Death! What a better thought for someone who lives happily among his possessions, a prosperous and successful man who is able to enjoy his food.

Your sentence, Death, is welcome to a needy person whose strength is failing, who is old, worn out, and full of worries; to one who is angry and without hope!

Do not be afraid of death’s sentence; think of those who have gone before you and those who will follow. The Lord has decreed it for every living creature; why should you rebel against the good pleasure of the Most High?

Whether you live for ten, a hundred or thousand years, no one in the netherworld is concerned.

Abominable people, such are the children of sinners who gather in the houses of the ungodly.

The inheritance of sinners will perish; their prosperity will be lasting reproach.

The ungodly father will be insulted by his children, for they hold him responsible for their disgrace.

Woe to you, wicked people who have forsaken the law of the Most High! At birth you are born to be cursed and you will be cursed at death.

All that comes from the earth returns to the earth, and the ungodly go from curse to ruin.

People grieve because their bodies will perish, but even the names of sinners will be blotted out.

Have regard for your reputation, for it will live on, of greater value than a thousand hoards of gold. Few perhaps are the days of the just man’s life but an honored name endures forever (Sirach 41:1-13).