Apocrypha (Deuterocanonical books: Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, Maccabees, ...)

He will not despise the supplication of the fatherless; nor the widow, when she poureth out her complaint.

Do not the tears run down the widow’s cheeks? and is not her cry against him that causeth them to fall?

He that serveth the Lord shall be accepted with favour, and his prayer shall reach unto the clouds.

The prayer of the humble pierceth the clouds: and till it come nigh, he will not be comforted; and will not depart, till the most High shall behold to judge righteously, and execute judgment.

For the Lord will not be slack, neither will the Mighty be patient toward them, till he have smitten in sunder the loins of the unmerciful, and repayed vengeance to the heathen; till he have taken away the multitude of the proud, and broken the sceptre of the unrighteous;

Till he have rendered to every man according to his deeds, and to the works of men according to their devices; till he have judged the cause of his people, and made them to rejoice in his mercy.

Mercy is seasonable in the time of affliction, as clouds of rain in the time of drought.

Have mercy upon us, O Lord God of all, and behold us:

And send thy fear upon all the nations that seek not after thee.

Lift up thy hand against the strange nations, and let them see thy power.

As thou wast sanctified in us before them: so be thou magnified among them before us.

And let them know thee, as we have known thee, that there is no God but only thou, O God.

Shew new signs, and make other strange wonders: glorify thy hand and thy right arm, that they may set forth thy wondrous works.

Raise up indignation, and pour out wrath: take away the adversary, and destroy the enemy.

Sake the time short, remember the covenant, and let them declare thy wonderful works.

Let him that escapeth be consumed by the rage of the fire; and let them perish that oppress the people.

Smite in sunder the heads of the rulers of the heathen, that say, There is none other but we.

Gather all the tribes of Jacob together, and inherit thou them, as from the beginning.

O Lord, have mercy upon the people that is called by thy name, and upon Israel, whom thou hast named thy firstborn.

O be merciful unto Jerusalem, thy holy city, the place of thy rest.

Fill Sion with thine unspeakable oracles, and thy people with thy glory:

Give testimony unto those that thou hast possessed from the beginning, and raise up prophets that have been in thy name.

Reward them that wait for thee, and let thy prophets be found faithful.

O Lord, hear the prayer of thy servants, according to the blessing of Aaron over thy people, that all they which dwell upon the earth may know that thou art the Lord, the eternal God.

The belly devoureth all meats, yet is one meat better than another.

As the palate tasteth divers kinds of venison: so doth an heart of understanding false speeches.

A froward heart causeth heaviness: but a man of experience will recompense him.

A woman will receive every man, yet is one daughter better than another.

The beauty of a woman cheereth the countenance, and a man loveth nothing better.

If there be kindness, meekness, and comfort, in her tongue, then is not her husband like other men.

He that getteth a wife beginneth a possession, a help like unto himself, and a pillar of rest.

Where no hedge is, there the possession is spoiled: and he that hath no wife will wander up and down mourning.

Who will trust a thief well appointed, that skippeth from city to city? so [who will believe] a man that hath no house, and lodgeth wheresoever the night taketh him?

Every friend saith, I am his friend also: but there is a friend, which is only a friend in name.

Is it not a grief unto death, when a companion and friend is turned to an enemy?

O wicked imagination, whence camest thou in to cover the earth with deceit?

There is a companion, which rejoiceth in the prosperity of a friend, but in the time of trouble will be against him.

There is a companion, which helpeth his friend for the belly, and taketh up the buckler against the enemy.

Forget not thy friend in thy mind, and be not unmindful of him in thy riches.

Every counsellor extolleth counsel; but there is some that counselleth for himself.

Beware of a counsellor, and know before what need he hath; for he will counsel for himself; lest he cast the lot upon thee,

And say unto thee, Thy way is good: and afterward he stand on the other side, to see what shall befall thee.

Consult not with one that suspecteth thee: and hide thy counsel from such as envy thee.

Neither consult with a woman touching her of whom she is jealous; neither with a coward in matters of war; nor with a merchant concerning exchange; nor with a buyer of selling; nor with an envious man of thankfulness; nor with an unmerciful man touching kindness; nor with the slothful for any work; nor with an hireling for a year of finishing work; nor with an idle servant of much business: hearken not unto these in any matter of counsel.

But be continually with a godly man, whom thou knowest to keep the commandments of the Lord, whose mind is according to thy mind, and will sorrow with thee, if thou shalt miscarry.

And let the counsel of thine own heart stand: for there is no man more faithful unto thee than it.

For a man’s mind is sometime wont to tell him more than seven watchmen, that sit above in an high tower.

And above all this pray to the most High, that he will direct thy way in truth.

