man breathes in him much, and places his hand upon his head, immediately he sends him to a man. The remainder of wisdom, it says, that the people of Israel who were gathered to God and were filled with his gift, are in the likeness of the remainder of one who is rich in gold and good stones. And as it is said, and the people of foolishness are weary, in the likeness of a reed when the causes of these enter, which are driven in it by floods. And it is afloat in wisdom like the Euphrates which irrigates with the dissolution of snow. And like Geon, it is like something that Geon does, that is, like something that Geon does, that which irrigates the land of Egypt and Cush with the harvest of fruit in the month of Tishrin. Also this is like a river. And like a mother of waters, it is a mother that calls to the springs and to the sources that are divided from her by banks. And from her is the drink of the garden. That which irrigates my garden is the people. And my beds are watered, that is, the people. The beds are the seedbeds. Also, is there for me a sea? Upon the sea of teaching, that is, of wisdom, which is like a sea and a river, thus it drives until it reaches the evil peoples, to whom it calls the sea. My teaching in the morning, it says, briefly and hastily, without any length, something is heard. Teaching with wisdom. Or, in a manifest and glorious manner, this teaching speaks. In a parable it says that like the parable of the former, it says the future things, thus also this one in all that he teaches, he speaks and says, thus the hearers take, like one who is parabled, I am parabled concerning them. Or, this beloved one, my teaching, like a word of parable. Blessed is its master.

in wine together with him who says that his diligence is diligent and excellent and more so than his wife. It does not come to drunkenness and necessity as if there were not two oxen or two wines, but that he takes in oxen and wines. Again, the sight of oxen and wine. Again, the sight. It is not that the creature of the Creator is equal because of the weakness of wine. This is not even a quarrel and a division between a man and his wife. Every blow and not even a wound to a chaste wife. And not like a blow in that it does not cause death. Whether by stones or by something else, and all the evils that are harsh. However, there is no blow like that of a wife, on which all evils depend. In that the spirit of the man is embittered within, and the bitterness of this blood is pressed to the death of the one who gives a cup to his enemy or the vengeance that the enemy exacts from him who drinks it. As the head of a serpent is the sight that there is no head more bitter than that of a serpent. Because there it is placed for him among his members with the chain that is the mistress by which it is armed like a warrior with his weapon. Thus there is no enmity more bitter than that of a wife. The opportunity for sins falls upon her, the opportunity for destruction in place of her sins falls upon her. Again, if not, the opportunity for where the sins are found is cast by the opportunity of those who dwell with her. The waters that go out are a testimony to discipline. And to a wicked wife, do not give her a place to rule over you and to seek necessities so that you are not deceived like water and she overflows upon you. And if not, she comes after you. In your house, if she does not come after you, she seeks your neck, and in her love she is not faithful to you.

in your flesh, he cuts short in all the opportunities that you have to do work, and he begins with your house. For the lack of a mouth, so that there is no man who is a thief or a glutton or a talker without restraint. He seeks your interpretation with every likeness of a plow that divides the earth into furrows, following good seed for sowing. Or for this reason, you also must take care that a virtuous wife who gives fruit and produce in good things, for sowing seed—indeed, your seed also, when it is born, you trust in it that it is yours, just as your mother is known, she in whom you were sown. Another wife, however, is considered nothing—neither for sowing nor for the house nor for honor. The wife of a man is known to be considered like a tower or a portico: when it falls upon those who are stationed beneath it, it kills them. So also the wife of a man, wherever she approaches, death can reach him. And thus she is considered a murderous tower. Not a hand—a hand that does not strike with arrogance and with insolence of face. And when she is alive, her days are spent in shame. A wife who is a public woman is called one who raises her voice in disputes, and her cause stirs up many. A public woman is called one who stirs up many against each other in one place, like a trumpet of war that, in the time of battle, incites and stirs up many to battle. So also a wicked wife, by her words and her deeds, incites every dispute. The rest is yours.

