Sirach 21

Common English Bible

⁴ Alarm and insolence will strip away wealth;
    thus will an arrogant person’s house
    be uprooted.
⁵ The petition of the poor goes
from their mouth to God’s ears,
    and his judgment comes quickly.
⁶ Anyone who hates reproof
walks in the footsteps of a sinner,
    and those who fear the Lord
    will turn back to him from the heart.
⁷ Those who are powerful in speech
are widely known,
    but those who are thoughtful
    know when they slip.

⁸ Those who build their houses
with another person’s money
    are like those who gather stones
    for their own burial mound.
⁹ A gathering of lawless people
is the same as bundled flax;
    their end is a flaming fire.
¹⁰ The path of sinners
is made level with stones,
    but its end is the pit of hell.^[a]

¹⁵ If those who understand
hear a wise word;
        they will praise it and add to it.
    Those who like to indulge themselves
    hear it and are displeased,
        and they turn their back on it.
¹⁶ A fool’s endless talk
is a burden while on a journey,
    but grace will be found
    on the lips of the intelligent.
¹⁷ The speech of the prudent
will be sought out in an assembly,
    and its members will take their words
    to heart.

¹⁸ Like a house in disrepair,
so is wisdom to the foolish,
    and the knowledge of ignorant people
    will not stand up to examination.
¹⁹ Education is shackles
on the feet of the ignorant,
    like manacles on their hand.
²⁰ Fools raise their voice in laughter,
    but clever people will smile subtly
    in silence.
²¹     To the prudent,
    education is like a gold ornament,
    like a bracelet on the arm.
²² The foolish enter quickly into a house,
    but experienced people
    will be ashamed to do so.^[c]
23 The senseless peer into a house
through the door,
    but the educated will stand outside.
²⁴ Ignorance causes people to listen
through a door,
    but the prudent will be distressed
    at the dishonor of doing so.

²⁵ The lips of strangers
will report these things,
    but the words of the prudent
    will be placed on a balance.
²⁶ Fools say whatever is on their minds,
    but the wise remain mindful
    of what they say.
²⁷ When the ungodly
curse their enemies,^[d]
    they curse themselves.
²⁸ Those who whisper stain themselves,
    and they will be hated
    by their neighbors.