Sirach 27:16-21

Common English Bible

¹⁶ Those who reveal secrets
have destroyed trust,
    and they will never find a friend
    for themselves.
¹⁷ Show affection to friends
and be loyal to them,
    but if you reveal their secrets,
    don’t follow after them.
¹⁸ Just as people destroy an enemy,^[a]
    so you have destroyed your friendship
    with your neighbors.
¹⁹ And as you set a bird free from your hand,
    so too you have let your neighbors go,
    and you won’t catch them.
²⁰ Don’t pursue them,
because they have withdrawn
far away from you,
    and they have escaped
    like a gazelle from a trap.
²¹ In the same way that it’s possible
to bandage a wound,
    there’s also reconciliation for insult,
    but the one who has let a friend’s secrets slip out has no hope.