Sirach 26:19-27

Common English Bible

^19 [a] My child, keep the vitality
of your prime of life safe and sound,
    and don’t give your strength
    over to strangers.
²⁰ After you have chosen a fertile plot
out of every field,
    sow your own seed,
    being confident of your
    excellent descent.
²¹ Thus your offspring who surround you
    and who have confidence
    in their excellent descent,
    will become great.
²² A hired woman will be considered
the same as spit,
    but a married woman will be considered a tower of death to those who associate too closely with her.
²³ An ungodly woman will be bestowed
on a lawless man as his portion,
    but a godly woman is granted
    to the man who fears the Lord.
²⁴ A shameless woman will always be
in disgrace,
    but a dignified daughter will show modesty even with her husband.
²⁵ An unruly wife will be thought of
as a dog,
    but the wife who feels shame
    will fear the Lord.
²⁶ A wife who honors her own husband will appear wise to everyone,
    but the wife who dishonors her husband with arrogance
    will be known to all as ungodly.
The husband of a good wife is happy,
    for the number of his years will double.
²⁷ A loudmouthed and talkative wife
        is like a battle trumpet
        sounding an attack.
    The spirit of the man
    who lives under such conditions
        lives perpetually in the chaos
        of the battlefield.