Sirach 27

¹Many have sinned for profit.

He who seeks to multiply wealth will turn his eye away.

²As a nail will stick fast between the joinings of stones,

so sin will thrust itself in between buying and selling.

³Unless a person holds on diligently to the fear of the Lord,

his house will be overthrown quickly.

⁴In the shaking of a sieve, the refuse remains,

so does the filth of man in his thoughts.

⁵The furnace tests the potter’s vessels;

so the test of a person is in his thoughts.1

⁶The fruit of a tree discloses its cultivation,

so is the utterance of the thought of a person’s heart.1

⁷Praise no man before you hear his thoughts,

for this is how people are tested.

⁸If you follow righteousness, you will obtain it,

and put it on like a long robe of glory.

⁹Birds will return to their own kind,

so truth will return to those who practice it.

¹⁰The lion lies in wait for prey.

So does sin for those who do evil.

¹¹The discourse of a godly man is always wise,

but the fool changes like the moon.1

¹²Limit your time among people void of understanding,

but persevere among the thoughtful.1

¹³The talk of fools is offensive.

Their laughter is wantonly sinful.

¹⁴Their talk with much swearing makes hair stand upright.

Their strife makes others plug their ears.

¹⁵The strife of the proud leads to bloodshed.

Their abuse of each other is a grievous thing to hear.

¹⁶He who reveals secrets destroys trust,

and will not find a close friend.

¹⁷Love a friend, and keep faith with him;

but if you reveal his secrets,

you shall not follow him;

¹⁸for as a man has destroyed his enemy,

so you have destroyed the friendship of your neighbor.

¹⁹As a bird which you have released out of your hand,

so you have let your neighbor go, and you will not catch him again.

²⁰Don’t pursue him, for he has gone far away,

and has escaped like a gazelle out of the snare.

²¹For a wound may be bound up, and after abuse there may be reconciliation;

but he who reveals secrets is without hope.

²²One who winks the eye contrives evil things;

and those who know him will keep their distance.

²³When you are present, he will speak sweetly,

and will admire your words;

but afterward he will twist his speech

and set a trap in your words.

²⁴I have hated many things, but nothing like him.

The Lord will hate him.

²⁵One who casts a stone straight up casts it on his own head.

A deceitful blow opens wounds.

²⁶He who digs a pit will fall into it.

He who sets a snare will be caught in it.

²⁷He who does evil things, they will roll back upon him,

and he will not know where they came from.

²⁸Mockery and reproach are from the arrogant.

Vengeance lies in wait for them like a lion.

²⁹Those who rejoice at the fall of the godly will be caught in a snare.

Anguish will consume them before they die.1

³⁰Wrath and anger, these also are abominations.

A sinner will possess them.