Sirach 36  Good News Translation

A Prayer for Israel

36 O Lord God of the universe, look upon us and have mercy. ² Make every nation stand in fear of you. ³ Take action against the foreign nations, and let them witness your power! ⁴ You have used us to show them how holy you are; now use them to show us how great you are. ⁵ Let them learn, as we have learned, that there is no God, O Lord, but you. ⁶ Give new signs, perform new miracles; show us your glorious strength! ^7-9 Bring on that appointed time when everyone can talk about the great things you do. Pour out your furious, flaming anger, and let none of our enemies survive. Destroy those who have oppressed your people. ¹⁰ Crush all those enemy rulers who think they are the only people in the world who matter! ¹¹ Gather the tribes of Israel together again, and give them back their land as you gave it to them long ago. ¹² Lord, have mercy on Israel, the people who are known by your name, whom you called your first-born son. ¹³ Take pity on Jerusalem, your holy city, where you chose to stay. ¹⁴ Fill your Temple^[a] on Mount Zion with your glory and with hymns of praise. ¹⁵ Testify for your people, whom you created in the beginning; fulfill the prophecies that have been spoken in your name. ¹⁶ Reward those who have put their faith in you, and vindicate your prophets. ¹⁷ You have always been gracious to your people;^[b] listen to your servants as we pray. Then everyone on earth will recognize that you are the Lord, the God of the ages.

Choosing a Wife

¹⁸ Any kind of food can be eaten, but some foods are better than others. ¹⁹ And just as the tongue can distinguish the flavors of different kinds of meat, so a sharp mind can detect lies. ²⁰ A person with a warped mind causes trouble, but an experienced person knows how to pay it back.

²¹ A woman has to take any man as a husband, but a man must choose his wife carefully. ²² A woman's beauty makes a man happy; there is no fairer sight for the human eye to see. ²³ If the woman is kind and gentle in her speech, her husband is the most fortunate of men. ²⁴ When a man marries, he gets the finest thing he will ever have—a wife to help and encourage him.

²⁵ If property is not fenced in, thieves will wander in and help themselves. And if a man has no wife, he is a sighing wanderer; ²⁶ people have no more trust in a homeless person who sleeps in a different place every night than they have in a wandering thief who goes from town to town.