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11 Not that I complain of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. 13 I can do all things in him who strengthens me.

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Duties toward God

My son, if you come forward to serve the Lord,
    prepare yourself for temptation.[a]
Set your heart right and be steadfast,
    and do not be hasty in time of calamity.
Cleave to him and do not depart,
    that you may be honored at the end of your life.
Accept whatever is brought upon you,
    and in changes that humble you be patient.
For gold is tested in the fire,
    and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.

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Footnotes

  1. Sirach 2:1 Or trials

Trust in God under Adversity

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

O Lord, how many are my foes!
    Many are rising against me;
many are saying of me,
    there is no help for him in God.Selah

But thou, O Lord, art a shield about me,
    my glory, and the lifter of my head.
I cry aloud to the Lord,
    and he answers me from his holy hill.Selah

I lie down and sleep;
    I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.
I am not afraid of ten thousands of people
    who have set themselves against me round about.

Arise, O Lord!
    Deliver me, O my God!
For thou dost smite all my enemies on the cheek,
    thou dost break the teeth of the wicked.

Deliverance belongs to the Lord;
    thy blessing be upon thy people!Selah

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