Ben Sira 36:23-26
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Choice of Associates[a]
23 The throat can swallow any food,
yet some foods are more agreeable than others.
24 The palate tests delicacies put forward as gifts,
so does a keen mind test deceitful tidbits.
25 One with a tortuous heart brings about grief,
but an experienced person can turn the tables on him.
26 A woman will accept any man as husband,
but one woman will be preferable to another.
Footnotes
- 36:23–37:15 In the choice of wife, friend, or associate, experience is a discerner of character (36:23–26). Beauty and soothing speech make a woman desirable as wife (36:27–28). The good wife becomes her husband’s richest treasure, his help in establishing his household (36:29–31). Good friends fight for comrades and share the spoils with them (37:5–6); false friends deceive and abandon in time of need (37:1–4). A true counselor and associate should be sought among those who keep the commandments, not among those who break them and seek their own advantage (37:7–12). In all things one should pray to God for light and follow conscience (37:13–15).
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