No Reason for Pride

1 Senseless and stupid and foolish and ignorant men jeer and mock at us, wanting to be exalted in their own minds. 2 For what power does a mortal have? Or what strength does a child of earth have? 3 For it is written; “There was no form before my eyes; I heard only a breath and a voice.”⁠a 4 What then? Shall a mortal be clean in the sight of the Lord, or shall a man be blameless in his works, when He does not trust His servants and notes some perversity in His angels? 5 No, heaven is not clean in His sight. Away then, you who dwell in houses of clay, the same clay of which we ourselves are made. He struck them like a moth, and from morning to evening they are no more. Because they could not help themselves, they perished. 6 He breathed on them and they died, because they had no wisdom. 7 But call out, if perhaps someone will answer you, or if you will see one of the holy angels. For anger kills the foolish man, and envy kills the one who has gone astray. 8 And I have seen fools throwing out roots, but at once their dwelling was consumed. 9 May their sons be far from safety. May they be mocked at the gates of lesser men, and there shall be no one to rescue them. For the righteous shall eat what is prepared for them; but they themselves shall not be rescued from evils.