Sirach 20:1-20
Revised Standard Version
Silence and Speech
20 There is a reproof which is not timely;
and there is a man who keeps silent but is wise.
2 How much better it is to reprove than to stay angry!
And the one who confesses his fault will be kept from loss.[a]
4 Like a eunuch’s desire to violate a maiden
is a man who executes judgments by violence.
5 There is one who by keeping silent is found wise,
while another is detested for being too talkative.
6 There is one who keeps silent because he has no answer,
while another keeps silent because he knows when to speak.
7 A wise man will be silent until the right moment,
but a braggart and fool goes beyond the right moment.
8 Whoever uses too many words will be loathed,
and whoever usurps the right to speak will be hated.
Paradoxes
9 There may be good fortune for a man in adversity,
and a windfall may result in a loss.
10 There is a gift that profits you nothing,
and there is a gift that brings a double return.
11 There are losses because of glory,
and there are men who have raised their heads from humble circumstances.
12 There is a man who buys much for a little,
but pays for it seven times over.
13 The wise man makes himself beloved through his words,
but the courtesies of fools are wasted.
14 A fool’s gift will profit you nothing,
for he has many eyes instead of one.
15 He gives little and upbraids much,
he opens his mouth like a herald;
today he lends and tomorrow he asks it back;
such a one is a hateful man.
16 A fool will say, “I have no friend,
and there is no gratitude for my good deeds;
those who eat my bread speak unkindly.”
17 How many will ridicule him, and how often!
Inappropriate Speech
18 A slip on the pavement is better than a slip of the tongue;
so the downfall of the wicked will occur speedily.
19 An ungracious man is like a story told at the wrong time,
which is continually on the lips of the ignorant.
20 A proverb from a fool’s lips will be rejected,
for he does not tell it at its proper time.
Footnotes
- Sirach 20:2 Other authorities add 3 How good it is to show repentance when you are reproved, for so you will escape deliberate sin!
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.