you are raised up, you are disturbed in the turmoil of the wars of life in distress, like the image of the time of distress of the chosen ones, the walls are joined together, the lives are managed with the nights of events and of the nights, there is no one who goes out without a blow from there. This also is difficult to measure from those of the pains of men. My son, if upon his fear, you will lack, if you are negligent and distance yourself from the business of the leaven of the fear of God, a loss that is eternal will befall you for your standing. As can be seen in many on the matter of the hard one, first and after, when trees are thrown into it, they are cut down. So also the stories of men, when a man gives hearing to his voice concerning the thought of the judgment that is after, they examine. Like works, as the work of a tree makes its fruits after, so also their thought of judgment. It is destined to be upon the thoughts of the wicked and the just. They make known that they are for them a cause and a preparation for what is, so that such are the deeds. If you seek the truth of God, you will find it. Because he turns you, God, always. The Lord of whom no man can avoid sinning, and it is right to be cautious from evils. Among fools, to keep the time, among fools, to keep the time, it is right that a word or a deed that might cause a man to sin like the disturbed. Among the wise, however, to speak confidently is for you. A raising of the hairs is upon the secret of the fear of God. And not because of love does he give also to the gospel of the flesh that receives it, a raising to the sign of the humility of the secret of his heart. He who reveals a secret destroys the truth, and the truth of his partner destroys him. And he does not find it, and so he does not find true mercy.

by means of a deceiver the secret of his companion is revealed, that one who trusted in him. And every man flees from his companion because the true one is not seen before the first friends. A quarrel and anger, he calls the wife who quarreled with her husband and anger to the evil child. And that which is in your heart was in his heart, impure before the Lord. A form and a picture, they make a pit for you to fall into. And many demons, because after the sword and the commandment they approach to shed each other's blood. A picture with the wood of the cedar, that was of the beam. And also to the third tongue he calls that which thinks something and speaks otherwise and does something else, lest you be burned with the righteous, he also kills the wicked with death, those who are consumed by the third tongue. However, this pit is like a pit prepared for the wicked. Do not approach the righteous. And the sparks of the pit do not place on the head of blood for the sparks and the flying embers of the pit do not burn or approach you, whenever you are established in the fear of God. And establish your word and be established, everything that you have entrusted to your companion, that you may surround him. Establish in truth. And add to him and do not fear. You will find your desire, for what you have added. A good desire you will find before him peacefully. And thus he prepares to profit you as much as his power can. For many who sought interest, it is not right that it be withheld when you are to lend to your friends because of the wicked, who when they borrow do not receive the kindness of their lenders, he breathes, he calls himself to himself, and he brings to himself that which he is to repay what he borrowed.

Save yourself from the evil of the one who takes a loan and his debts, for the sake of the lender of the house, and pay back what you borrowed. But you, save and deliver yourself from the evils so that you do not fall into the repayments of the loan, one after another and in evil. So that you take more than what you gave. The beginning of the life of a man is a king who does not add more. Bread and water are everything whenever in necessities you are stretched, you go out from your excess to hospitality and you bear the burdens in the rush of gold. The good of his life shows the necessities of hospitality and conceals so that it does not go out to hospitality in the desire for wealth. You are a stranger and you drink vinegar, which makes known the disgrace of hospitality, that if you are in hospitality and you say something, immediately a harsh thing meets you. And easily you speak vinegar and mockeries. You are a stranger, you enter and knock, because you are a stranger, go out for yourself outside, for the door is knocked for another who comes. And you do not eat what is held in your hand, because the guest is received who is better than you. That he teaches his son means that whenever his son ascends in the honor of conduct, his companions are ashamed, and he is praised by his friends. And a friend who does not die means that even if his father dies, it is as if he does not die by means of a friend who is like him and of the same kind who is left after him. That he separates his son from the answer, that is, drunkenness, which stands against the joints in his body and the many sins that are attached to separations. Good is the profit of life, that is, who is afflicted in his flesh, that is, by diseases and pains of the body he is wearied. The good things that are covered over the mouth of the one who is covered, that is, the one who is covered is silent because of disease, because he is not able to eat.

