1 The wisdom of one who is humble will exalt his head, and will cause him to sit down in the midst of great men.
2 You should not praise a man for his beauty, and you should not despise a man for his appearances.
3 The bee is small among flying things, but its fruit holds the summit of sweetness.
4 You should not glory in clothing at any time, and you should not let yourself be extolled in the day of your honor. For the works of the Most High alone are wondrous; and glorious and hidden and unseen are his works.
5 Many tyrants have sat upon a throne, and one whom no one would admire has worn a diadem.
6 Many powerful men have been powerfully cast down, and the illustrious have been handed over into the hands of others.
7 Before you inquire, you should not place blame on anyone; and when you have inquired, reprove justly.
8 Before you listen, you should not respond a word; and you should not interrupt in the middle of a discourse.
9 You should not contend in a matter which does not concern you, and you should not sit in judgment together with sinners.
10 Son, you should not be involved in many matters. And if you become rich, you will not be free from transgression. For if you pursue, you will not apprehend; and if you run ahead, you will not escape.
11 There is an impious man who labors and hurries and grieves, but all the more will he be without abundance.
12 There is a debilitated man in need of recovery, who is lacking in strength and abundant in poverty.
13 Yet the eye of God has looked with favor upon him for his benefit, and he has lifted him up from his humiliation, and he has exalted his head. And many have wondered at him, and they have honored God.
14 Good things and misfortune, life and death, poverty and wealth, are from God.
15 Wisdom, and discipline, and knowledge of the law are with God. Love and the ways of good things are with him.
16 Error and darkness have been created by sinners. And those who exult in evil, grow old in evil.
17 The gift of God remains with the just man, and his advancement will have success unto eternity.
18 There is one who is enriched by spending sparingly, and this is the extent of his reward.
19 About this, he says: “I have found rest for myself, and now I alone will eat from my goods.”
20 But he does not know how much time will pass before death approaches, and then he must leave everything behind to others and die.
21 Stand fast in your covenant, and become familiar with it, and grow old in the work of your commandments.
22 You should not spend time in the works of sinners. Instead, trust in God and remain in your own place.
23 For it is easy, in the eyes of God, to make a pauper suddenly rich.
24 The blessing of God hurries to reward the just man, and in a fleeting hour his advancement bears fruit.
25 You should not say: “What do I need?” or, “What good will there be for me in this?”
26 You should not say: “I have enough for myself,” or, “What could be worse than this?”
27 In a day of good things, you should not be forgetful of misfortunes. And in a day of misfortunes, you should not be forgetful of good things.
28 For it is easy, in the sight of God, on the day of one’s passing, to repay each one according to his ways.
29 The affliction of an hour causes one to forget great delights, and in the end of a man is the uncovering of his works.
30 You should not praise any man before death. For a man is known by his children.
31 You should not bring every man into your house. For many are the snares of the deceitful.
32 For as a stomach with a bad smell vomits, and as a partridge is led into a cage, and like a deer led into a snare, so also is the heart of the arrogant. And it is like a bystander watching his neighbor fall.
33 For it lies in ambush, and then turns good into evil, and it will place the blame on the elect.
34 From one spark, a great fire grows; and from one deceitful man, much blood flows. But a very sinful man lies in ambush for blood.
35 Pay close attention to yourself before a harmful man, for he fabricates evils. Otherwise, he may lead over you a whispered reproach unceasingly.
36 Receive a stranger to yourself, and he will overthrow you with a whirlwind, and he will alienate you from what is your very own.
1 If you do good, know to whom you do it, and there will be many thanks for your good deeds.
2 Do good to the just, and you will find great recompense, and if not from him, certainly from the Lord.
3 For there is no good for someone who is always occupied in evil, or who does not give alms. For the Most High holds hatred for sinners, but he takes pity on the repentant.
4 Give to the merciful, and you should not assist the sinner. For the impious and the sinner will be repaid with the vengeance being held for them on the day of retribution.
5 Give to the good, but you should not receive from a sinner.
6 Do good to the humble, but you should not give to the impious; withhold your bread, do not give it to him, otherwise he may overpower you with it.
7 For you will find twice the evil for all the good you will have done to him. For the Most High also holds hatred for sinners, and he will repay vengeance to the impious.
8 A friend will not be known in good times, and an enemy will not be hidden in adversity.
9 By the good fortune of a man, his enemies are grieved; and by his misfortune, a friend is revealed.
10 You should never trust your enemy. For his wickedness rusts like a brass pot.
11 And if he humbles himself and goes about bowed down, increase your alertness and guard yourself from him.
12 You should not sit down anywhere near him, nor should you allow him to sit at your right hand, lest perhaps he may turn toward your place, and seek your seat, and then, in the very end, you would understand my words and be stung by my sermon.
