Sirach 27

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 For the sake of profit many sin, and the struggle for wealth blinds the eyes.	1 Because of need, many have sinned. And whoever seeks to be enriched, averts his eye.
2 Like a peg driven between fitted stones, between buying and selling sin is wedged in.	2 Like a post fixed in the middle of adjoining stones, so also will sin become wedged between selling and buying.
3 Unless you earnestly hold fast to the fear of the LORD, suddenly your house will be thrown down.	3 Sin will be crushed with the one who sins.
4 When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do a man's faults when he speaks.	4 If you do not hold yourself steadfastly to the fear of the Lord, your house will be quickly overthrown.
5 As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in his conversation is the test of a man.	5 Just as the dust remains when one shakes a sieve, so will the doubt of a man remain in his thoughts.
6 The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does a man's speech disclose the bent of his mind.	6 The furnace tests the potter’s vessels, and the trial of the tribulation tests just men.
7 Praise no man before he speaks, for it is then that men are tested.	7 As the pruning of a tree reveals its fruit, so does a word reveal the thoughts in the heart of a man.
8 If you strive after justice you will attain it, and put it on like a splendid robe.	8 You should not praise a man before he speaks; for such is the testing of men.
9 Birds nest with their own kind, and fidelity comes to those who live by it.	9 If you pursue justice, you will obtain it. And you will be clothed with justice, as with a long robe of honor. And you will live with justice. And justice will protect you continually. And on the day of reckoning, you will find a strong foundation.
10 As a lion crouches in wait for prey, so do sins for evildoers.	10 Birds flock to their own kind. And truth will return to those who practice it.
11 Ever wise are the discourses of the devout, but the godless man, like the moon, is inconstant.	11 The lion lies in wait for its prey continually. So also do sins lie in wait for those who work iniquity.
12 Limit the time you spend among fools, but frequent the company of thoughtful men.	12 A holy man persists in wisdom like the sun. But a senseless man changes like the moon.
13 The conversation of the wicked is offensive, their laughter is wanton guilt.	13 In the midst of the senseless, retain a word for the proper time. But be continually in the midst those who are thoughtful.
14 Their oath-filled talk makes the hair stand on end, their brawls make one stop one's ears.	14 The discussions of sinners are hateful, and their laughter is a delight in sin.
15 Wrangling among the haughty ends in bloodshed, their cursing is painful to hear.	15 The speech that swears many oaths will cause the hair of the head to stand upright; and its irreverence will cause the ears to be blocked.
16 He who betrays a secret cannot be trusted, he will never find an intimate friend.	16 The shedding of blood is in the quarrels of the arrogant; and their evil talk is grievous to hear.
17 Cherish your friend, keep faith with him; but if you betray his confidence, follow him not;	17 Whoever discloses the secret of a friend breaks faith; and he will not find a friend for his soul.
18 For as an enemy might kill a man, you have killed your neighbor's friendship.	18 Love your neighbor, and be united with him faithfully.
19 Like a bird released from the hand, you have let your friend go and cannot recapture him;	19 But if you disclose his secrets, you should not continue to follow after him.
20 Follow him not, for he is far away, he has fled like a gazelle from the trap.	20 For like a man who destroys his friend, so also is he who destroys the friendship of his neighbor.
21 A wound can be bound up, and an insult forgiven, but he who betrays secrets does hopeless damage.	21 And like someone releasing a bird from his hand, so have you abandoned your neighbor, and you will not obtain him again.
22 He who has shifty eyes plots mischief and no one can ward him off;	22 You should no longer seek him, for he is now far away; he has fled like a roe-deer from a snare. For his soul has been wounded.
23 In your presence he uses honeyed talk, and admires your every word, But later he changes his tone and twists your words to your ruin.	23 You will no longer be able to bind his wound. For there may be a reconciliation from cursing.
24 There is nothing that I hate so much, and the LORD hates him as well.	24 But to disclose the secrets of a friend is the hopeless act of an unhappy soul.
25 As a stone falls back on him who throws it up, so a blow struck in treachery injures more than one.	25 One who winks with the eye fabricates iniquity, and no one will cast him aside.
26 As he who digs a pit falls into it, and he who lays a snare is caught in it,	26 In the sight of your eyes, he will sweeten his mouth, and he will admire your talk. But at the very end, he will pervert his mouth, and he will offer a scandal from your own words.
27 Whoever does harm will be involved in it without knowing how it came upon him.	27 I have hated many things, but I have not done as he has done, and the Lord will hate him.
28 Mockery and abuse will be the lot of the proud, and vengeance lies in wait for them like a lion.	28 Whoever throws a stone straight up will find that it falls on his own head. And a deceitful wound will return to wound the deceitful.
29 The trap seizes those who rejoice in pitfalls, and pain will consume them before they die;	29 And whoever digs a pit will fall into it. And whoever positions a stone against his neighbor will stumble over it. And whoever lays a trap for another will perish by it.
30 Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.	30 Whoever sets in motion a wicked plan will find that it rolls back over him, and he will not know from which direction it will arrive.
	31 Mockery and derision are of the arrogant, and vengeance will lie in wait for them, like a lion.
	32 Whoever enjoys the fall of the just will perish in a snare, and grief will consume them before they die.
	33 Anger and fury are both abominable, and the sinful man will be held by them.