Sirach

¹A worker who is a drunkard will not become rich. He who despises small things will fall little by little. ²Wine and women will make men of understanding go astray. He who joins with prostitutes is reckless. ³Decay and worms will have him as their heritage. A reckless soul will be taken away. ⁴He who is hasty to trust is shallow-hearted. He who sins offends against his own soul. ⁵He who rejoices in wickedness will be condemned. ⁶He who hates gossip has less wickedness. ⁷Never repeat what is told you, and you won’t lose anything. ⁸Whether it is of friend or foe, don’t tell it. Unless it is a sin to you, don’t reveal it. ⁹For if he has heard you and observed you, when the time comes, he will hate you. ¹⁰Have you heard something? Let it die with you. Be brave: it will not make you burst! ¹¹A fool will travail in pain with a word, as a woman in labor with a child. ¹²As an arrow that sticks in the flesh of the thigh, so is gossip in a fool. ¹³Question a friend; it may be he didn’t do it. If he did something, it may be that he may do it no more. ¹⁴Question your neighbor; it may be he didn’t say it. If he has said it, it may be that he may not say it again. ¹⁵Question a friend; for many times there is slander. Don’t trust every word. ¹⁶There is one who slips, and not from the heart. Who is he who hasn’t sinned with his tongue? ¹⁷Reprove your neighbor before you threaten him; and give place to the law of the Most High.

²⁰All wisdom is the fear of the Lord. In all wisdom is the doing of the law. ²²The knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom. The prudence of sinners is not counsel. ²³There is a wickedness, and it is an abomination. There is a fool lacking in wisdom. ²⁴Better is one who has little understanding, and fears God, than one who has much intelligence and transgresses the law. ²⁵There is an exquisite subtlety, and it is unjust. And there is one who perverts favor to gain a judgment. ²⁶There is one who does wickedly, who hangs down his head with mourning; but inwardly he is full of deceit, ²⁷bowing down his face, and pretending to be deaf in one ear. Where he isn’t known, he will take advantage of you. ²⁸And if for lack of power he is hindered from sinning, if he finds opportunity, he will do mischief. ²⁹A man will be known by his appearance. One who has understanding will be known by his face when you meet him. ³⁰A man’s attire, grinning laughter, and the way he walks show what he is.