...placed upon the tomb like a table set before the dead. For this matter is as if there is no benefit for the house of idols from the table that is before it. So too is the sick man who fears for his life and cannot harm it. Like a believer who sleeps with a virgin: he is able to be aroused to desire to sleep with a virgin, but he cannot have intercourse with her. And the Lord seeks his will in vain. This is the one who has wealth, but his body is afflicted with diseases, and he desires to eat but cannot. Even with this, the Lord seeks justice? And like one who is prevented from his will, he remains with his spouse. So too the rich man, not with his will, remains with misery, but with diseases instead of this. What is this? And they praise him, this one who is praised for his generosity, and he says that those are small who spend their lives in the dissipation of their wealth. And one who is thus is worthy of praise. For many mighty deeds, he calls those who do not fear outside of their wealth, and with their wealth they work righteousness. Or he sits at the table of a gluttonous man, and Yawna teaches the miser that if you eat with a rich man, do not open your throat, that is, do not be a glutton. And Yawna, when he sees that you do not have enough for yourself and your companions of what is placed on the table, and you eat without measure the bread of your companions. A small movement is that of Yawna. Yawna thinks that the little that is placed is much, and before the table is set, Yawna's movement is small, so that the bread is set on the table in small portions. And with his face and the faces of his children, the intestines of the bowels, as if he is deceived by the sights of those who have compassion on him as on a needy person.

Do not stretch out your hand like one who has seen that they placed a pot of cooked food; do not stretch out your hand first. Act like a strong man who does not sin and who is victorious over the desire for food. A good sign is placed upon the bread; it indicates a face that gives joyfully and cheerfully. Upon blessed bread, a good sign of foods is placed firmly before all with joy and not with grief and stinginess. Your being raised up great does not teach humility; beware lest you be lifted up in your pride. And before the rich, do not magnify yourself before them with your words. It is chosen for you that you be like one of them. In all their need, in everything that is upon them, their need, serve them; you shall be established, and when you are established, all the necessities will follow after you. On the path of the racecourse, the deeds that are cast with you and are difficult for you to do, do not delay in approaching them. For he calls the path a racecourse. For the racecourse hinders the way of many by its stones and difficulty for walking. Lest you stumble in speech as on a stone. Two times: one that you are placed, and the second that you went after the path of error. Like a light wheel, his heart is for evil to turn and pass from this to that, which at all times is like a wheel that is very light because his thought does not abide in one thing. For what is fasting at the hour? It is a dead sign, that when one is alive, you are in evil thoughts about death, separate in conduct and in will. And he says, do not be disturbed by this, because there are days at the hour that in some things are equal and in some things are separate from each other, while God is good; thus you shall be established.

like the vine-dressers of a vineyard after the vintage. He calls the early righteous ones who were enriched in righteousness and meditated on the scriptures and received revelations. The vine-dressers were like him when he diminished the standing of the father, like a vine-dresser who came to the end, but fully stood in the goodness of God. And like a vintage it was full, and like the early righteous ones, my teaching also overflowed, and like wine in a winepress. It seeks vanities, it seeks the vanity of sorcery. It finds falsehood, it leads astray. And a dream is a vain dream and a vision of the deception of demons. Such is a vision. The likeness of faces does not change the vain vision of demons from the vision of a mirror that is opposite the face of a person; something stands that, when a person turns his face from the mirror, the likeness disappears like a vision in a dream. And when he raises his head, and this when he raises his head, the deceptive vision brings forth victory, so that it will not again rule over your people as it thought. All pains, divinations, and dreams of the deception of demons are errors. And whoever believes in them, his mind goes astray when he is far from God. In the thoughts of the night, do not believe in them, because the wisdom of the wicked is the wisdom of sorcerers who are wicked. In the night they are believed, but they are darkness for the people. And those who have no fear of God in their hearts believe in them; the bread of the envious is their life, but the bread of the merciful is life for the needy. And he who restrains himself from them kills them with hunger. A good request seeks mercy, and do not be moved by your gifts; do not fear because of the abundance of your gifts, lest your standing be diminished.

