Ben Sira 10:2-12

2 All the officials and all the citizens will be like their ruler.
3 An uneducated king will ruin his people, but a government will grow strong if its rulers are wise.
4 The Lord sees to the government of the world and brings the right person to power at the right time.
5 The success of that person is in the Lord's hands. The Lord is the source of the honor given to any official.
6 Don't be angry with someone for every little thing he does wrong. Don't do anything out of injured pride.
7 Arrogance and injustice are hated by both the Lord and people.
8 Injustice, arrogance, and wealth cause nations to fall from power, and others then rise to take their place.
9 We are only dust and ashes; what have we got to be proud of? Our body decays even while we are alive.
10 A long illness puzzles the doctor. Even a king may be alive today and dead tomorrow.
11 When a person dies, all he then possesses is worms, flies, and maggots.
12 Pride has its beginning when a person abandons the Lord, his maker.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Our body . . . alive; [this sentence in both Greek and Hebrew is unclear.]
  • [b]. A long . . . doctor; [this sentence in both Greek and Hebrew is unclear.]
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.