Sirach 12

When thou wilt do good, ^aknow to whom thou doest it;

So shalt thou be thanked for thy benefits.

²Do good to the godly man, and thou shalt find a recompence;

And ^bif not from him, yet from the most High.

³There can no good come to him that is always occupied in evil,

Nor ^cto him that giveth no alms.

^4dGive to the godly man,

^deAnd help not a sinner.

⁵Do well unto him that is lowly, but ^egive not to the ungodly:

Hold back thy bread, and give it not unto him, lest he overmaster thee thereby:

For else ^fthou shalt receive twice as much evil

For all the good thou shalt have done unto him.

⁶For the most High hateth sinners,

And will repay vengeance unto the ungodly,

And ^gkeepeth them against the mighty day of their punishment.

^7dGive unto the good,

^deAnd help not the sinner.

⁸A friend cannot be known in prosperity:

And an enemy cannot be hidden in adversity.

⁹In the prosperity of a man enemies will be grieved:

But in his adversity even a friend will depart.

¹⁰Never trust thine enemy:

For like as iron rusteth, so is his wickedness.

^11hThough he humble himself, and go ⁱcrouching,

Yet take good heed and beware of him,

And thou shalt be unto him as if thou hadst ^jwiped a ^klookingglass,

And thou shalt know that ^jlhis rust hath not been altogether wiped away.

¹²Set him not by thee,

Lest, when he hath overthrown thee, he stand up in thy place;

Neither let him sit at thy right hand,

Lest he seek to take thy seat,

And thou ^llat the last remember my words,

And ^mbe pricked therewith.

¹³Who will pity ⁿa charmer that is bitten with a serpent,

Or any such as come nigh wild beasts?

¹⁴So one that goeth to a sinner,

And is defiled with him in his sins, who will pity?

¹⁵For a while he will abide with thee,

But if thou begin to fall, he will not ^otarry.

^16pAn enemy speaketh sweetly with his lips,

But in his heart ^qhe imagineth how to throw thee into a pit:

^qHe will weep with his eyes,

But if he find opportunity, he will not be satisfied with blood.

¹⁷If adversity come upon thee, thou shalt find him there first;

And though he pretend to help thee, yet shall he undermine thee.

¹⁸He will ^rshake his head, and ^sclap his hands,

And whisper much, and ^tchange his countenance.

XIII.