Sirach 36
36
1Have mercy upon us, O Lord, the God of all, and look upon us,
2and cause the fear of thee to fall upon all the nations.
3Lift up thy hand against foreign nations
and let them see thy might.
4As in us thou hast been sanctified before them,
so in them be thou magnified before us;
5and let them know thee, as we have known
that there is not God but thee, O Lord.
6Show signs anew, and work further wonders;
make thy hand and thy right arm glorious.
7Rouse thy anger and pour out thy wrath;
destroy the adversary and wipe out the enemy.
8Hasten the day, and remember the appointed time,#36.8 Other authorities read remember thy oath
and let people recount thy mighty deeds.
9Let him who survives be consumed in the fiery wrath,
and may those who harm thy people meet destruction.
10Crush the heads of the rulers of the enemy,
who say, “There is no one but ourselves.”
11Gather all the tribes of Jacob,
and give#36.11 Other authorities read I gave them their inheritance, as at the beginning.
12Have mercy, O Lord, upon the people called by thy name,
upon Israel, whom thou hast likened to a#36.12 Other authorities read hast named thy first-born son.
13Have pity on the city of thy sanctuary,#36.13 Or on thy holy city
Jerusalem, the place of thy rest.
14Fill Zion with the celebration of thy wondrous deeds,
and thy temple#36.14 Heb Syr: Gk Vg people with thy glory.
15Bear witness to those whom thou didst create in the beginning,
and fulfil the prophecies spoken in thy name.
16Reward those who wait for thee,
and let thy prophets be found trustworthy.
17Hearken, O Lord, to the prayer of thy servants,
according to the blessing of Aaron for thy people,
and all who are on the earth will know
that thou art the Lord, the God of the ages.
18The stomach will take any food,
yet one food is better than another.
19As the palate tastes the kinds of game,
so an intelligent mind detects false words.
20A perverse mind will cause grief,
but a man of experience will pay him back.
21A woman will accept any man,
but one daughter is better than another.
22A woman's beauty gladdens the countenance,
and surpasses every human desire.
23If kindness and humility mark her speech,
her husband is not like other men.
24He who acquires a wife gets his best possession,#36.24 Heb: Gk enters upon a possession
a helper fit for him and a pillar of support.#36.24 Heb: Gk rest
25Where there is no fence, the property will be plundered;
and where there is no wife, a man will wander about and sigh.
26For who will trust a nimble robber
that skips from city to city?
So who will trust a man that has no home,
and lodges wherever night finds him?
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Sirach 36: RSV-C
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America