Sirach 13

He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled therewith;

And ^ahe that hath fellowship with a proud man shall be like unto him.

²Burden not thyself above thy power while thou livest;

And have no fellowship with one that is mightier and richer than thyself:

For how agree the kettle and the earthen pot together?

For if the one be smitten against the other, it shall be broken.

^3bThe rich man hath done wrong, and yet he threateneth withal:

The poor is wronged, and he must intreat also.

⁴If thou be for his profit, he will use thee:

But if thou have nothing, he will forsake thee.

⁵If thou have any thing, he will live with thee:

Yea, he will ^cmake thee bare, and will not be sorry for it.

⁶If he have need of thee, he will deceive thee,

And smile upon thee, and put thee in hope;

He will speak thee fair, and say, What wantest thou?

⁷And he will shame thee by his meats,

Until he have ^cdrawn thee dry twice or thrice,

And at the last he will laugh thee to scorn:

Afterward, when he seeth thee, he will forsake thee,

And ^dshake his head at thee.

⁸Beware that thou be not deceived,

And brought down in thy ^ejollity.

⁹If thou be invited of a mighty man, withdraw thyself,

And so much the more will he invite thee.

^10fPress thou not upon him, lest thou be put back;

Stand not far off, lest thou be forgotten.

^11gAffect not to be made equal unto him in talk,

And believe not his many words:

For with much communication will he tempt thee,

And smiling upon thee will get out thy secrets:

¹²But cruelly he will lay up thy words,

And will not spare to do thee hurt, and to put thee in prison.

¹³Observe, and take good heed,

For thou walkest in peril of thy overthrowing:

When thou hearest these things, awake in thy sleep.

¹⁴Love the Lord all thy life,

And call upon him for thy salvation.

¹⁵Every beast loveth his like,

And every man loveth his neighbor.

¹⁶All flesh consorteth according to kind,

And a man will cleave to his like.

^17hWhat fellowship hath the wolf with the lamb?

ⁱSo the sinner with the godly.

¹⁸What agreement is there between the hyena and a dog?

And what peace between the rich and the poor?

¹⁹As ^kthe wild ass is the lions’ prey in the wilderness:

So ^lthe rich eat up the poor.

²⁰As the proud hate humility:

So doth the rich abhor the poor.

²¹A rich man beginning to fall is held up of his friends:

But a poor man being down is thrust also away by his friends.

²²When a rich man is fallen, he hath many helpers:

He speaketh things not to be spoken, and yet men justify him:

The poor man slipt, and yet they rebuked him too;

^mHe spake wisely, and ⁿcould have no place.

²³When a rich man speaketh, ^oevery man holdeth his tongue,

And look, what he saith, they extol it to the clouds:

But if the poor man speak, they say, What fellow is this?

And if he stumble, they will help to overthrow him.

²⁴Riches are good unto him that hath no sin,

And poverty is evil in the mouth of the ungodly.

²⁵The heart of a man ^pchangeth his countenance, whether it be for good or evil:

And ^qa merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.

²⁶A cheerful countenance is a token of a heart that is in prosperity;

And the finding out of parables is ^ra wearisome labour of the mind.

XIV.