(34) Ocean and marsh.

The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates. (Ps 11:5)

Make ready to slaughter his sons for the guilt of their fathers; Lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the breadth of the world with tyrants. I will rise up against them, says the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, progeny and offspring, says the LORD. I will make it a haunt of hoot owls and a marshland; I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the LORD of hosts. (Is 14:21-23)

For the devices of the wicked man shall be scrutinized, and the sound of his words shall reach the LORD, for the chastisement of his transgressions; Because a jealous ear hearkens to everything, and discordant grumblings are no secret. (Wisd 1:9-10)

For the Lord of all shows no partiality, nor does he fear greatness, Because he himself made the great as well as the small, and he provides for all alike; but for those in power a rigorous scrutiny impends. (Wisd 6:7-8)

The mind of a sage appreciates proverbs, and an attentive ear is the wise man’s joy. Water quenches a flaming fire, and alms atone for sins. He who does a kindness is remembered afterward; when he falls, he finds a support. (Sir 3:28-30)

When you gain a friend, first test him, and be not too ready to trust him (Sir 6:7)

As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in his conversation is the test of a man. The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does a man’s speech disclose the bent of his mind. Praise no man before he speaks, for it is then that men are tested. (Sir 27:5-7)

Of the wise men, some shall fall, so that the rest may be tested, refined, and purified, until the end time which is still appointed to come. (Dan 11:35)

Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)