Do not delay because of this, for he does not accept him. Do not be troubled by the parable of the poor. For God does not give him rest, nor does he receive him into the houses, as one who does not receive. And the rest of the poor, their prayer is a vain prayer. Thus their prayer is received before God, so that it may be found to be raised up and before the Lord of greatness it may enter, not passing by until he desires it and chooses it, and a true judgment he makes concerning it in everything that he wishes. This does not pass by without going to waste. Until their gates were turned, they acted harshly against the poor, like those who cast destruction upon the God of those who would repay them. And the shame of the measure, at the time when the measure is sought, is the unjust measure that thought it could compel the poor by shame and disgrace, when they are helped by the houses of God with God, through the good deeds that they gave. And when in prayer he asks to be redeemed from all afflictions, he says: "Save me, O God, save me from all evil; raise your hand; be sanctified in him." For in that which concerns their labors, while they live for you, it was separated and made known in you by the placing of your head. Now also before me, when they see you, be sanctified in him; it was separated and made known in him, that they also might know, by the placing of the head for your lordship, how much they know your greatness. New signs of your holy commandments, and an hour, and an hour, and the wonders of the placing of the head with your people ceased. Seek the end, the limit of your confessions in the flesh. And the time of the completion of these confessions has arrived, in which you confessed great good deeds. The hidden heart, the soul that is hidden and oppressed; the thoughts of afflictions day by day are added to it.

What then? He warns the army not to flee from the campaign and not to take a wife. For he resembles the good in his insignificance. For he leaps from the measure after the lusts of sins, so that he may be expelled from the camp of the campaign. And he dies, that is, he is found to be a hundred in a woman; a man is killed like a piece of the law. Do not let your friend approach near; near calls to the end. Do not let the beginning of friendship be slight, and do not trust in him without help. And do not give him authority over your doings and your goings, as one does not reveal his secrets to him. The Lord created all; that foreigner is able also to help. Good and evil speaks concerning conduct; he is able to make good and also to make evil. Evil does for rebellion he calls. Life and death, because life and death are the limit of everything; concerning him he said this. And he is master of his tongue; thus it is easy for the head to take help. Because he is master of his house, and by the caution of his tongue he is freed from the evil head and from troubles. By his good conduct he is freed from the evil head and from troubles. Do not make your eye bad; do not be distressed and become bad for yourself, because you are alive, food, and you are not able to eat. Before God he became wise. Gifts show the help of the physician, whose medicine the king despised, from God he is. Know then that also all the evil ones and the angels of God are. With his thought, with his wisdom he exalts the physician before the king, while God established him and his drugs, because his power was known.

His wisdom is as if it were praised from him, like that which is the cause of all. And also his name, and the nobility of his name, gives wisdom that is established and that is filled with names, because his life is that of one who is cursed; it is not that with his poverty he is bound to shame. His life he passes in miseries and afflictions. He remembered the affliction, he remembered the afflictions of the severe anger of the bear. Because there is no hope in him, for he does not remain for the sake of one. For you, immediately, a day; and for others, and for others again, he is filled with evils. And like that which does not remain, also his boundaries do not remain in life. As one who is dead in vain. And he is sold with the departures of his soul, that is, the dead one is sold as a mourner with the departures of his soul, in that he does not perceive one of the evil things. And again it is possible that he be taken in likeness. That as much as the dead one is in vain, and his memory, and he is sold with the departures of his soul, it is possible that also concerning the life of the one who lives, it be shown that he is sold, even you in your life, and what after the death of that one, as if you do not exceed anything from the affliction. That which saves the vain ones, the salvation of the vain ones, he calls to the workers of vanities. What then does he give himself to fornication and to the hour of vanities? The wisdom of the fear of God never stands. What then is he made wise? He holds the yoke of oxen and turns in his hand to the sin of work. And his story is his word. With the sons of oxen. In the measure of his seed, the measure is the measurement. That which is small and is scattered to the threshing floor that scatters the seed. In this then all the nations are small in their works. He is a shepherd alone and not in the wisdom of the scribe. His praises he speaks, his praises, all the people sing his praises.

