Sirach 36

Have mercy upon us, O Lord, the God of all, and look upon us, and show us the light of your mercy;

send fear of you upon the nations.

Lift up your hand against foreign nations and let them see your might.

As in us you have been sanctified before them, so in them may you be magnified before us;

and let them know you, as we have known that there is no God but you, O Lord.

Show signs anew, and work further wonders; make your hand and your right arm glorious.

Rouse your anger and pour out your wrath; destroy the adversary and wipe out the enemy.

Hasten the day, and remember the appointed time, and let people recount your mighty deeds.

Let him who survives be consumed in the fiery wrath, and may those who harm your people meet destruction.

Crush the heads of the rulers of the enemy, who say, “There is no one but ourselves.”

Gather all the tribes of Jacob, and give them their inheritance, as at the beginning.

Have mercy, O Lord, upon the people called by your name, upon Israel, whom you have likened to a first-born son.

Have pity on the city of your sanctuary, Jerusalem, the place of your rest.

Fill Zion with the celebration of your wondrous deeds, and your temple with your glory.

Bear witness to those whom you created in the beginning, and fulfil the prophecies spoken in your name.

Reward those who wait for you, and let your prophets be found trustworthy.

Listen, O Lord, to the prayer of your servants, according to the blessing of Aaron for your people, and direct us in the way of righteousness, and all who are on the earth will know that you are the Lord, the God of the ages.

The stomach will take any food, yet one food is better than another.

As the palate tastes the kinds of game, so an intelligent mind detects false words.

A perverse mind will cause grief, but a man of experience will pay him back.

A woman will accept any man, but one daughter is better than another.

A woman’s beauty gladdens the countenance, and surpasses every human desire.

If kindness and humility mark her speech, her husband is not like other men.

He who acquires a wife gets his best possession, a helper fit for him and a pillar of support.

Where there is no fence, the property will be plundered; and where there is no wife, a man will wander about and sigh.

For 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?