Sirach 2

1 My child, if you come to serve the Lord, prepare your soul for testing. † 2 Set your heart straight, endure steadily, and do not act rashly in a time of trouble. 3 Hold fast to him and do not turn away, so that you may grow strong at the end of your life. 4 Accept whatever is brought upon you, and be patient through changes that bring you low. 5 Gold is tested in fire, and acceptable people in the furnace of humiliation.

6 Trust him, and he will help you. Make your ways straight and hope in him. 7 You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy. Do not turn aside, or you may fall. 8 You who fear the Lord, trust him, and your reward will not be lost. 9 You who fear the Lord, hope for good things, everlasting gladness, and mercy. 10 Look at the generations of long ago and see: Who trusted in the Lord and was put to shame? Who remained in fear of him and was abandoned? Who called on him and was ignored?

11 The Lord is compassionate and merciful; he forgives sins and rescues in a time of distress. 12 Woe to cowardly hearts, slack hands, and the sinner who walks on two paths! 13 Woe to the faint heart, because it does not trust; therefore it will not be sheltered. 14 Woe to you who have lost endurance! What will you do when the Lord calls you to account? 15 Those who fear the Lord will not disobey his words, and those who love him will keep his ways.

16 Those who fear the Lord will seek his good pleasure, and those who love him will be filled with the law. 17 Those who fear the Lord will prepare their hearts and humble their souls before him. 18 We will fall into the Lord’s hands and not into human hands, because his mercy is as great as his greatness.