Sirach 2
2
Trusting in God
1My child, if you come to serve the Lord,
prepare yourself for testing.
2Set your heart straight, be steadfast,
and don’t act hastily in a time of distress.
3Hold fast to God
and don’t keep your distance from him,
so that you may find strength
at your end.
4Accept whatever happens to you,
and be patient
when you suffer humiliation,
5because gold is tested with fire,
and acceptable people are tested
in the furnace of humiliation.#2.5 b adds to 2:5 In sickness and in poverty trust in him.
6Trust him, and he will help you;
make your ways straight,
and hope in him.
7You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy,
and don’t turn aside
or else you might fall.
8You who fear the Lord, trust him,
and you won’t lose your reward.
9You who fear the Lord,
hope for good things,
for unending joy and mercy.#2.9 LXXb adds to 2:9 God repays with a gift of unending joy.
10Look at the people
from long ago and see:
Who trusted in the Lord
and was put to shame?
Or who remained firm in godly fear
and was left behind?
Or who called upon the Lord, and the Lord
overlooked him?
11After all, the Lord is compassionate
and merciful;
he forgives sins and rescues people
in a time of hardship.
12How terrible it will be
for cowardly hearts and idle hands
and for a sinner who sets foot
upon two paths.
13How terrible it will be for the timid heart.
Because it doesn’t trust,
therefore it won’t be protected.
14How terrible it will be for you
who have lost your stamina.
What will you do when the Lord comes for his inspection?
15Those who fear the Lord
won’t disobey his words,
and those who love him
will keep his ways.
16Those who fear the Lord
will try to please him,
and those who love him will be fully occupied with observing the Law.
17Those who fear the Lord
will prepare their hearts,
and they will humble themselves before him.
18May we fall into the hands of the Lord
and not into the hands of human beings,
because his mercy
is equal to his greatness.
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Sirach 2: CEB
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