If he wills, he is able; if he has will and power, his wisdom is praised and glorified among many; and if he is silent among his people, and if he chooses silence, even among a small people. And everywhere he is, this one is also glorified and adorned. The rose of the king is a white flower and a sweet scent. Other roses of the king are of purple or of scarlet; the ways of the righteous are their deeds, like that which is set before the face of God, all of them. Moreover, their care is fittingly, when he looks upon them and preserves everything that is theirs. And also for the wicked, this one is the same; even for the wicked he places before them what is fitting for them, and they are filled in all their heart with blessing. He is eager that in their uprightness they praise God for his help. And praise his name, who has healed you with his graces. Great wills he makes for the lives and the resurrection of the enemies. And races, and with wills also strong races he makes against the enemies for wrath. If strong kings he makes against the enemies, or evil beasts. The days that went out to the land of the living are those that, when they go out from the womb of their mother, they enter into the world. They conduct themselves in these lives. Whether they praise praises, or whether they are shepherded by the hand of that which is shepherded or thought, or whether they do some deed, there is no rest for their shepherds until the day of their death. For he says that the ways of these and of those continue until death, when they do not cease at all from their will, whether they are good or evil. Wrath, and bitterness, and error. And he called.

If he wills, he is able; if he has will and power, his wisdom is praised and glorified among many; and if he is silent among his people, and if he chooses silence, even among a small people. And everywhere he is, this one is called a sign of the event, like one who is attached to a man’s head and is called a name, also called a seed that was at the hour of the night when he slept on his bed, his mind was awake before he slept in his house by means of dreams. If he wills, his mind is divided and separates his hour. He who deliberates in a vision of the night conceals from him who errs after a dream. Like one who deliberates and is guided by a vision and a dream of an hour that is like one who fled before pursuers in wakefulness, and then looked back in flight to his hiding place. If a pursuer comes, this is like those who after a vain dream have their mind. With all his sons. If his hour is fixed for this, at the hour of the night if he wills and says, “With all his sons,” all his sons are in these lives, firmly fixed for him, silent and obedient, concerning wealth especially, if it is divided and separates his hour. And instead of evil heads, it is not so when it comes upon them, placing a head, no other man enters and receives for them instead. Otherwise, it is not changed, placing their head with anything else, like one who is saved from it. Again, if you cannot become righteous, excelling in the place of the wicked, they are not persuaded, it is not so. This is why it is not so for him. The root of the wicked is like a path of a tree that is by spirit and heat, vehemently heated. And like dry chaff, so also you, when you are among the wicked and unjust, you are turned. And with them, your depth is small and without hope, it destroys you. Chaff, a secret, a branch of a tree.

The humble one of fear, he whose head is bent low. In petition and in desire, he who desires petition and desires desires. His name is guarded as long as his strengths stand. As names are called on earth, and he says that even the hour and the covenant are guarded firmly by desire and petitions, but with both of them, that one who anoints a wise woman, his name and his memory are more glorified by the wise sons who are with her. Again, by her wisdom she is spread through all the dispersions where her name is sown among the peoples. The ephod is the covering. Do not be a child to kill, do not be a prayer for loss and for the killing of the wicked, but be careful especially to give life and to death. A man who thinks about him is the one who firmly goes around with others who eat and does not consider him as if he were alive. In the mouth of the chaste is the insolent one who does not stand in humility. The pleasant one is the one whose face is not chaste and does not know shame, and it is pleasant for him to eat with those who go around asking. Is it death or death? As this one, or that one, he says to you, "I am." What evil are you in this, that you are evil to a man who is rich in treasures and strong in power and successful in his deeds at all times? Seed is seed. The one who causes to cease is the child of sins who do not submit to the will of God. A woman who gives birth calls to the hand that firmly, in fruitfulness, gives birth. Be careful that your good name becomes upon that one alone, and your good is with all the treasures of the world and of the church. Because he who abolishes the name for you, good abolishes the gifts of confession and the covenants of the world. To every man, do not reveal, do not reveal your thoughts and your deeds, hidden from all of them.