Let reason go before every enterprize, and counsel before every action.

The countenance is a sign of changing of the heart.

Four manner of things appear: good and evil, life and death: but the tongue ruleth over them continually.

There is one that is wise and teacheth many, and yet is unprofitable to himself.

There is one that sheweth wisdom in words, and is hated: he shall be destitute of all food.

For grace is not given, him from the Lord, because he is deprived of all wisdom.

Another is wise to himself; and the fruits of understanding are commendable in his mouth.

A wise man instructeth his people; and the fruits of his understanding fail not.

A wise man shall be filled with blessing; and all they that see him shall count him happy.

The days of the life of man may be numbered: but the days of Israel are innumerable.

A wise man shall inherit glory among his people, and his name shall be perpetual.

My son, prove thy soul in thy life, and see what is evil for it, and give not that unto it.

For all things are not profitable for all men, neither hath every soul pleasure in every thing.

Be not unsatiable in any dainty thing, nor too greedy upon meats:

For excess of meats bringeth sickness, and surfeiting will turn into choler.

By surfeiting have many perished; but he that taketh heed prolongeth his life.

Honour a physician with the honour due unto him for the uses which ye may have of him: for the Lord hath created him.

For of the most High cometh healing, and he shall receive honour of the king.

The skill of the physician shall lift up his head: and in the sight of great men he shall be in admiration.

The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth; and he that is wise will not abhor them.

Was not the water made sweet with wood, that the virtue thereof might be known?

And he hath given men skill, that he might be honoured in his marvellous works.

With such doth he heal [men,] and taketh away their pains.

Of such doth the apothecary make a confection; and of his works there is no end; and from him is peace over all the earth,

My son, in thy sickness be not negligent: but pray unto the Lord, and he will make thee whole.

Leave off from sin, and order thine hands aright, and cleanse thy heart from all wickedness.

Give a sweet savour, and a memorial of fine flour; and make a fat offering, as not being.

Then give place to the physician, for the Lord hath created him: let him not go from thee, for thou hast need of him.

There is a time when in their hands there is good success.

For they shall also pray unto the Lord, that he would prosper that, which they give for ease and remedy to prolong life.

He that sinneth before his Maker, let him fall into the hand of the physician.

My son, let tears fall down over the dead, and begin to lament, as if thou hadst suffered great harm thyself; and then cover his body according to the custom, and neglect not his burial.

Weep bitterly, and make great moan, and use lamentation, as he is worthy, and that a day or two, lest thou be evil spoken of: and then comfort thyself for thy heaviness.

For of heaviness cometh death, and the heaviness of the heart breaketh strength.

In affliction also sorrow remaineth: and the life of the poor is the curse of the heart.

Take no heaviness to heart: drive it away, and member the last end.

Forget it not, for there is no turning again: thou shalt not do him good, but hurt thyself.

Remember my judgment: for thine also shall be so; yesterday for me, and to day for thee.

When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest; and be comforted for him, when his Spirit is departed from him.

The wisdom of a learned man cometh by opportunity of leisure: and he that hath little business shall become wise.

How can he get wisdom that holdeth the plough, and that glorieth in the goad, that driveth oxen, and is occupied in their labours, and whose talk is of bullocks?

He giveth his mind to make furrows; and is diligent to give the kine fodder.

So every carpenter and workmaster, that laboureth night and day: and they that cut and grave seals, and are diligent to make great variety, and give themselves to counterfeit imagery, and watch to finish a work:

The smith also sitting by the anvil, and considering the iron work, the vapour of the fire wasteth his flesh, and he fighteth with the heat of the furnace: the noise of the hammer and the anvil is ever in his ears, and his eyes look still upon the pattern of the thing that he maketh; he setteth his mind to finish his work, and watcheth to polish it perfectly:

So doth the potter sitting at his work, and turning the wheel about with his feet, who is alway carefully set at his work, and maketh all his work by number;

He fashioneth the clay with his arm, and boweth down his strength before his feet; he applieth himself to lead it over; and he is diligent to make clean the furnace:

All these trust to their hands: and every one is wise in his work.

Without these cannot a city be inhabited: and they shall not dwell where they will, nor go up and down:

They shall not be sought for in publick counsel, nor sit high in the congregation: they shall not sit on the judges’ seat, nor understand the sentence of judgment: they cannot declare justice and judgment; and they shall not be found where parables are spoken.

But they will maintain the state of the world, and [all] their desire is in the work of their craft.

But he that giveth his mind to the law of the most High, and is occupied in the meditation thereof, will seek out the wisdom of all the ancient, and be occupied in prophecies.

He will keep the sayings of the renowned men: and where subtil parables are, he will be there also.