13 Who will take pity on an enchanter struck by a serpent, or on someone who draws near to wild beasts? And so it is with one who keeps company with an iniquitous man and is involved in his sins.
14 For one hour, he will abide with you. But if you begin to turn aside, he will not permit it.
15 An enemy speaks sweetly with his lips, but in his heart, he waits in ambush, so that he may throw you into a pit.
16 An enemy has tears in his eyes. But if he finds an opportunity, he will not be satisfied with blood.
17 And if misfortunes happen upon you, you will find him there first.
18 An enemy has tears in his eyes, but while pretending to help you, he will dig under your feet.
19 He will shake his head, and clap his hands, and whisper much, and change his expression.
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25 For there appeared to them a certain horse, having a terrible rider, adorned with the best covering, and he rushed forth and assailed Heliodorus with his front hooves. And he who sat upon him seemed to have armor of gold.
26 Moreover, there appeared two other youths with the appearance of power, the glory of nobility, and the apparel of splendor. These stood near him on each side, and they scourged him without ceasing, striking with many scourges.
27 Then Heliodorus suddenly fell to the ground, and they quickly took him up, draped by a great darkness, and, having placed him onto a stretcher, they rushed him away.
28 And so, he who had approached the aforesaid treasury, with so many officials and attendants, was carried away, with no one to bring help to him, the manifest power of God being made known.
29 And indeed, through divine power, he lay mute and also was deprived of all hope of recovery.
30 But they blessed the Lord, because he had magnified his place, and because the temple, which a little while before was filled with confusion and fear, became filled with joy and gladness, when the all-powerful Lord appeared.
31 Then, truly, certain friends of Heliodorus came forth to petition Onias, so that he would call upon the Most High to grant life to him who was appointed to breathe his last breath.
32 But the high priest, considering that the king might perhaps suspect that some malice against Heliodorus had been completed by the Jews, offered a beneficial sacrifice for the health of the man.
33 And when the high priest was praying, the same youths, dressed in the same clothing, were standing by Heliodorus, and they said: “Give thanks to Onias the priest, for it is on his behalf that the Lord has granted life to you.
34 But, having been scourged by God, you must announce to all the great things of God and his power.” And having said this, they disappeared.
35 Then Heliodorus offered sacrifice to God and made great vows to him who had permitted him to live. And he gave thanks to Onias. And, gathering his troops, he returned to the king.
36 But he testified to all about the works of the great God, which he had seen with his own eyes.
37 And so, when the king questioned Heliodorus as to who might be fit to be sent once more to Jerusalem, he said:
38 If you have any enemy, or a traitor to your kingdom, send him there, and he will return to you scourged, if he even escapes. For truly, in that place, there is a certain power of God.
39 Yes, he who has his dwelling in the heavens is the visitor and protector of that place, and he strikes and destroys those arriving to do evil.”
40 Thus, the things about Heliodorus and the preservation of the treasury happened in this way.
6 Thy knowledge is become wonderful to me: it is high, and I cannot reach to it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy face?
8 If I ascend into heaven, thou art there: if I descend into hell, thou art present.
9 If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea:
10 Even there also shall thy hand lead me: and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 And I said: Perhaps darkness shall cover me: and night shall be my light in my pleasures.
12 But darkness shall not be dark to thee, and night shall be light as day: the darkness thereof, and the light thereof are alike to thee.
1 Most beloved, do not be willing to believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are of God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 The Spirit of God may be known in this way. Every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has arrived in the flesh is of God;
3 and every spirit who contradicts Jesus is not of God. And this one is the Antichrist, the one that you have heard is coming, and even now he is in the world.
4 Little sons, you are of God, and so you have overcome him. For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
5 They are of the world. Therefore, they speak about the world, and the world listens to them.
6 We are of God. Whoever knows God, listens to us. Whoever is not of God, does not listen to us. In this way, we know the Spirit of truth from the spirit of error.
7 Most beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God. And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 Whoever does not love, does not know God. For God is love.
9 The love of God was made apparent to us in this way: that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
10 In this is love: not as if we had loved God, but that he first loved us, and so he sent his Son as a propitiation for our sins.
11 Most beloved, if God has so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us.
13 In this way, we know that we abide in him, and he in us: because he has given to us from his Spirit.
14 And we have seen, and we testify, that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
15 Whoever has confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love. And he who abides in love, abides in God, and God in him.
17 In this way, the love of God is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment. For as he is, so also are we, in this world.
18 Fear is not in love. Instead, perfect love casts out fear, for fear pertains to punishment. And whoever fears is not perfected in love.
19 Therefore, let us love God, for God first loved us.
20 If anyone says that he loves God, but hates his brother, then he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother, whom he does see, in what way can he love God, whom he does not see?
21 And this is the commandment that we have from God, that he who loves God must also love his brother.
