Ecclesiasticus / Sirach - The Old Testament

¹ Many have sinned for the sake of profit, one who hopes to be rich must turn a blind eye.

² A peg will stick in the joint between two stones, and sin will wedge itself between selling and buying.

³ Whoever does not firmly hold to the fear of the Lord, his house will soon be overthrown.

⁴ In a shaken sieve the rubbish is left behind, so too the defects of a person appear in speech.

⁵ The kiln tests the work of the potter, the test of a person is in conversation.

⁶ The orchard where the tree grows is judged by its fruit, similarly words betray what a person feels.

⁷ Do not praise anyone who has not yet spoken, since this is where people are tested.

⁸ If you pursue virtue, you will attain it and put it on like a festal gown.

⁹ Birds consort with their kind, truth comes home to those who practise it.

¹⁰ The lion lies in wait for its prey, so does sin for those who do wrong.

¹¹ The conversation of the devout is wisdom at all times, but the fool is as changeable as the moon.

¹² When visiting stupid people, choose the right moment, but among the thoughtful take your time.

¹³ The conversation of fools is disgusting, raucous their laughter in their sinful pleasures.

¹⁴ The talk of hard-swearing people makes your hair stand on end, their brawling makes you stop your ears.

¹⁵ A quarrel between the proud leads to bloodshed, and their insults are embarrassing to hear.

¹⁶ A betrayer of secrets forfeits all trust and will never find the kind of friend he wants.

¹⁷ Be fond of a friend and keep faith with him, but if you have betrayed his secrets, do not go after him any more;

¹⁸ for, as one destroys a person by killing him, so you have killed your neighbour's friendship,

¹⁹ and as you let a bird slip through your fingers, so you have let your friend go, and will not catch him.

²⁰ Do not go after him -- he is far away, he has fled like a gazelle from the snare.

²¹ For a wound can be bandaged and abuse forgiven, but for the betrayer of a secret there is no hope.

²² Someone with a sly wink is plotting mischief, no one can dissuade him from it.

²³ Honey-tongued to your face, he is lost in admiration at your words; but behind your back he has other things to say, and turns your words into a stumbling-block.

²⁴ I have found many things to hate, but nothing as much as him, and the Lord hates him too.

²⁵ Whoever throws a stone in the air, throws it on to his own head; a treacherous blow cuts both ways.

²⁶ The man who digs a pit falls into it, whoever sets a snare will be caught by it.

²⁷ On anyone who does evil, evil will recoil, without his knowing where it comes from.

²⁸ Sarcasm and abuse are the mark of the arrogant, but vengeance lies in wait like a lion for such a one.

²⁹ The trap will close on all who rejoice in the downfall of the devout, and pain will eat them up before they die.

³⁰ Resentment and anger, these are foul things too, and a sinner is a master at them both.