Sirach 22:27-23:15

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

²⁷ O that a guard were set over my mouth,
    and a seal of prudence upon my lips,
that it may keep me from falling,
    so that my tongue may not destroy me!^[a]
23 O Lord, Father and Ruler of my life,
    do not abandon me to their counsel,
    and let me not fall because of them!
² O that whips were set over my thoughts,
    and the discipline of wisdom over my mind!^[b]
That they may not spare me in my errors,
    and that it may not pass by my^[c] sins;
³ in order that my mistakes may not be multiplied,
    and my sins may not abound;
then I will not fall before my adversaries,
    and my enemy will not rejoice over me.
⁴ O Lord, Father and God of my life,
    do not give me haughty eyes,
⁵     and remove from me evil desire.
⁶ Let neither gluttony nor lust overcome me,
    and do not surrender me to a shameless soul.

¹² There is an utterance which is comparable to death;^[d]
    may it never be found in the inheritance of Jacob!
For all these errors will be far from the godly,
    and they will not wallow in sins.
¹³ Do not accustom your mouth to lewd vulgarity,
    for it involves sinful speech.
¹⁴ Remember your father and mother
    when^[e] you sit among great men;
lest you be forgetful in their presence,
    and be deemed a fool on account of your habits;
then you will wish that you had never been born,
    and you will curse the day of your birth.
¹⁵ A man accustomed to use insulting words
    will never become disciplined all his days.