CPDV - Sirach - 25

25:1  My spirit is pleased with three things; these are approved in the sight of God and men:

25:2  the harmony of brothers, and the love of neighbors, and a husband and wife agreeing well together.

25:3  My soul hates three kinds of things; and I am greatly distressed over their souls:

25:4  an arrogant pauper, a wealthy liar, a foolish and senseless elder.

25:5  The things that you have not obtained in your youth, how will you find them in your old age?

25:6  How beautiful it is for a grey head to have judgment, and for elders to know counsel!

25:7  How beautiful it is for those who are aged to have wisdom, and for those who are honored to have understanding and counsel!

25:8  Great experience is the crown of the aged, and the fear of God is their glory.

25:9  I have magnified nine things, overlooked by the heart; and a tenth, I will declare to men with my tongue:

25:10  a man who finds joy in his children, and one who lives to see the undoing of his enemies.

25:11  Blessed is he who lives with a wise wife, and he who has not slipped with his tongue, and he who has not served those unworthy of himself.

25:12  Blessed is he who finds a true friend, and he who describes justice to an attentive ear.

25:13  How great is he who finds wisdom and knowledge! But there is no one above him who fears the Lord.

25:14  The fear of God has set itself above all things.

25:15  Blessed is the man to whom it has been given to have the fear of God. He who holds to it, to whom can he be compared?

25:16  The fear of God is the beginning of his love; and the beginning of faith has been joined closely to the same.

25:17  The sadness of the heart is every wound. And the wickedness of a wife is every malice.

25:18  And a man will choose any wound, but the wound of the heart,

25:19  and any wickedness, but the wickedness of a wife,

25:20  and any obstacle, but the obstacle of those who hate him,

25:21  and any vindication, but the vindication of his enemies.

25:22  There is no head worse than the head of a serpent,

25:23  and there is no anger above the anger of a wife. It would be more agreeable to abide with a lion or a dragon, than to live with a wicked wife.

25:24  A wicked wife changes her face. And she darkens her countenance like a bear. And she displays it like sackcloth. In the midst of her neighbors,

25:25  her husband groans, and hearing of this, he sighs a little.

25:26  All malice is brief compared to the malice of a wife. Let the fate of sinners fall upon her!

25:27  As climbing over sand is to the feet of the aged, so is a talkative wife to a quiet man.

25:28  You should not favor a woman’s beauty, and you should not desire a wife for her beauty.

25:29  The anger and disrespect and shame from a wife can be great.

25:30  The wife, if she has primacy, is set against her husband.

25:31  A wicked wife debases the heart, and saddens the face, and wounds the heart.

25:32  A wife who does not make her husband happy enfeebles the hands and weakens the knees.

25:33  The beginning of sin came from a woman; and through her, we all die.

25:34  You should not provide an exit to your water, not even a little; nor should you give permission for a wicked wife to exceed the limit.

25:35  If she will not walk at your hand, she will confound you in the sight of your enemies.

25:36  Tear her away from your body, lest she abuse you continually.