Sirach 19–20

¹⁹The one who does this^v will not become rich;

one who despises small things will fail little by little.^*

²Wine and women lead intelligent men astray,

and the man who consorts with prostitutes is reckless.^*

³Decay and worms will take possession of him,

and the reckless person will be snatched away.^*

Against Loose Talk

⁴One who trusts quickly has a shallow mind,

and one who sins does wrong to himself.

⁵One who rejoices in wickedness^w will be condemned,^x

⁶but one who hates discussion lacks understanding.^*

⁷Never repeat a conversation,

and you will lose nothing at all.

⁸With friend or foe do not report it,

and unless it would be a sin for you do not reveal it,

⁹for someone may have heard you and watched you

and in time will hate you.

¹⁰Have you heard something? Let it die with you.

Be brave; it will not make you burst!^*

¹¹Having heard something, the fool suffers birth pangs

like a woman in labor with a child.

¹²Like an arrow stuck in a person’s thigh,

so is gossip in the belly of a fool.^*

¹³Question a friend; perhaps he did not do it;

or if he did, so that he may not do it again.^*

¹⁴Question a neighbor; perhaps he did not say it;

or if he said it, so that he may not repeat it.

¹⁵Question a friend, for often it is slander;

so do not believe every word.

¹⁶A person may make a slip without intending it.

Who has not sinned with his tongue?^*

¹⁷Question your neighbor before you threaten him,

and make room for the law of the Most High.^y*

True and False Wisdom

²⁰The whole of wisdom is fear of the Lord,

and in all wisdom there is the fulfillment of the law.^z*

²²The knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom,

nor is there prudence in the counsel of sinners.^*

²³There is a cleverness that is detestable,

and there is a fool who merely lacks wisdom.

²⁴Better are the God-fearing who lack understanding

than the highly intelligent who transgress the law.^*

²⁵There is a cleverness that is exact but unjust,

and there are people who abuse favors to gain a verdict.^a

²⁶There are villains bowed down in mourning,

but inwardly they are full of deceit.^*

²⁷They hide their faces and pretend not to hear,

but when no one notices, they will take advantage of you.

²⁸Even if lack of strength keeps them from sinning,

they will nevertheless do evil when they find the opportunity.

²⁹People will be known by their appearances,

and sensible people will be known when first met face to face.^*

³⁰People’s attire and hearty laughter

and the way they walk proclaim things about them.^*

Silence and Speech

²⁰There is a rebuke that is untimely,

and there is the person who is wise enough to keep silent.^*

²How much better it is to rebuke than to fume!^*

³And the one who admits his fault will be kept from ridicule.^*

⁴Like a eunuch lusting to violate a young woman

is the person who makes decisions under compulsion.^*

⁵Some people keep silent and are found^b to be wise,

while others are detested for being talkative.^*

⁶Some people keep silent because they have nothing to say,

while others keep silent because they know when to speak.^*

⁷The wise remain silent until the right moment,

but the arrogant and the fool miss the right moment.^*

⁸Whoever talks too much is detested,

and whoever pretends to authority is hated.^c*

Paradoxes

⁹There may be good fortune for a person in adversity,

and a windfall may result in a loss.

¹⁰There is the gift that profits you nothing

and the gift to be paid back double.

¹¹There are losses for the sake of glory,

and there are some who have raised their heads from humble circumstances.^*

¹²Some buy much for little

but pay for it seven times over.

¹³The wise make themselves beloved by only few words,^d

but the courtesies of fools are wasted.^*

¹⁴A fool’s gift will profit you nothing,^e

for he looks for recompense sevenfold.^f

¹⁵He gives little and insults much;

he opens his mouth like a town crier.

Today he lends, and tomorrow he asks it back;

such a one is hateful.^g*

¹⁶The fool says, “I have no friends,

and I get no thanks for my good deeds.”

Those who eat his bread are evil-tongued.

¹⁷How many will ridicule him, and how often!^h

Inappropriate Speech

¹⁸A slip on the pavement is better than a slip of the tongue;

the downfall of the wicked will occur just as speedily.^*

¹⁹A coarse person is like an inappropriate story,

continually on the lips of the ignorant.^*

²⁰A proverb from a fool’s lips will be rejected,

for he does not tell it at the proper time.^*

²¹One may be prevented from sinning by poverty,

so when he rests he feels no remorse.^*

²²One may lose his life through shame

or lose it because of a foolish person.^i*

²³One may make promises to a friend out of shame

and so make an enemy for nothing.

Lying

²⁴A lie is an ugly blot on a person;

it is continually on the lips of the ignorant.^*

²⁵A thief is preferable to a habitual liar,

but both will inherit ruin.

²⁶The character of liars leads to disgrace,

and their shame is ever with them.

Proverbial Sayings^j

²⁷Wise persons advance themselves by their words,

and those who are sensible please the great.^*

²⁸Those who cultivate the soil heap up their harvest,

and those who please the great atone for injustice.^*

²⁹Favors and gifts blind the eyes of the wise;

like a muzzle on the mouth they stop reproofs.^*

³⁰Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure—

of what value is either?^*

³¹Better are those who hide their folly

than those who hide their wisdom.^k*