Books of The Bible / Book of Ecclesiasticus – Sirach
1 Take pity on us, Master, Lord of the universe, look at us, spread fear of yourself throughout all other nations.
2 Raise your hand against the foreign nations and let them see your might.
3 As, in their sight, you have proved yourself holy to us, so now, in our sight, prove yourself great to them.
4 Let them acknowledge you, just as we have acknowledged that there is no God but you, Lord.
5 Send new portents, do fresh wonders, win glory for your hand and your right arm.
6 Rouse your fury, pour out your rage, destroy the opponent, annihilate the enemy.
7 Hasten the day, remember the oath, and let people tell of your mighty deeds.
8 Let fiery wrath swallow up the survivor, and destruction overtake those who oppress your people.
9 Crush the heads of hostile rulers who say, ‘There is no one else but us!’
10 Gather together all the tribes of Jacob, restore them their heritage as at the beginning.
11 Take pity, Lord, on the people called by your name, on Israel whom you have made your first-born.
12 Have compassion on your holy city, on Jerusalem, the place where you rest.
13 Fill Zion with your praises and your sanctuary with your glory.
14 Vindicate those whom you created first, fulfil what has been prophesied in your name.
15 Give those who wait for you their reward, let your prophets be proved true.
16 Grant, Lord, the prayer of your servants, in the terms of Aaron’s blessing on your people,
17 so that all the earth’s inhabitants may acknowledge that you are the Lord, the everlasting God.
18 The stomach takes in all kinds of food, but some foods are better than others.
19 As the palate discerns the flavour of game, so a shrewd listener detects lying words.
20 A perverse character causes depression in others; it needs experience to know how to repay such a one.
21 A woman will accept any husband, but some daughters are better than others.
22 A woman’s beauty delights the beholder, a man likes nothing better.
23 If her tongue is kind and gentle, her husband is the happiest of men.
24 The man who takes a wife has the makings of a fortune, a helper to match himself, a pillar of support.
25 When property has no fence, it is open to plunder, when a man has no wife, he is aimless and querulous.
26 Will anyone trust an armed thief who flits from town to town?
27 So it is with the man who has no nest, and lodges wherever night overtakes him.