New American Bible, Revised Edition

Ben Sira 25:8-24 New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE)

8. Happy the man who lives with a sensible woman,and the one who does not plow with an ox and a donkey combined.Happy the one who does not sin with the tongue,who does not serve an inferior.

9. Happy the one who finds a friend,who speaks to attentive ears.

10. How great is the one who finds wisdom,but none is greater than the one who fears the Lord.

11. Fear of the Lord surpasses all else.To whom can we compare the one who has it?

13. Any wound, but not a wound of the heart!Any wickedness, but not the wickedness of a woman!

14. Any suffering, but not suffering from one’s foes!Any vengeance, but not the vengeance of one’s enemies!

15. There is no poison worse than that of a serpent,no venom greater than that of a woman.

16. I would rather live with a dragon or a lionthan live with a wicked woman.

17. A woman’s wicked disposition changes her appearance,and makes her face as dark as a bear.

18. When her husband sits among his neighbors,a bitter sigh escapes him unawares.

19. There is hardly an evil like that in a woman;may she fall to the lot of the sinner!

20. Like a sandy hill to aged feetis a garrulous wife to a quiet husband.

21. Do not be enticed by a woman’s beauty,or be greedy for her wealth.

22. Harsh is the slavery and great the shamewhen a wife supports her husband.

23. Depressed mind, gloomy face,and a wounded heart—a wicked woman.Drooping hands and quaking knees,any wife who does not make her husband happy.

24. With a woman sin had a beginning,and because of her we all die.