Sirach 13:22-24

Common English Bible

²² When the rich slip,
their helpers are many;
    they speak things that shouldn’t be spoken, and people justify them.
    The humble slip,
    and people criticize them as well;
    they utter something sensible,
    and no one pays attention.
²³ The rich speak, and everyone is silent,
    and what they say is praised
    to the heavens.
    The poor speak, and they say,
    “Who is this?”
    And if the poor stumble,
    others push them down all the more.
²⁴ Wealth is good as long as it’s free of sin;
    the ungodly speak of poverty
    as an evil in and of itself.