Old Testament

New Testament

Sirach 36:19-28 Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV)

19. in accord with the blessing of Aaron over your people. And direct us in the way of justice, and let all who inhabit the earth know that you are God, the Beholder of all ages.

20. The belly can devour any food, yet one meal is better than another.

21. The palate tests the meat of wild animals, and the understanding heart tests false words.

22. A corrupt heart will cause grief, and a man of experience will resist it.

23. A woman can receive any male, yet one daughter is better than another.

24. The beauty of a wife cheers the face of her husband, and rises above his desire, above all the desires of man.

25. If she offers healing words, then she both comforts and shows mercy; and so her husband is not like other men.

26. He who holds to a good wife establishes a possession. She is a helper in agreement with him, and she is a pillar of rest.

27. Where there is no hedge, a possession will be trampled. And where there is no wife, he will mourn her absence.

28. Who will trust one who has no nest, and who conceals himself wherever his course may take him, like a well-equipped robber passing from city to city?

Read complete chapter Sirach 36