Sirach 21:1-10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Various Sins
21 Have you sinned, my child? Do so no more,
but ask forgiveness for your past sins.(A)
2 Flee from sin as from a snake,
for if you approach sin it will bite you.
Its teeth are lion’s teeth
and can destroy human lives.(B)
3 All lawlessness is like a two-edged sword;
there is no healing for the wound it inflicts.
4 Panic and insolence will waste away riches;
thus the house of the proud will be uprooted.[a]
5 The prayer of the poor goes from their lips to the ears of God,[b]
and his judgment comes speedily.(C)
6 Those who hate reproof walk in the sinner’s steps,
but those who fear the Lord repent in their heart.(D)
7 The mighty in speech are widely known;
when they slip, the sensible person knows it.
8 Those who build their houses with other people’s money
are like those who gather stones for their own burial mounds.(E)
9 An assembly of the lawless is like a bundle of tinder,
and their end is a blazing fire.(F)
10 The way of sinners is paved with smooth stones,
but at its end is the pit of Hades.(G)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.