Sirach 29:14-20

Good News Translation

Guaranteeing Debts

¹⁴ A good man is willing to guarantee his neighbor's debts. Only someone who has lost all sense of decency would refuse to do so. ¹⁵ If someone does this favor for you, don't forget it; he has risked his good name for you. ¹⁶ There are some ungrateful sinners who abandon those who stand behind them, and they cause them loss of property. ¹⁷ Guaranteeing loans has ruined many prosperous people and caused them unsettling storms of trouble. ¹⁸ Influential people have lost their homes over it and have had to go wandering in foreign countries. ¹⁹ A sinner who hopes to make a profit by guaranteeing a loan is going to find himself involved in lawsuits. ²⁰ So help your neighbor as much as you can, but protect yourself against the dangers involved.