Sirach 28

^aHe that revengeth shall find vengeance from the Lord,

And he will surely keep his sins in remembrance.

^2bForgive thy neighbour the hurt that he hath done unto thee,

So shall thy sins also be forgiven when thou prayest.

^3cOne man beareth hatred against another,

And doth he seek pardon from the Lord?

⁴He sheweth no mercy to a man, which is like himself:

And doth he ask forgiveness of his own sins?

⁵If he that is but flesh nourish ^dhatred,

Who will intreat for pardon of his sins?

^6eRemember thy end, and let enmity cease;

Remember corruption and death, and abide in the commandments.

⁷Remember the commandments, and ^dbear no malice to thy neighbour:

Remember the covenant of the Highest, and ^fwink at ignorance.

^8gAbstain from strife, and thou shalt diminish thy sins:

For a furious man will kindle strife.

⁹A sinful man disquieteth friends,

And maketh ^hdebate among them that be at peace.

¹⁰ⁱAs the ^kmatter of the fire is, so it burneth:

And as a man’s strength is, so is his wrath;

And according to his riches his anger riseth;

And the stronger they are which contend, the more they will be inflamed.

^11lA hasty contention kindleth a fire:

And a hasty fighting sheddeth blood.

¹²If thou blow the spark, it shall burn:

^mIf thou spit upon it, it shall be quenched:

And both these come out of thy mouth.

¹³Curse the ⁿwhisperer and ^odoubletongued:

For such have destroyed many that were at peace.

¹⁴A backbiting tongue hath disquieted many,

And driven them from nation to nation:

Strong cities hath it pulled down,

And overthrown the houses of great men.

¹⁵A backbiting tongue hath cast out ^pvirtuous women,

And deprived them of their labours.

¹⁶Whoso hearkeneth unto it shall never find rest,

And never dwell quietly.

¹⁷The stroke of the whip maketh ^qmarks in the flesh:

But the stroke of the tongue breaketh the bones.

¹⁸Many have fallen by ^rthe edge of the sword:

But not so many as have fallen by the tongue.

¹⁹Well is he that is defended from it,

And hath not passed through the venom thereof;

Who hath not drawn the yoke thereof,

Nor hath been bound in her bands.

^20sFor the yoke thereof is a yoke of iron,

And the bands thereof are bands of brass.

²¹The death thereof is an evil death,

^tThe grave were better than it.

^22uIt shall not have rule over them that fear God,

Neither shall they be burnt with the flame thereof.

²³Such as forsake the Lord shall fall into it;

And it shall burn in them, and not be quenched;

It shall be sent upon them as a lion,

And devour them as a ^vleopard.

²⁴Look that ^wthou hedge thy possession about with thorns,

And ^xbind up thy silver and gold,

²⁵And ^yweigh thy words in a balance,

And ^zmake a door and bar for thy mouth.

²⁶Beware thou slide not by it,

Lest thou fall before him that lieth in wait.

XXIX.