Sirach 2

KING JAMES BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 My son, if thou come to serve the Lord, prepare thy soul for temptation.	1 Son, when you apply yourself to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare your soul for temptation.
2 Set thy heart aright, and constantly endure, and make not haste in time of trouble.	2 Humble your heart, and persevere. Incline your ear, and accept words of understanding. And you should not hurry away in the time of distress.
3 Cleave unto him, and depart not away, that thou mayest be increased at thy last end.	3 Endure steadfastly for God. Join yourself to God, and persevere, so that your life may increase in the very end.
4 Whatsoever is brought upon thee take cheerfully, and be patient when thou art changed to a low estate.	4 Accept everything that will happened to you, and persevere in your sorrow, and have patience in your humiliation.
5 For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity.	5 For gold and silver are tested in fire, yet truly, acceptable men are tested in the furnace of humiliation.
6 Believe in him, and he will help thee; order thy way aright, and trust in him.	6 Believe God, and he will restore you to health. And straighten your way, and hope in him. Observe his fear, and grow old in it.
7 Ye that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; and go not aside, lest ye fall.	7 You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy. And do not turn away from him, lest you fall.
8 Ye that fear the Lord, believe him; and your reward shall not fail.	8 You who fear the Lord, believe in him. And your reward will not be taken away.
9 Ye that fear the Lord, hope for good, and for everlasting joy and mercy.	9 You who fear the Lord, hope in him. And mercy will approach you, to your delight.
10 Look at the generations of old, and see; did ever any trust in the Lord, and was confounded? or did any abide in his fear, and was forsaken? or whom did he ever despise, that called upon him?	10 You who fear the Lord, love him. And your hearts will be illuminated.
11 For the Lord is full of compassion and mercy, longsuffering, and very pitiful, and forgiveth sins, and saveth in time of affliction.	11 My sons, consider the nations of men, and know that not one of them hoped in the Lord and was confounded.
12 Woe be to fearful hearts, and faint hands, and the sinner that goeth two ways!	12 For who has remained in his commandment and been abandoned? Or who has called upon him, and yet he despised him?
13 Woe unto him that is fainthearted! for he believeth not; therefore shall he not be defended.	13 For God is upright and merciful, and he will forgive sins in the day of tribulation. And he is the Protector to all those who seek him in truth.
14 Woe unto you that have lost patience! and what will ye do when the Lord shall visit you?	14 Woe to the duplicitous heart, and to the wicked lips, and to the hands that do evil, and to the sinner who walks the earth by two ways!
15 They that fear the Lord will not disobey his Word; and they that love him will keep his ways.	15 Woe to the dissolute in heart, who do not trust God! For, as a result, they will not be protected by him.
16 They that fear the Lord will seek that which is well, pleasing unto him; and they that love him shall be filled with the law.	16 Woe to those who have lost endurance, and who have abandoned upright ways, and who have turned aside to depraved ways!
17 They that fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and humble their souls in his sight,	17 And what will they do when the Lord begins to examine them?
18 Saying, We will fall into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of men: for as his majesty is, so is his mercy.	18 Those who fear the Lord will not be unbelieving toward his Word. And those who love him will keep to his way.
	19 Those who fear the Lord will seek the things that are well-pleasing to him. And those who love him will be filled with his law.
	20 Those who fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and they will sanctify their souls in his sight.
	21 Those who fear the Lord keep his commandments, and they will have patience even until his examination,
	22 saying: “If we do not do penance, then we will fall into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of men.”
	23 For according to his greatness, so also is his mercy with him.