Sirach 2:1-8
Revised Standard Version
Duties toward God
2 My son, if you come forward to serve the Lord,
prepare yourself for temptation.[a]
2 Set your heart right and be steadfast,
and do not be hasty in time of calamity.
3 Cleave to him and do not depart,
that you may be honored at the end of your life.
4 Accept whatever is brought upon you,
and in changes that humble you be patient.
5 For gold is tested in the fire,
and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.
6 Trust in him, and he will help you;
make your ways straight, and hope in him.
7 You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy;
and turn not aside, lest you fall.
8 You who fear the Lord, trust in him,
and your reward will not fail;
Footnotes
- Sirach 2:1 Or trials
Matthew 6:33-34
Revised Standard Version
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.
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Romans 12:12
Revised Standard Version
12 Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
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1 Peter 2:19-25
Revised Standard Version
19 For one is approved if, mindful of God, he endures pain while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it, if when you do wrong and are beaten for it you take it patiently? But if when you do right and suffer for it you take it patiently, you have God’s approval. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,[a] that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
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- 1 Peter 2:24 Or carried up . . . to the tree
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.