Sirach 19

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 He who does so grows no richer; he who wastes the little he has will be stripped bare.	1 An inebriated worker will not be wealthy. And whoever despises littleness will fall a little at a time.
2 Wine and women make the mind giddy, and the companion of harlots becomes reckless.	2 Wine and women cause wise men to fall away, and then they will complain against those who understand.
3 Rottenness and worms will possess him, for contumacious desire destroys its owner.	3 And whoever joins himself to fornicators will become wicked. Decay and worms will inherit him, and he will be denounced as the greater example, and his soul will be deducted from the number.
4 He who lightly trusts in them has no sense, and he who strays after them sins against his own life.	4 Whoever is quick to believe has a trivial heart and will be diminished. And whoever offends against his own soul will have even less.
5 He who gloats over evil will meet with evil, and he who repeats an evil report has no sense.	5 Whoever rejoices in iniquity will be condemned. And whoever hates correction will have less in life. But whoever hates excessive talk extinguishes evil.
6 Never repeat gossip, and you will not be reviled.	6 Whoever sins against his own soul will be punished. And whoever rejoices in malice will be condemned.
7 Tell nothing to friend or foe; if you have a fault, reveal it not,	7 You should not repeat a wicked and harsh word, and then you will not be diminished.
8 For he who hears it will hold it against you, and in time become your enemy.	8 Do not reveal your mind to friend or foe. And if there is a sin within you, do not disclose it.
9 Let anything you hear die within you; be assured it will not make you burst.	9 For he will listen to you and watch you, and while pretending to defend your sin, he will despise you, and so he will be whenever he is with you.
10 When a fool hears something, he is in labor, like a woman giving birth to a child.	10 Have you heard a word against your neighbor? Let it die within you, trusting that it will not burst forth from you.
11 Like an arrow lodged in a man's thigh is gossip in the breast of a fool.	11 Before the face of a word, a foolish man labors, like a woman groaning as she gives birth to a child.
12 Admonish your friend--he may not have done it; and if he did, that he may not do it again.	12 Like an arrow fixed in the flesh of the thigh, so is a word in the heart of a foolish man.
13 Admonish your neighbor--he may not have said it; and if he did, that he may not say it again.	13 Correct a friend, though perhaps there was a misunderstanding, and he may say, “I did not do it.” Or, if he did do it, correct him, so that he may not do it again.
14 Admonish your friend--often it may be slander; every story you must not believe.	14 Correct your neighbor, for perhaps he did not say it. But if he did say it, correct him, so that he may not say it again.
15 Then, too, a man can slip and not mean it; who has not sinned with his tongue?	15 Correct your friend. For often a fault has been committed.
16 Admonish your neighbor before you break with him; thus will you fulfill the law of the Most High.	16 And do not believe every word. There is one who slips with his word, but not with his heart.
17 All wisdom is fear of the LORD; perfect wisdom is the fulfillment of the law.	17 For who is there who has not offended with his words? Correct your neighbor before you reprimand him.
18 The knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom, nor is there prudence in the counsel of sinners.	18 And make a place for the fear of the Most High. For all wisdom is fear of God, and it is wise to fear God, and in all wisdom is the orderly disposition of the law.
19 There is a shrewdness that is detestable, while the simple man may be free from sin.	19 But the discipline of wickedness is not wisdom. And there is no prudence in the thoughts of sinners.
20 There are those with little understanding who fear God, and those of great intelligence who violate the law.	20 There is a wickedness, and in it there is abomination. And there is a foolish man who has been diminished in wisdom.
21 There is a shrewdness keen but dishonest, which by duplicity wins a judgment.	21 Better is a man who has been diminished in wisdom because his mind is failing, but with the fear of God, than he who abounds in intelligence, but with transgression against the law of the Most High.
22 There is the wicked man who is bowed in grief, but is full of guile within;	22 There is a certain cleverness, and it is unjust.
23 He bows his head and feigns not to hear, but when not observed, he will take advantage of you:	23 And there is one who utters a careful word, explaining away the truth. There is one who humbles himself wickedly, for his interior is filled with deceit.
24 Even though his lack of strength keeps him from sinning, when he finds the opportunity, he will do harm.	24 And there is one who lowers himself excessively with a great debasement. And there is one who inclines his face downward, and pretends as if he did not see what has not been made known.
25 One can tell a man by his appearance; a wise man is known as such when first met.	25 And if he is prevented from sinning by a lack of ability, and then finds an opportunity for evildoing, he will do evil.
26 A man's attire, his hearty laughter and his gait, proclaim him for what he is.	26 A man is recognized by his appearances. But when you meet an understanding man, he is recognized by his face.
	27 The clothing of the body, and the laughter of the teeth, and the walk of a man, give a report about him.
	28 There is a lying correction in the anger of a contemptuous man. And there is a judgment which does not prove to be good. But there is one who is silent, and the same is prudent.