Sirach 36

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Come to our aid, O God of the universe, and put all the nations in dread of you!	1 O God of all, take pity on us, and look with favor on us, and show us the light of your compassion.
2 Raise your hand against the heathen, that they may realize your power.	2 And send your fear upon the Gentiles, who have not sought you, so that they may acknowledge that there is no God except you, and so that they may declare your great deeds.
3 As you have used us to show them your holiness, so now use them to show us your glory.	3 Lift up your hand over unbelieving nations, so that they may see your power.
4 Thus they will know, as we know, that there is no God but you.	4 For just as, in their sight, you have been sanctified in us, so also, in our sight, you will be magnified in them.
5 Give new signs and work new wonders; show forth the splendor of your right hand and arm;	5 So may they know you, as we also have known you. For there is no God apart from you, O Lord.
6 Rouse your anger, pour out wrath, humble the enemy, scatter the foe.	6 Renew your signs, and work new wonders.
7 Hasten the day, bring on the time;	7 Glorify your hand and your right arm.
8 Let raging fire consume the fugitive, and your people's oppressors meet destruction.	8 Stir up your fury, and pour out your wrath.
9 crush the heads of the hostile rulers.	9 Take away our adversary, and afflict our enemy.
10 Gather all the tribes of Jacob, that they may inherit the land as of old,	10 Hasten the time, and remember the end, so that they may declare your miracles.
11 Show mercy to the people called by your name; Israel, whom you named your first-born.	11 Let those who escape be devoured by the wrath of fire. And let those who harass your people find perdition.
12 Take pity on your holy city, Jerusalem, your dwelling place.	12 Crush the head of the leaders of the enemies, for they say: “There is no other beside us.”
13 Fill Zion with your majesty, your temple with your glory.	13 Gather together all the tribes of Jacob, so that they may acknowledge that there is no God except you, and so that they may declare your great deeds. And you will inherit them, as from the beginning.
14 Give evidence of your deeds of old; fulfill the prophecies spoken in your name,	14 Take pity on your people, over whom your name has been invoked, and on Israel, whom you have treated as your firstborn.
15 Reward those who have hoped in you, and let your prophets be proved true.	15 Take pity on Jerusalem, the city of your sanctification, the city of your rest.
16 Hear the prayer of your servants, for you are ever gracious to your people;	16 Fill Zion with your ineffable words, and fill your people with your glory.
17 Thus it will be known to the very ends of the earth that you are the eternal God.	17 Give testimony to those who have been your creations from the beginning, and lift up the prophecies which the former prophets spoke in your name.
18 The throat can swallow any food, yet some foods are more agreeable than others;	18 Give a reward to those who endure for you, so that your prophets may be found to be faithful. And heed the prayers of your servants,
19 As the palate tests meat by its savor, so does a keen mind insincere words.	19 in accord with the blessing of Aaron over your people. And direct us in the way of justice, and let all who inhabit the earth know that you are God, the Beholder of all ages.
20 A deceitful character causes grief, but an experienced man can turn the tables on him.	20 The belly can devour any food, yet one meal is better than another.
21 Though any man may be accepted as a husband, yet one girl will be more suitable than another:	21 The palate tests the meat of wild animals, and the understanding heart tests false words.
22 A woman's beauty makes her husband's face light up, for it surpasses all else that charms the eye;	22 A corrupt heart will cause grief, and a man of experience will resist it.
23 And if, besides, her speech is kindly, his lot is beyond that of mortal men.	23 A woman can receive any male, yet one daughter is better than another.
24 A wife is her husband's richest treasure, a helpmate, a steadying column.	24 The beauty of a wife cheers the face of her husband, and rises above his desire, above all the desires of man.
25 A vineyard with no hedge will be overrun; a man with no wife becomes a homeless wanderer.	25 If she offers healing words, then she both comforts and shows mercy; and so her husband is not like other men.
26 Who will trust an armed band that shifts from city to city?	26 He who holds to a good wife establishes a possession. She is a helper in agreement with him, and she is a pillar of rest.
27 Or a man who has no nest, but lodges where night overtakes him?	27 Where there is no hedge, a possession will be trampled. And where there is no wife, he will mourn her absence.
	28 Who will trust one who has no nest, and who conceals himself wherever his course may take him, like a well-equipped robber passing from city to city?