Sirach 18

18He that liveth for ever created all things together.

The Lord alone shall be justified.

Who is sufficient to declare His works,

And who can trace out His mighty deeds?

Who can declare the might of His majesty,

And who can recount His mercies?

No man can take ⁽from them⁽ nor add ⁽to them⁽,

Nor can any one trace out the marvellous acts of the Lord.

When a man hath finished, then doth he but begin,

And when he ceaseth, he is in perplexity.

What is man, and what profit is there of him?

What is the good of him, and what is the evil?

The number of man’s days

Is great ⁽if it reach⁽ an hundred years.

As a drop of water from the sea, or as a grain of sand,

So are ⁽man’s⁽ few years in the eternal days.

Therefore is the Lord longsuffering towards them,

And poureth out His mercy upon them.

He seeth and knoweth that their end is evil,

Therefore doth He multiply His forgiveness.

The mercy of man is ⁽exercised upon⁽ his own kin,

But the mercy of God is ⁽extended⁽ to all flesh,

Reproving, and chastening, and teaching,

And bringing them back as a shepherd his flock.

He hath mercy on them that accept ⁽His⁽ chastening,

And that diligently seek after His judgements.

My son, bring no blemish on thy good deeds,

Nor in ⁽giving⁽ any gift ⁽cause⁽ grief through words;

Just as the rain maketh the burning heat to cease;

So a word changeth ⁽the character of⁽ a gift.

For there is a good word which is better than a gift,

And both belong to a saintly man.

A fool upbraideth ungraciously,

And the gift of an envious man consumeth the eyes.

Before thou fight, seek thee a helper;

Before thou art ill, seek thee a physician.

Before judgement examine thyself,

And in the hour of visitation thou shalt find forgiveness.

Before thou fall, humble thyself,

And in the time of ⁽committing⁽ sins, show forth repentance.

Delay notto pay thy vow in due time,

And wait not till death to be justified.

Before thou vowest, prepare thy vows,

And be not as one that tempteth God.

Think of the wrath in the latter day,

And ⁽when⁽, in the time of vengeance, He turneth away His face.

Remember the time of famine in the time of fullness,

And poverty and want in the days of wealth.

From morning until evening the time changeth,

And all things haste on before the Lord.

A wise man is discreet in all things,

And in days of sinning keepeth himself from offence.

Every wise man teacheth wisdom,

And they who know her must give thanks.

They that are wise in words also show that they are wise,

In that they pour forth apt proverbs.

My son, follow not the lusts of thy soul,

And refrain thyself from its desire.

If thou fulfil the desire of thy soul,

Thou wilt be like him that fulfilleth his enemy’s wish.

Delight not thyself in overmuch luxury,

For double is the poverty thereof.

Be not a squanderer and a drunkard,

Else there will be nothing in thy purse.