Sirach 13

Caution Regarding Associates

¹³Whoever touches pitch gets dirty,

and whoever associates with the proud will become like them.^*

²Do not lift a weight too heavy for you

or associate with one mightier and richer than you.

How can the clay pot associate with the iron kettle?

The pot will strike against it and be smashed.

³A rich person does wrong and even adds insults;

a poor person suffers wrong and must add apologies.^*

⁴Rich people^a will exploit you^b if you can be of use to them,

but if you are in need they will abandon you.

⁵If you own something, they will live with you;

they will drain your resources without a qualm.

⁶When they need you, they will deceive you

and will smile at you and encourage you;

they will speak to you kindly and say, “What do you need?”

⁷They will embarrass you with their delicacies,

until they have drained you two or three times,

and finally they will laugh at you.

Should they see you afterwards, they will pass you by

and shake their heads at you.^*

⁸Take care not to be led astray

and humiliated when you are enjoying yourself.^c

⁹When the influential invite you, be reserved,

and they will invite you more insistently.

¹⁰Do not be forward, or you may be rebuffed;

do not stand aloof, or you will be forgotten.^*

¹¹Do not try to treat them as equals

or trust their lengthy conversations,

for they will test you by prolonged talk,

and while they smile they will be examining you.^*

¹²Cruel are those who do not keep your secrets;

they will not spare you harm or imprisonment.

¹³Be on your guard and very careful,

for you are walking about with your own downfall.^d

¹⁵Every creature loves its like

and every person a neighbor.^*

¹⁶All living beings associate with their own kind,

and people stick close to those like themselves.^*

¹⁷What does a wolf have in common with a lamb?

No more has a sinner with the devout.^*

¹⁸What peace is there between a hyena and a dog,

and what peace between the rich and the poor?

¹⁹Wild asses in the wilderness are the prey of lions;

likewise the poor are feeding grounds for the rich.^*

²⁰Humility is an abomination to the proud;

likewise the poor are an abomination to the rich.

²¹When the rich person totters, he is supported by friends,

but when the humble^e falls, he is pushed away by friends.^*

²²If the rich person slips, many come to the rescue;

he speaks unseemly words, but they justify him.

If the humble person slips, they even criticize him;

he talks sense but is not given a hearing.^*

²³The rich person speaks, and all are silent;

they extol to the clouds what he says.

The poor person speaks, and they say, “Who is this fellow?”

And should he stumble, they push him down.

²⁴Riches are good if they are free from sin;

poverty is evil only in the opinion of the ungodly.^*

²⁵The heart changes the countenance

either for good or for evil.^f*

²⁶The sign of a happy heart is a cheerful face,

but to devise proverbs requires strenuous thinking.^*