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Sirach 2: 1-11

Duties towards God

2My child, when you come to serve the Lord,
   prepare yourself for testing.^*
² Set your heart right and be steadfast,
   and do not be impetuous in time of calamity.
³ Cling to him and do not depart,
   so that your last days may be prosperous.
⁴ Accept whatever befalls you,
   and in times of humiliation be patient.
⁵ For gold is tested in the fire,
   and those found acceptable, in the furnace of humiliation.^*
⁶ Trust in him, and he will help you;
   make your ways straight, and hope in him.

⁷ You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy;
   do not stray, or else you may fall.
⁸ You who fear the Lord, trust in him,
   and your reward will not be lost.
⁹ You who fear the Lord, hope for good things,
   for lasting joy and mercy.^*
¹⁰ Consider the generations of old and see:
   has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed?
Or has anyone persevered in the fear of the Lord^* and been forsaken?
   Or has anyone called upon him and been neglected?
¹¹ For the Lord is compassionate and merciful;
   he forgives sins and saves in time of distress.

James 1: 12-18

Trial and Temptation

12 Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord^* has promised to those who love him. ¹³No one, when tempted, should say, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; ¹⁵then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. ¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved.^*

17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.^* ¹⁸In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.