Sirach 22:6-22

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

⁶ Like music in time of mourning is ill-timed conversation,
    but a thrashing and discipline are at all times wisdom.^[a](A)

⁹ Whoever teaches a fool is like one who glues potsherds together
    or who rouses a sleeper from deep slumber.
¹⁰ Whoever tells a story to a fool tells it to a drowsy man,
    and at the end he will say, “What is it?”
¹¹ Weep for the dead, for they have left the light behind,
    and weep for the fool, for they have left intelligence behind.
Weep less bitterly for the dead, for they are at rest,
    but the life of the fool is worse than death.^(B)
12 Mourning for the dead lasts seven days,
    but for the foolish or the ungodly it lasts all the days of their lives.^(C)

¹⁹ One who pricks the eye brings tears,
    and one who pricks the heart makes clear its feelings.
²⁰ One who throws a stone at birds scares them away,
    and one who reviles a friend destroys a friendship.^(G)
21 Even if you draw your sword against a friend,
    do not despair, for there is a way back.
²² If you open your mouth against your friend,
    do not worry, for reconciliation is possible.
But as for reviling, arrogance, disclosure of secrets, or a treacherous blow—
    in these cases any friend will take to flight.^(H)