Sirach 23:1-3

Common English Bible

23 Lord, Father, and master of my life,
    don’t abandon me to their will,
    and don’t let me fall because of them.
² Who will station whips
to keep my thoughts in line
    and set the discipline of wisdom
    over my heart,
    so that I might not be spared my faults
    due to ignorance
    and my sins not go unnoticed?
³ Otherwise, my acts of ignorance
might multiply,
    and my sins might increase,
    and I’ll fall before my adversaries,
    and my enemy will rejoice over me.^[a]