Sirach, Chapter 21
1
My son, have you sinned? Do not add to it; And make supplication concerning your former sins.
2
Flee from sin as from the face of a serpent; For if you come near it, it will bite you; Its teeth are lion's teeth, Slaying the souls of men.
3
Like a two-edged sword is all iniquity, From its stroke there is no healing.
4
Tyranny and violence destroy wealth, So the house of the arrogant is desolated.
5
Supplication from the mouth of a poor man [reaches] to the ears of the Lord, And his vindication comes quickly.
6
He who hates reproof [walks] in the path of a sinner, But he who fears the Lord will turn [to him] whole-heartedly.
7
The wise discerns him who is before him, And spies out the sinner at once.
8
He who builds his house with other men's money, Is as one gathering stones for his burial mound.
9
[Like] flax wrapped together is the gathering of the ungodly, And their end is a flame of fire.
10
The way of sinners is made smooth without stones, And at its end is the pit of Hades.
11
He who observes the law becomes the master of his natural tendency, And the fear of the Lord is the consummation of wisdom.
12
He who is not wise will not be instructed, And there is a wisdom which makes bitterness to abound.
13
The knowledge of a wise man abounds like a spring of water, And his counsel is like the water of life.
14
The inward parts of a fool are like a broken vessel, He holds no knowledge.
15
If an understanding man hears a wise word, He commends it, and adds to it; If a foolish man hears it, he mocks it, And he casts it behind his back.
16
The discourse of a fool is like a burden on a journey, But upon the lips of the wise grace is found.
17
The utterance of a prudent man is sought for in the assembly. And his words are pondered in the heart.
18
As a house that is a prison so is wisdom to a fool, And the knowledge of an unwise man is [as] talk without sense.
19
[As] chains on [their] feet, [so] is instruction to the foolish, And as manacles on their right hand.
20
The fool lifts up his voice with laughter, But the wise man scarcely smiles in silence.
21
As a golden ornament is instruction to the wise, And as a bracelet upon their right arm.
22
The foot of a fool hastes into a house, But it is good manners to stand outside.
23
The fool through the door looks into a house, But the cautious man demeans himself humbly.
24
It is unseemly for one to listen at the door, And the wise man is grieved at the disgrace [of it].
25
The lips of babblers [only] repeat the things that are not theirs, But the words of the wise are weighed in the balance.
26
The heart of fools is in their mouth, But the mouth of the wise is [in] their heart.
27
When the ungodly curses his adversary He curses his own soul.
28
The whisperer defiles his own soul, And is hated wherever he sojourns.
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