Wisdom of Sirach 26
A Good Wife
1 Happy is the husband of a good wife; The number of his days will be doubled.†
2 A courageous wife makes her husband glad, And his years will be full of peace.
3 A good wife is a good portion, And she will be given in the portion Of those who fear the Lord.
4 The good heart of a rich or a poor man Is a cheerful face at all times.
Fallen Womanhood
5 My heart fears because of three things, And I pray to God concerning a fourth: The slander of a city, the gathering of a mob, And a false accusation—all these are worse than death.†
6 There is also pain of heart and sorrow When a wife is jealous over another woman, And a tongue-lashing makes it known to all.
7 An evil wife is like an ox-yoke that shakes to and fro, And to take hold of her is like grabbing a scorpion.
8 A drunken wife is very wrathful, And she will not conceal her shame.
9 The fornication of a wife will be known By her haughty looks and her eyelids.†
10 Keep strong watch over a headstrong daughter, Lest she find some liberty and make the most of it.
11 Be on guard against her shameless eye, And do not be amazed if she trespasses against you.
12 Her mouth will open like a thirsty traveler’s And drink from any water nearby. She will sit down before every tent peg And open her quiver to any arrow.
A Blessed Wife
13 A wife’s grace will delight her husband, And her skill will put fat on his bones.†
14 A silent wife is a gift from the Lord, And there is nothing worth as much as a disciplined soul.
15 A modest wife is blessing upon blessing, And there is no scale adequate to weigh a self-controlled soul.
16 Like the sun rising in the Lord’s heaven Is the beauty of a good wife in the ordering of her house.
17 Like a lamp shining on the holy lampstand Is the beauty of a countenance in the prime of life.
18 Beautiful feet with a steady heart are like golden pillars on a silver base.
Three Griefs
19 My heart is grieved by two things, And because of a third, anger arises within me: A man of war in want because of poverty; Men of intelligence who suffer contempt; And a man who turns back from righteousness to sin. The Lord will prepare this one for the sword.
The Merchant
20 With difficulty a merchant will deliver himself from wrongdoing, And a peddler will not be acquitted from sin.†
Psalms 31
1 By David; concerning understanding. †Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, And whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not take into account, And in whose mouth there is no deceit.
3 Because I kept silent, my bones grew old From my groaning all the day long;
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; I became miserable when the thorn pierced me. (Pause)
5 I made known my sin, And I did not hide my transgression; I said, “I will confess my transgression to the Lord,” And You forgave the ungodliness of my sin. (Pause)
6 For this cause, everyone who is holy will pray to Him in a well-fitted time; Surely they will not draw near to Him in a flood of many waters.
7 You are my refuge from the oppression of those who surround me; O my exceeding joy, redeem me from those who encircle me. (Pause)
8 “I will give you understanding, and I will teach you in the way you should walk; I will fix My eyes on you.
9 Do not be like the horse and the mule, which have no understanding; You squeeze their jaws with bit and bridle, Lest they come near you.”
10 Many are the scourges of the sinner, But he who hopes in the Lord, mercy shall encircle him.
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice greatly, O righteous ones, And boast, all you upright in heart.
Proverbs of Solomon 6
A Lawless Spirit
17 A man who is without discernment and is lawless does not walk in good ways. But he winks with an eye; he makes a sign with his foot, And teaches with the wave of his hand.†
18 And with a perverse heart, he constantly schemes evil things; Such a man causes trouble in a city.
19 Therefore his destruction comes suddenly, A deep and incurable wound.
Romans 3
The Jews’ Unfaithfulness
1 What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision?†
2 Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.
3 For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?
4 Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: “That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged.” †
5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.)
6 Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?
7 For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?
8 And why not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.
Conclusion: All Are Unfaithful
9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.†
10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; †
11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”
13 “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit” ; “The poison of asps is under their lips” ;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.†
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.†
Righteousness in Christ Fulfills the Law
21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,†
22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,†
24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,†
25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,†
26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.†
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.†
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,
30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.