Sirach 22:6-22

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

⁶ Like music in mourning is a tale told at the wrong time,
    but chastising and discipline are wisdom at all times.

⁷ He who teaches a fool is like one who glues potsherds together,
    or who rouses a sleeper from deep slumber.
⁸ He who tells a story to a fool tells it to a drowsy man;
    and at the end he will say, “What is it?”^[a]
11 Weep for the dead, for he lacks the light;
    and weep for the fool, for he lacks intelligence;
weep less bitterly for the dead, for he has attained rest;
    but the life of the fool is worse than death.
¹² Mourning for the dead lasts seven days,
    but for a fool or an ungodly man it lasts all his life.

¹⁹ A man who pricks an eye will make tears fall,
    and one who pricks the heart makes it show feeling.
²⁰ One who throws a stone at birds scares them away,
    and one who reviles a friend will break off the friendship.
²¹ Even if you have drawn your sword against a friend,
    do not despair, for a renewal of friendship is possible.
²² If you have opened your mouth against your friend,
    do not worry, for reconciliation is possible;
but as for reviling, arrogance, disclosure of secrets, or a treacherous blow—
    in these cases any friend will flee.