Wycliffe - Sirach - 16

16:1  Be thou not glad in wickid sones, if thei ben multiplied; nether delite thou on hem, if the drede of God is not in hem.

16:2  Bileue thou not to the lijf of hem, and biholde thou not in to the trauels of hem.

16:3  For whi betere is oon dredynge God, than a thousynde wickid sones.

16:4  And it is more profitable to die with out sones, than to leeue wickid sones.

16:5  A cuntrei shal be enhabitid of o witti man; and it schal be maad desert of thre wickid men.

16:6  Myn iye siy many othere thingis, and myn eere herde strongere thingis than these.

16:7  Fier schal brenne an hiy in the synagoge of synneris, and yre schal brenne an hiy in a folk vnbileuful.

16:8  Elde giauntis that weren distried, tristynge on her vertu, preieden not for her synnes;

16:9  and God sparide not the pilgrymage of hem, but he killide hem, and curside hem, for the pride of her word.

16:10  He hadde not merci on hem, and he loste al the folk enhaunsynge hem silf in her synnes.

16:11  And as he killide sixe hundrid thousynde of foot men, that weren gaderid togidere in the hardnesse of her herte; and if oon hadde be hard nollid, wondur if he hadde be giltles.

16:12  For whi merci and ire is with hym; preier is myyti, and schedynge out ire.

16:13  Bi his merci, so is the chastisyng of ech man; he is demyd bi hise werkis.

16:14  A synnere in raueyn schal not ascape; and the sufferaunce of hym that doith merci schal not tarie.

16:15  Al merci schal make place to ech man, aftir the merit of his werkis, and aftir the vndurstonding of his pilgrymage.

16:16  Seie thou not, Y schal be hid fro God; and fro the hiyeste, who schal haue mynde on me?

16:17  Seie thou not, Y schal not be knowun in a greet puple; for whi which is my soule in so greet a creature?

16:18  Lo! heuene, and the heuenes of heuenes, the greet occian, and al erthe, and tho thingis that ben in tho, schulen be mouyd in his siyt;

16:19  munteyns togidere, and litle hillis, and the foundementis of erthe; and whanne God biholdith tho, tho schulen be schakun togidere with tremblyng.

16:20  And in alle these thingis the herte is vnwijs, and ech herte is vndurstondun of hym.

16:21  And who vndurstondith hise weies? and `who vndurstondith a tempest, which the iye of man siy not?

16:22  For whi ful many werkis of hym ben `in hid thingis, but who schal telle out the werkis of his riytfulnesse, ether who schal suffre? For whi the testament is fer fro summe men; and the axyng of men is in the endyng.

16:23  He that is maad litil in herte, thenkith veyn thingis; and a man vnprudent and a fool thenkith fonned thingis.

16:24  Sone, here thou me, and lerne thou techyng of wit, and yyue thou tent to my wordis in thin herte; and Y schal seie techyng in equyte, and Y schal seke to telle out wisdom. And yyue thou tent to my wordis in thin herte;

16:25  and Y seie in equyte of spirit the vertues, whiche God hath set on hise werkis at the bigynnyng, and in treuthe Y telle out the kunnyng of him.

16:26  In the doom of God ben hise werkis fro the bigynnyng; and in the ordynaunce of tho he departyde the partis of tho, and he departide the bigynnyngis of tho in hise folkis.

16:27  He ournede with outen ende the werkis of hem; thei hungriden not, nether traueliden, and thei ceessiden not of her werkis.

16:28  Ech schal not make streit the nexte to hym, til in to with outen ende.

16:29  Be thou not vnbileueful to the word of him.

16:30  Aftir these thingis God bihelde `in to the erthe, and fillide it with hise goodis.

16:31  Forsothe the soule of ech lyuynge thing teld bifore his face; and thilke soule is eft the turnyng ayen of tho thinges.