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Wisdom of Ben Sira 28:12-14
New Catholic Bible
Wisdom of Ben Sira 28:12-14
New Catholic Bible
12 If you blow on a spark, it will flare into a flame;
if you spit on it, it will die out;
yet you achieve both results with your mouth.
The Greatest Scourge Is the Tongue[a]
13 Cursed be the gossipers and the double-tongued,
for they destroy many who live in harmony.
14 [b]An intrusive tongue has disrupted the peace of many
and driven them from country to country.
It has resulted in the destruction of strong cities
and overthrown the houses of the great.
Footnotes
- Wisdom of Ben Sira 28:13 The evil tongue inflames conflicts and destroys reputations; it is evil personified. The just preserve themselves from its blows and refrain from lending a willing ear to it. James was surely thinking of this advice when he wrote his Letter (Jas 3:1-12).
- Wisdom of Ben Sira 28:14 Intrusive tongue: literally, “third tongue.” The phrase “third tongue” may refer to a tongue that inserts itself into a quarrel or a tongue that makes three victims: the one who utters slander, the one who listens to the slander, and the one who is slandered.
