Ben Sira 25:11-19

11 Such a person has no equal, because the fear of the Lord is the most important thing in the world.

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!

Footnotes

• [a]. [Some manuscripts add verse 12:] Fearing the Lord is the first step toward loving him, and faith is the first step toward loyalty to him.
• [b]. [Some ancient translations] woman; [Greek] enemy.