## Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret

###### Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 1
[Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shekel%20HaKodesh/s/On%20Keeping%20a%20Secret/r/1)

אל תגלה אוזן אוהבך, על סוד תסתיר מאויבך,
בעת יגלה לך סודו אהובך, שכח אותו ויסור מלבבך.

**Shekel Hakodesh, trans. Hermann Gollancz, London 1919:**
Divulge not to thy friend a secret, the secret which thou wouldst conceal from thy foe. When thy friend revealeth a secret unto thee, forget it, and dismiss it from thy mind.


###### Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 2
[Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shekel%20HaKodesh/s/On%20Keeping%20a%20Secret/r/2)

בעת כל בני אדם לך סוסו יגיד, כחד ההגדה ותסתיר המגיד.

**Shekel Hakodesh, trans. Hermann Gollancz, London 1919:**
When men reveal unto thee a secret, keep thou dark the relation and also the author.


###### Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 3
[Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shekel%20HaKodesh/s/On%20Keeping%20a%20Secret/r/3)

ואם סודו באגרת כתבו, והפקידו בידך אהובך,
קרע אותו כאלו לא ראיתו, וישכח ויסור מלבבך.

**Shekel Hakodesh, trans. Hermann Gollancz, London 1919:**
If thy friend doth transmit a secret by letter, and deemeth thee worthy of his confidence, then destroy the epistle, as though it had never been seen by thee; forget it, and let it depart from thy heart.


###### Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 4
[Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shekel%20HaKodesh/s/On%20Keeping%20a%20Secret/r/4)

בעת אדם לך יגלה צפון סודו ומדברו,
גנוז אותו כמו מטמון, ולבך יהיה קברו.

**Shekel Hakodesh, trans. Hermann Gollancz, London 1919:**
When a man tells thee his secret, hide both the secret and him that tells it; hide it as a treasure-trove, and let thy heart for ever be its grave.


###### Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 5
[Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shekel%20HaKodesh/s/On%20Keeping%20a%20Secret/r/5)

אדם יגל דבר וסוד חושף,
איכה יהי נאמן ובטוח עלי כסף.

**Shekel Hakodesh, trans. Hermann Gollancz, London 1919:**
When a man reveal a matter, and lay bare a secret, how can he be trusted with silver and gold?


###### Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 6
[Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shekel%20HaKodesh/s/On%20Keeping%20a%20Secret/r/6)

אם תחשוף סוד לאדם, ויחשפהו לשכלו,
אל תאשימהו, למען צר לבבך מהכילו.

**Shekel Hakodesh, trans. Hermann Gollancz, London 1919:**
If thou entrust thy secret to another, and he feel in his judgment that he cannot but disclose it, then do not attach to thy friend all the blame, thy own heart was not wide enough to contain it.


###### Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 7
[Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shekel%20HaKodesh/s/On%20Keeping%20a%20Secret/r/7)

אדם בסודו צר לבבו מהכילהו ובוער בו כאש כירים,
לא ישמרה מחסום לפיהו, כי לשונו רחבת ידים.

**Shekel Hakodesh, trans. Hermann Gollancz, London 1919:**
If a man's heart be too narrow to keep a secret, but it burneth like a fire in the range, it boots not to guard his mouth with a muzzle, for his tongue and his lips cannot be barred.


###### Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 8
[Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shekel%20HaKodesh/s/On%20Keeping%20a%20Secret/r/8)

אם סודך לא תספר, / יהי אסירך ימי עד,
אם תחשפהו לאחר, / תהיה אסירו ותמעד,
ביום תחשוף צפון סודך לאחר ויודע כבר לבך בחנו,
אבל לא תחשפהו אל שנים, ויודע למי מהם תדינו.

**Shekel Hakodesh, trans. Hermann Gollancz, London 1919:**
A secret not told is thine as a prisoner for ever; once told to thy friend, thou art its prisoner, and thou mayest fall. When thou tellest a hidden secret to another, see that thou make the right choice; for it should never be told unto two; it is for thee to judge who is the one.


###### Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 9
[Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shekel%20HaKodesh/s/On%20Keeping%20a%20Secret/r/9)

סוד השנים סוד הלבבות, אך סוד שלשה סוד הרחובות.

**Shekel Hakodesh, trans. Hermann Gollancz, London 1919:**
A secret between two is locked in the heart; the secret of three is one cried in the street.


###### Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 10
[Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shekel%20HaKodesh/s/On%20Keeping%20a%20Secret/r/10)

איך תאשים אדם יגלה סודך, אם לבך יצר להטמינו,
אם לא תכסהו והוא סודך, איך איש ואין סודו להצפינו.

**Shekel Hakodesh, trans. Hermann Gollancz, London 1919:**
Why blame a man for unfolding thy secret, if thine own heart was distressed in keeping it hid? If thou thyself thy secret cannot conceal, why expect another to keep it, seeing that the thing is not his?


###### Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 11
[Shekel HaKodesh, On Keeping a Secret 11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shekel%20HaKodesh/s/On%20Keeping%20a%20Secret/r/11)

כל איש גלה סוד מאדם אל אחר מני דרך יט,
שמרה אל פיך במחסום, וספר התיו י ט.

**Shekel Hakodesh, trans. Hermann Gollancz, London 1919:**
Of him who from a friend a secret doth bear to a third, it may be said that from the right path *he hath turned;*¹ =19, the number of lines in this section.] keep, therefore, thy mouth as with a bridle.

footnotes:
¹ ["He hath turned"