Sirach 13

13Whoso toucheth pitch, it cleaveth to his hand,

And he that associateth with a scorner will learn his way.

What is too heavy for thee do not lift,

And with one that is richer than thyselfassociate not.

What association can jar and kettle have in common

When, if the one smite, the other is smashed?

The rich man if he perpetrateth a wrongplumeth himself,

While if a wrong is perpetrated upon a poor man he must implore favour.

If thou art useful to him he maketh a slave of thee,

But if thou be brought lowhe is sparing of thee.

If thou possessest anythinghe will live with thee,

And will impoverish thee without a pang.

Hath he need of thee? then he will deceive thee,

And will smile upon thee and raise thy hopes.

He will speak thee fair,

And shame thee with his hospitality.

So long as it profiteth he will cajole thee,

Twice ⁽or⁽ thrice he will … thee;

And then he will see thee and pass thee by,

And wag his head at thee.

Take care that thou be not overbearing,

And that thou be not crushed by senseless folly.

Doth a noble draw near? keep at a distance—

And so much the morewill he cause thee to approach.

Do not thyself draw near, lest thou be put at a distance;

And keep not ⁽too⁽ far away, lest ^[thou be forgotten^[.

Venture notto be free with him,

And mistrust his much conversation.

For by his conversation at largehe is testing thee,

And when he smileth at thee he is probing thee.

A ruthless one maketh peace,

While plotting against the life of many.

Take heed and be wary,

And go not about with men of violence.

All flesh loveth its kind,

And every man his like.

All flesh consorteth according to its kind,

And with his kind man associateth.

What association can wolf have with lamb?

Even so is the ungodly that consorteth with the righteous.

What peace can the hyena have with the dog?

Or what peace rich with poor?

Food for the lion are the wild asses of the desert:

Even so the pasture of the rich are the poor.

An abomination to pride is humility;

Even so an abomination to the rich are the poor.

A rich man when he is shakenis supported by a friend,

But the poor manwhen he is shaken is thrust away by a friend.

A rich man speaketh, and his helpers are many;

And though his words be unseemly, they are pronounced lovely.

A poor man speaketh, and they jeer at him;

Yea, though he speak with wisdom, there is no place for him.

When the rich man speaketh, all keep silence,

And they extol his intelligence to the clouds.

When the poor man speaketh: ‘Who is this?’ say they;

And if he stumblethey will assist his overthrow.

Wealth is good if it be without sin,

And evil is poverty which is due to presumption.

The heart of a man changeth his countenance,

Whether for good or for evil.

The outcome of a happy heart is a cheerful countenance,

But solitude and meditation occasion toilsome thoughts.