Sirach 19
Good News Translation
19 1 If you do, you[a] will never get rich; if you don't pay attention to small matters, you will gradually ruin yourself. 2 Wine and women make sensible men do foolish things. A man who goes to prostitutes gets more and more careless, 3 and that carelessness will cost him his life. Worms will feed on his decaying body.
4 It is silly to trust people too quickly. If you sin, you are hurting yourself. 5 If wickedness makes you happy, you will be condemned.
Loose Talk
6 Avoid idle talk, and you will avoid a lot of trouble. 7 Never repeat what you hear, and you will have no regrets. 8 Don't tell it to your friends or your enemies unless it would be sinful to keep it to yourself. 9 Whoever hears you will take note of it, and sooner or later will hate you for it. 10 Have you heard a rumor? Let it die with you. Be brave! It won't make you explode. 11 A foolish person trying to keep a secret suffers like a woman in labor. 12 Any time he hears a secret, it's like an arrow stuck in his leg.
13 If you hear that a friend has done something wrong, ask him about it. Maybe it isn't true. If it is true, he won't do it again. 14 If you hear that a neighbor has said something he shouldn't, ask him about it. Maybe he didn't say it. If he did, he won't say it again. 15 If you hear something bad about a friend, ask him about it. It might be a lie. Don't believe everything you hear. 16 A person may say something carelessly and not really mean it. Everyone has sinned in this way at one time or another. 17 If you hear something that makes you angry with your neighbor, ask him about it before you threaten him. Leave the matter to the Law of the Most High.[b]
Recognizing Real Wisdom
20 Fear the Lord and keep his Law; that is what Wisdom is all about.[c] 22 You may know everything there is to know about wickedness, but that does not make you wise. It is not sensible to follow the advice of sinners. 23 It is possible to use cleverness for wicked purposes, but some people act like fools because they don't know any better. 24 A devout person, even if he is not very intelligent, is better off than the cleverest of sinners. 25 It is possible to be marvelously clever and still be dishonest, or to get what you want by being absurdly polite.
26 Then there are those wicked people who go about looking very solemn and mournful, but who are only trying to deceive you. 27 They will turn their faces away and pretend not to hear you, but they'll take advantage of you when you least expect it. 28 If for some reason they are unable to sin now, they'll get around to it at the first opportunity. 29 You can know people by their appearance. The first time you look at them, you can tell if they have good sense. 30 Their character shows in the way they dress, the way they laugh, and the way they walk.
Footnotes
- Sirach 19:1 Hebrew If you do, you; Greek A worker who drinks too much.
- Sirach 19:17 Some manuscripts add verses 17c-19: and don't be angry. 18 Fearing the Lord is the first step toward his accepting you; he will love you if you are wise. 19 Learn the Lord's commands. It is a discipline that gives life. Those who do what pleases him enjoy the fruit of the tree of immortality.
- Sirach 19:20 Some manuscripts add verses 20b-21: and what the knowledge of his omnipotence means. 21 If a servant refuses to obey his master, but later does obey, the master is still angry.
Sirach 19
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
19 A workman that is a drunkard shall not be rich: and he that contemneth small things, shall fall by little and little.
2 Wine and women make wise men fall off, and shall rebuke the prudent.
3 And he that joineth himself to harlots, will be wicked. Rottenness and worms shall inherit him, and he shall be lifted up for a greater example, and his soul shall be taken away out of the number.
4 He that is hasty to give credit, is light of heart, and shall be lessened: and he that sinneth against his own soul, shall be despised.
5 He that rejoiceth in iniquity, shall be censured, and he that hateth chastisement, shall have less life: and he that hateth babbling, extinguisheth evil.
6 He that sinneth against his own soul, shall repent: and he that is delighted with wickedness, shall be condemned.
7 Rehearse not again a wicked and harsh word, and thou shalt not fare the worse.
8 Tell not thy mind to friend or foe: and if there be a sin with thee, disclose it not.
9 For he will hearken to thee, and will watch thee, and as it were defending thy sin he will hate thee, and so will he be with thee always.
10 Hast thou heard a word against thy neighbour? let it die within thee, trusting that it will not burst thee.
11 At the hearing of a word the fool is in travail, as a woman groaning. in the bringing forth a child.
12 As an arrow that sticketh in a man's thigh: so is a word in the heart of a fool.
13 Reprove a friend, lest he may not have understood, and say: I did it not: or if he did it, that he may do it no more.
14 Reprove thy neighbour, for it may be he hath not said it: and if he hath said it, that he may not say it again.
15 Admonish thy friend: for there is often a fault committed.
16 And believe not every word. There is one, that slippeth with the tongue, but not from his heart.
17 For who is there that hath not offended with his tongue? Admonish thy neighbour before thou threaten him.
18 And give place to the fear of the most High: for the fear of God is all wisdom, and therein is to fear God, and the disposition of the law is in all wisdom.
19 But the learning of wickedness is not wisdom: and the device of sinners is not prudence.
20 There is a subtle wickedness, and the same is detestable: and there is a man that is foolish, wanting in wisdom.
21 Better is a man that hath less wisdom, and wanteth understanding, with the fear of God, than he that aboundeth in understanding, and transgresseth the law of the most High.
22 There is an exquisite subtilty, and the same is unjust.
23 And there is one that uttereth an exact word telling the truth. There is one that humbleth himself wickedly, and his interior is full of deceit:
24 And there is one that submitteth himself exceedingly with a great lowliness: and there is one that casteth down his countenance, and maketh as if he did not see that which is unknown:
25 And if he be hindered from sinning for want of power, if he shall find opportunity to do evil, he will do it.
26 A man is known by his look, and a wise man, when thou meetest him, is known by his countenance.
27 The attire of the body, and the laughter of the teeth, and the gait of the man, shew what he is.
28 There is a lying rebuke in the anger of an injurious man: and there is a judgment that is not allowed to be good: and there is one that holdeth his peace, he is wise.
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