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Daughters and Fathers

A daughter is a secret anxiety to her father,
    and worry over her robs him of sleep:
when she is young, for fear she may not marry,
    or if married, for fear she may be disliked;
10 while a virgin, for fear she may be seduced
    and become pregnant in her father’s house;
or having a husband, for fear she may go astray,
    or, though married, for fear she may be barren.
11 Keep strict watch over a headstrong daughter,
    or she may make you a laughing-stock to your enemies,
a byword in the city and the assembly of[a] the people,
    and put you to shame in public gatherings.[b]
See that there is no lattice in her room,
    no spot that overlooks the approaches to the house.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Sirach 42:11 Heb: Meaning of Gk uncertain
  2. Sirach 42:11 Heb: Gk to shame before the great multitude
  3. Sirach 42:11 Heb: Gk lacks See . . . house

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