And in the house of the saints, do not perform a gentle service for him, lest the service of the people of his people be drawn to the side of victory. For just as a garment with evil, the evil of his companion is hidden in his companion, which is especially for you with him, love and regard for you as on dry land, while being dragged and envied. In that which is justified, because of what is with that which speaks, you are and you have delayed more than it, and you have come to that which will close you and speak evilly. Remember now, the sign is upon the mighty deeds of God, and he hastens to be sought in the works of God. He was sought in the wonders that he performed in all generations, and especially in that which for your sake he did, that he freed you from captivity and settled you in your land, and made you a people of his own. Just as the sun that shines, its light is spread over all, so are the mercies of God revealed over all his works, over all his creation, even over you. It is revealed that all of them are preserved in him in whatever they are. The mighty deeds of his separateness, his separateness calls the sign to the singularities of each one of his actions. And mighty deeds he gives to his ones, he made you victorious and mighty in that which filled you with spirit. And he set you as a paradise of his people to stand before his honor, the honor of you who filled you. And to all his desires, all are prepared, all are ready to perform all the desires of God. And they are hastening and striving well in their authorities to accomplish his word. And all of them, two by two, one opposite the other, the heavens opposite the earth, and the faces opposite each other, and the spirits, the upper and the lower.

of the visible and the invisible. Fire is opposite water, earth is opposite air, the pairing of males is opposite females of every kind. Also, the service of the sun and the moon and the firmament and the zodiac are directed individually, but in the visible and invisible, a pairing occurs. And the sun performs service to be seen and to give light, for he who sees the sun praises it for its heat and its light and its course. And the moon stands, and also the moon in its phases stands for the service of the night. It completes to the end, when it begins and increases until the full, and then again in waning it begins to diminish until its end, and when it ends, it is seen again. The month, like its name, is that of the moon, for the month, like its name, is interpreted. Again, with the moon, when it is seen and called a month, all the days are attached to it. Again, the month, like its name, is thus also its change, and in it, in waning, also all the months, for as the name of the month changes with its companion, and gives in it something that is not in another, thus also the causes of each month change with its companion, and give in it something that is not in another. Thus also the causes of each month change. In the words of the Fathers, as they are, like a boundary, for from the beginning it was established for them with God, they stand until the world without change. Also, I praise the Fathers, and also I praise the Fathers who drank from the grace of the Spirit because of their excellence. The wise taught, behold, the wise who love God taught the hidden things through the teaching of the hidden things.

through the teaching of the wise and the rulers, the rulers in the ranks of the judges, in their praises by which they praised the laws and the judges. By the hands, as in the psalm of David, which is sung with harps and lyres, and with the true powers of the firmaments, they are not, and they are of the same kind in their teaching. And they are like beams and pillars for others. And it ceased over their strength, the peaceful and gentle and pleasant were in their ways. In their generations, he arranged the names and the victories of the righteous of every generation. A spirit was found in his generation, Solomon. This Solomon, for the desires of his Lord, and the other of his labor, with the flood, was a substitute with the likeness of the tree that changes and rewards. No blemish was given, that which does not cease. In his flesh, it was established for him, that which remains, a priest in his household, hinted at the circumcision. And his greatness in blessing, God grew in the blessing of Abraham, for he was like him. And his strength against the Chaldeans, he made strong and firm. And he raised and gave upon him with his honor, a gentle hand shared with him. And he chose him in the height of his honor, he established him in the high order of the chief of priests and the leader of the people. Also, Phinehas took three honors because of his zeal. For he asked for the altar, that he might serve at the altar, and the priesthood be bound to him and to his seed forever. And the second, that he should stand in the place of Aaron, and the third, that his rank should be given to his seed forever, and that he should ask for a house by the hand of Solomon, which is good with the possible sacrifice. A mighty man and strong in his deeds. Their bones shine, even in their death they are glorious and fruitful, like the roses in the field.

