Ben Sira 25:13-22

13 No wound is as serious as wounded love. No troubles are as serious as the troubles that women cause.
14 No sufferings are worse than the sufferings caused by people who hate you. No revenge is worse than revenge taken by an enemy.
15 No poison is deadlier than the poison of a snake, and no anger is deadlier than the anger of a woman.
16 I would rather live in the same house with a lion or a dragon than with a bad wife.
17 When a wife is in a bad mood, her expression changes until she looks like an angry bear.
18 Her husband has to go and eat with the neighbors, where he can't hold back his bitter sighs.
19 Compared with the troubles caused by a woman, any other trouble looks small. May such women suffer the fate of sinners!
20 A quiet man living with a nagging wife is like an old man climbing up a sandy hill.
21 Never lose your head over a woman's beauty, and don't try to win a woman because she is wealthy.
22 When a man is supported by his wife, there is sure to be anger, arrogance, and humiliation.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. [Some ancient translations] woman; [Greek] enemy.
  • [b]. [Hebrew] because she is wealthy; [Greek does not have these words.]
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.