SIRACH 26

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¹Happy is the husband of a good wife; And the number of his days shall be twofold.

²A brave woman rejoiceth her husband; And he shall fulfil his years in peace.

³A good wife is a good portion: She shall be given in the portion of such as fear the Lord.

⁴Whether a man be rich or poor, A good heart maketh at all times a cheerful countenance.

⁵Of three things my heart was afraid; And concerning the fourth kind I made supplication: The slander of a city, and the assembly of a multitude, and a false accusation: All these are more grievous than death.

⁶A grief of heart and sorrow is a woman that is jealous of another woman, And the scourge of a tongue communicating to all.

⁷A wicked woman is as a yoke of oxen shaken to and fro: He that taketh hold of her is as one that graspeth a scorpion.

⁸A drunken woman causeth great wrath; And she will not cover her own shame.

⁹The whoredom of a woman is in the lifting up of her eyes; And it shall be known by her eyelids.

¹⁰Keep strict watch on a headstrong daughter, Lest she find liberty for herself, and use it.

¹¹Look well after an impudent eye; And marvel not if it trespass against thee.

¹²She will open her mouth, as a thirsty traveller, And drink of every water that is near: At every post will she sit down, And open her quiver against any arrow.

¹³The grace of a wife will delight her husband; And her knowledge will fatten his bones.

¹⁴A silent woman is a gift of the Lord; And there is nothing so much worth as a well-instructed soul.

¹⁵A shamefast woman is grace upon grace; And there is no price worthy of a continent soul.

¹⁶As the sun when it ariseth in the highest places of the Lord, So is the beauty of a good wife in the ordering of a man’s house.

¹⁷As the lamp that shineth upon the holy candlestick, So is the beauty of the face in ripe age.

¹⁸As the golden pillars are upon a base of silver, So are beautiful feet with the breasts of one that is stedfast.

²⁸For two things my heart is grieved; And for the third anger cometh upon me: A man of war that suffereth for poverty; And men of understanding that are counted as refuse: One that turneth back from righteousness to sin; The Lord shall prepare him for the sword.

²⁹A merchant shall hardly keep himself from wrong doing; And a huckster shall not be acquitted of sin.