Sirach

Chapter-25

Sirach 25:1 My spirit is pleased with three things; these are approved in the sight of God and men:

 

Sirach 25:2 the harmony of brothers, and the love of neighbors, and a husband and wife agreeing well together.

 

Sirach 25:3 My soul hates three kinds of things; and I am greatly distressed over their souls:

 

Sirach 25:4 an arrogant pauper, a wealthy liar, a foolish and senseless elder.

 

Sirach 25:5 The things that you have not obtained in your youth, how will you find them in your old age?

 

Sirach 25:6 How beautiful it is for a grey head to have judgment, and for elders to know counsel!

 

Sirach 25:7 How beautiful it is for those who are aged to have wisdom, and for those who are honored to have understanding and counsel!

 

Sirach 25:8 Great experience is the crown of the aged, and the fear of God is their glory.

 

Sirach 25:9 I have magnified nine things, overlooked by the heart; and a tenth, I will declare to men with my tongue:

 

Sirach 25:10 a man who finds joy in his children, and one who lives to see the undoing of his enemies.

 

Sirach 25:11 Blessed is he who lives with a wise wife, and he who has not slipped with his tongue, and he who has not served those unworthy of himself.

 

Sirach 25:12 Blessed is he who finds a true friend, and he who describes justice to an attentive ear.

 

Sirach 25:13 How great is he who finds wisdom and knowledge! But there is no one above him who fears the Lord.

 

Sirach 25:14 The fear of God has set itself above all things.

 

Sirach 25:15 Blessed is the man to whom it has been given to have the fear of God. He who holds to it, to whom can he be compared?

 

Sirach 25:16 The fear of God is the beginning of his love; and the beginning of faith has been joined closely to the same.

 

Sirach 25:17 The sadness of the heart is every wound. And the wickedness of a wife is every malice.

 

Sirach 25:18 And a man will choose any wound, but the wound of the heart,

 

Sirach 25:19 and any wickedness, but the wickedness of a wife,

 

Sirach 25:20 and any obstacle, but the obstacle of those who hate him,

 

Sirach 25:21 and any vindication, but the vindication of his enemies.

 

Sirach 25:22 There is no head worse than the head of a serpent,

 

Sirach 25:23 and there is no anger above the anger of a wife. It would be more agreeable to abide with a lion or a dragon, than to live with a wicked wife.

 

Sirach 25:24 A wicked wife changes her face. And she darkens her countenance like a bear. And she displays it like sackcloth. In the midst of her neighbors,

 

Sirach 25:25 her husband groans, and hearing of this, he sighs a little.

 

Sirach 25:26 All malice is brief compared to the malice of a wife. Let the fate of sinners fall upon her!

 

Sirach 25:27 As climbing over sand is to the feet of the aged, so is a talkative wife to a quiet man.

 

Sirach 25:28 You should not favor a woman’s beauty, and you should not desire a wife for her beauty.

 

Sirach 25:29 The anger and disrespect and shame from a wife can be great.

 

Sirach 25:30 The wife, if she has primacy, is set against her husband.

 

Sirach 25:31 A wicked wife debases the heart, and saddens the face, and wounds the heart.

 

Sirach 25:32 A wife who does not make her husband happy enfeebles the hands and weakens the knees.

 

Sirach 25:33 The beginning of sin came from a woman; and through her, we all die.

 

Sirach 25:34 You should not provide an exit to your water, not even a little; nor should you give permission for a wicked wife to exceed the limit.

 

Sirach 25:35 If she will not walk at your hand, she will confound you in the sight of your enemies.

 

Sirach 25:36 Tear her away from your body, lest she abuse you continually.