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Wisdom of Ben Sira 42:9-11
New Catholic Bible
Wisdom of Ben Sira 42:9-11
New Catholic Bible
May Your Daughter Not Make You Ashamed[a]
9 A daughter is a treasure that makes her father anxious,
and in his worry about her he loses sleep:
when she is young, for fear she may never marry,
and when she is married, for fear her husband may hate her;
10 when she is a virgin, for fear she may be seduced
and become pregnant in her father’s house;
when she has a husband, for fear she may prove unfaithful,
and after marriage, for fear she may prove to be barren.
11 Keep a close watch on a headstrong daughter,
lest she make you an object of ridicule to your enemies,
causing you to be the talk of the town, the subject of gossip,
and an object of derision in public gatherings.
Make sure that her room has no lattice,
no spot that overlooks the approaches to the house.
Footnotes
- Wisdom of Ben Sira 42:9 Women constituted a mystery in the eyes of the ancients. Their virtue seemed threatened, and moreover, they seemed to be a plague along the path of men (see vv. 12-14). We find this mistrust and this paradox among many ancient Jewish authors. But we would do the author an injustice if we did not recall how beautifully he sang the praises of the good wife (see Sir 26:1-4, 15-18; 36:21-27).
