Sirach 36:18-27

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹⁸ Have pity on the city of your sanctuary,^[a]
    Jerusalem, the place of your dwelling.^[b](A)
19 Fill Zion with your majesty^[c]
    and your temple^[d] with your glory.^(B)
20 Bear witness to those whom you created in the beginning,
    and fulfill the prophecies spoken in your name.
²¹ Reward those who wait for you,
    and let your prophets be found trustworthy.^(C)
22 Hear, O Lord, the prayer of your servants, according to your goodwill toward^[e] your people,
and all who are on the earth will know
    that you are the Lord, the God of the ages.^(D)

²³ The stomach will take any food,
    yet one food is better than another.
²⁴ As the palate tastes the kinds of game,
    so an intelligent mind detects false words.^(E)
25 A perverse mind will cause grief,
    but a person with experience will pay him back.^(F)
26 A woman will accept any man as a husband,
    but one daughter is preferable to another.
²⁷ A woman’s beauty lights up a man’s face,
    and there is nothing he desires more.^(G)