Sirach 2

1My son, if you draw near to serve Yahweh, prepare yourself for every trial.

2Prepare your heart, and be strong; and do not be alarmed in a time of calamity.

3Cling to him and do not turn away, so that you may be exalted in your latter end.

4Accept whatever comes upon you, and in the changes of your humiliation be patient.

5For gold is tested in fire, and men who are accepted, in the furnace of affliction.

6Trust in him, and he will uphold you; make your ways straight, and hope in him.

7You who fear Yahweh, wait for his mercy, and do not turn aside, lest you fall.

8You who fear Yahweh, trust in him, and your reward will not be delayed.

9You who fear Yahweh, hope for good, and for everlasting joy and mercy.

10Look to the generations of old and see: who believed in Yahweh and was put to shame? Or who trusted in him and was abandoned? Or who called on him and was not answered?

11For the LORD is compassionate and gracious; he forgives sins and saves in a time of distress.

12Woe to the faint of heart and the slack hands, and to the sinner of crooked ways.

13Woe to the heart that does not trust, for it also will not stand.

14Woe to you who have lost hope; what will you do at the visitation of Yahweh?

15Those who fear Yahweh will not rebel against his ways, and those who love him will keep his paths.

16Those who fear Yahweh will seek his favor, and those who love him will learn his law.

17Those who fear Yahweh will prepare their hearts, and before him they will humble their spirits.

18Let us fall into the hand of Yahweh, and not into the hand of man, for as his greatness is, so also is his mercy.