Sirach

¹Many have sinned for profit. He who seeks to multiply wealth will turn his eye away. ²As a nail will stick fast between the joinings of stones, so sin will thrust itself in between buying and selling. ³Unless a person holds on diligently to the fear of the Lord, his house will be overthrown quickly. ⁴In the shaking of a sieve, the refuse remains, so does the filth of man in his thoughts. ⁵The furnace tests the potter’s vessels; so the test of a person is in his thoughts. ⁶The fruit of a tree discloses its cultivation, so is the utterance of the thought of a person’s heart. ⁷Praise no man before you hear his thoughts, for this is how people are tested.

⁸If you follow righteousness, you will obtain it, and put it on like a long robe of glory. ⁹Birds will return to their own kind, so truth will return to those who practice it. ¹⁰The lion lies in wait for prey. So does sin for those who do evil.

¹¹The discourse of a godly man is always wise, but the fool changes like the moon. ¹²Limit your time among people void of understanding, but persevere among the thoughtful. ¹³The talk of fools is offensive. Their laughter is wantonly sinful. ¹⁴Their talk with much swearing makes hair stand upright. Their strife makes others plug their ears. ¹⁵The strife of the proud leads to bloodshed. Their abuse of each other is a grievous thing to hear.

¹⁶He who reveals secrets destroys trust, and will not find a close friend. ¹⁷Love a friend, and keep faith with him; but if you reveal his secrets, you shall not follow him; ¹⁸for as a man has destroyed his enemy, so you have destroyed the friendship of your neighbor. ¹⁹As a bird which you have released out of your hand, so you have let your neighbor go, and you will not catch him again. ²⁰Don’t pursue him, for he has gone far away, and has escaped like a gazelle out of the snare. ²¹For a wound may be bound up, and after abuse there may be reconciliation; but he who reveals secrets is without hope.

²²One who winks the eye contrives evil things; and those who know him will keep their distance. ²³When you are present, he will speak sweetly, and will admire your words; but afterward he will twist his speech and set a trap in your words. ²⁴I have hated many things, but nothing like him. The Lord will hate him. ²⁵One who casts a stone straight up casts it on his own head. A deceitful blow opens wounds. ²⁶He who digs a pit will fall into it. He who sets a snare will be caught in it. ²⁷He who does evil things, they will roll back upon him, and he will not know where they came from. ²⁸Mockery and reproach are from the arrogant. Vengeance lies in wait for them like a lion. ²⁹Those who rejoice at the fall of the godly will be caught in a snare. Anguish will consume them before they die.

³⁰Wrath and anger, these also are abominations. A sinner will possess them.