and he loved his son when he asked, and he loved him as Samuel the Nazirite before God when he asked with a request and a petition from God. Just as he placed fat from before him, so he placed and elevated the fat that was offered for the sacrifice of divinity from before him, with the holy flesh that was the food of the priests. Likewise David, in his kingship and his prophecy, placed from the whole people. And he raised forever his horn, his servant, the victorious and triumphant one over all his enemies, and his victory he preserved forever. A strong king, Solomon his son. He interpreted proverbs, he interpreted the riddles that the queen of Sheba set before him with great wisdom, as is written in the book of the kingdoms that she solved all her riddles. And in prophecy the peoples were astonished, how he finely resolved all the knots of proverbs and riddles, like a prophetic man who knows secrets. Just as from this the peoples who wished to hear your wisdom were amazed and astonished. And you were called by the name that God set for you, which is beloved, and also the name Solomon, peaceful and complete. You gave a blemish to your honor after all this honor from God. And you diminished your worth in the union with foreign women. And you caused Israel to sin with the calves of Jeroboam. A stumbling block, and it became a clear cause for Ephraim, a prophet who resembles a mountain, and who opposes the foreign women before Elijah. And he brought upon them a rod, a fire in hunger.

and in his smallness he brought upon them severe and changing rebellions, and the evil of their times increased through death, famine, and the slaughter of priests and the seekers of the five. And the king who came after him anointed Elisha to Jehu and Hazael to cast the bonds of love and the people. But also to cast again upon them that they might stir up one another to be driven out. And in all these things the people did not repent in that smallness, even Elisha who came after him. He also, by the word of prophecy, he repaid the evil punishments that the king and the people cast upon the God who followed him, and he also changed their evils. Hezekiah in the city where the gates were opened, and he brought in the waters of the Gihon spring to the pool of Siloam, and he surrounded it with a wall and enclosed it in the city. Previously, the outer gardens were irrigated. And Nehemiah, the remembrance of him is great, this Nehemiah was known among the people. Because of his worth, Cyrus appointed him at the time when Artaxerxes came to Judah and sought the ruins of Jerusalem and the books and the writings that were in it. And he made the gates that Solomon had made for the city, and he set up its gates and its locks. The small ones were broken in those that were broken, and they came to be like night, because even now in life it is preserved for the demonstration that is shown in the churches to life, not to death. He placed and set the image and likeness of God were created. He placed as if they drank from the blessings that were with his father, and he set that he was the foundation of the churches. And he restrained the care of divine service.

that they were created in the image of Adam and showed in the likeness of God they were created. And the glory of Adam, and over all of them Adam the father of the inner man was glorious. After these entered into the midst, he began his order, and after the seventy weeks he spoke concerning Simon son of Yethqia. And now these words are spoken that this Simon is Simon the prisoner, in this Simon the father of Jesus the author of this book. In his days it was sought to do work in the temple and to repair the walls with courses of stones. And a second enclosure was sought for that great house in which the congregations are assembled, and in the form of the ascent he fixed it. And he dug a spring, a great cistern that would collect rainwater in it. And in his vestments he wore the priestly garments. To receive the praise of the seers. In the beauty of the strength, by the beauty of the splendor of the temple. In his receiving the portions of flesh from the hands of his brother priests, and he placed them on the altar that they might offer the sacrifice of God. And he stood like an episcopus over the two orders of priests. And his brother priests and Levites crowned him like a wreath. The two peoples who were commanded to curse the peoples around them, the Arabs and the Philistines, because they are the enemies of the people who dwell in Shechem, he hinted at the Samaritans who are the Assyrians from all the peoples, and he placed them in Shechem. He said that these three are equal to be placed at the head. I confess to you, O Lord, he confesses that he was able to accomplish the will of God. For this youth, from my youth I began to offer myself before him and to seek from him alone that I might be helped in all my difficulties, that my wisdom might be in his teaching.

