Sirach 28:12-26
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Evil Tongue
12 If you blow on a spark, it will glow;
if you spit on it, it will be put out,
yet both come out of your mouth.(A)
13 Curse the gossips and the double-tongued,
for they destroy the peace of many.(B)
14 Slander[a] has shaken many
and scattered them from nation to nation;
it has destroyed strong cities
and overturned the houses of the great.
15 Slander[b] has driven courageous women from their homes
and deprived them of the fruit of their toil.
16 Those who pay heed to slander[c] will not find rest,
nor will they settle down in peace.
17 The blow of a whip raises a welt,
but a blow of the tongue crushes the bones.(C)
18 Many have fallen by the edge of the sword,
but not as many as have fallen because of the tongue.(D)
19 Happy is the one who is protected from it,
who has not been exposed to its anger,
who has not borne its yoke,
and who has not been bound with its fetters.
20 For its yoke is a yoke of iron,
and its fetters are fetters of bronze;(E)
21 its death is an evil death,
and Hades is preferable to it.
22 It has no power over the godly;
they will not be burned in its flame.(F)
23 Those who forsake the Lord will fall into its power;
it will burn among them and will not be put out.
It will be sent out against them like a lion;
like a leopard it will mangle them.(G)
24a Look! Fence in your property with thorns,(H)
26 Take care not to err with your tongue[d]
and fall victim to one lying in wait.
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.