the foot of truth, that which was established and strengthened upon it, also my thoughts, as in a fire that burns in truth, that which perceived that it was chosen in it. The foot is for the activity of thoughts upon his teaching and his swiftness confirms. And much did I find teaching, that of wisdom, and to my teachers, that of God, I gave thanks. It was considered to me to be good to do those things that were pleasing to him, and again I did not turn from his love when I found him. My soul was directed in him, wholly in his love I was bound, and my soul clung to his mercy. My hand opened its doors, and great vanity was to me upon his work, like the likeness of a man who opens a door and is careful about the desires within the house; the door says to the door of the temple, while through this one enters the vanity that shows upon his house, examining. And I turned to him, that same one who is a support, I went to him by means of my vanity that is upon his commandments, in the likeness of a man who has love towards a man. And when he does not see him, he goes around or wanders in every place where he might see him. And this I did, like a man who understood his teaching with a pure heart. And a pure heart I acquired from the beginning, when I began to meditate on his laws; a pure heart I acquired for the sake of his teaching. I did not leave him; I placed in my mind that I might please him all the days of my life. From the burning ones in the white that is in it, repentance for the vision of his revelation by means of meditation on his law. Do your work, that you may not meditate in wisdom in the time of your youth, so that in the time that is right you may find profit from it. Blessed is he who completes his word with a blessing upon God. And he praises his name for generations, as with all peoples.

The words of Jesus the Lord made known concerning the seal of the book, and in this, that up to here it made known that this book alone was written and finished. The completion of the interpretation of the book of Ben Sira, and with its completion this book of the interpretation and exposition of the books of the Old Testament was completed. From the works of the holy father Mar Dionysius bar Salibi, Metropolitan of Amid, that is Jacob bar Salibi, who is mentioned among the confessors; his prayer be with us. Written upon the order of the book for the priest Peter bar Gargis, Shushah the Mede, and in his person the brother, and he wrote according to the order written for the disciples of Isaiah bar the priest Moses bar the priest Isaiah, from the village of M. Akhul. At the time of the persecution of the Jews of Alexandria, and he labored at the time of the slaughter of M. Shaqel, with S. Aukhit, the completion of this holy book of the interpretation of the prophets, spiritual and practical, which was placed for the benefit of the soul. Mar Dionysius bar Salibi, Metropolitan of Amid, that is Jacob bar Salibi, at the time of the persecution of M. Had, on the first of Iyar, the month of flowers, by the hands of the weak and sinful Michael, with all, in the name of Michael Apodeikta, and in a distant work. Gabriel bar Karkho, rejoice, O brother. It was written in the eastern cell of the church of Our Lady Shamuni, in Midyat, where the children of the scribe were taught, with all who encounter it, that if errors or mistakes are found, they should correct according to his wisdom, and not keep against me insults and reproaches, because in the heat of the teaching I wrote it in their own heat, with all due respect, they were known to me. It was written in the days of our honorable fathers, our lord Mar Ignatius, Patriarch of the Apostolic See of Antioch, that is Jacob the Third.

And Mar Iwannis Ephrem, bishop of Tur Abdin and Mardin, who taught the Lord’s mysteries to his congregations, and helped the weak and sinful through his prayers, amen. This book was written according to the command of his father, the priest Elias Habsiya, for the sake of the pious Bar ‘Abda, who was blessed because of him.