Sirach 13

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 Whoever touches pitch will be defiled, and anyone who associates with the proud wil come to be likethem.	1 He that toucheth pitch, shall be defiled with it: and he that hath fellowship with the proud, shall put on pride.
2 Do not try to carry a burden too heavy for you, do not associate with someone more powerful andwealthy than yourself. Why put the clay pot next to the iron cauldron? It wil only break when they bang againsteach other.	2 He shall take a burden upon him that hath fellowship with one more honourable than himself. And have no fellowship with one that is richer than thyself.
3 The rich does wrong and takes a high line; the poor is wronged and has to beg for pardon.	3 What agreement shall the earthen pot have with the kettle? for if they knock one against the other, it shall be broken.
4 If you are useful the rich will exploit you, if you go bankrupt he wil desert you.	4 The rich man hath done wrong, and yet he will fume: but the poor is wronged and must hold his peace.
5 Are you well off? - he wil live with you, he will clean you out without a single qualm.	5 If thou give, he will make use of thee: and if thou have nothing, he will forsake thee.
6 Does he need you? - he will hoodwink you, smile at you and raise your hopes; he wil speak politely toyou and say, 'Is there anything you need?'	6 If thou have any thing, he will live with thee, and will make thee bare, and he will not be sorry for thee.
7 He will make you feel smal at his dinner parties and, having cleaned you out two or three times over,wil end by laughing at you. Afterwards, when he sees you, he will avoid you and shake his head about you.	7 If he have need of thee he will deceive thee, and smiling upon thee will put thee in hope; he will speak thee fair, and will say: What wantest thou?
8 Take care you are not hoodwinked and thus humiliated through your own stupidity.	8 And he will shame thee by his meats, till he have drawn thee dry twice or thrice, and at last he will laugh at thee: and afterward when he seeth thee, he will forsake thee, and shake his head at thee.
9 When an influential person invites you, show reluctance, and he will press his invitation all the more.	9 Humble thyself to God, and wait for his hands.
10 Do not thrust yourself forward, in case you are pushed aside, but do not stand aloof, or you will beoverlooked.	10 Beware that thou be not deceived Into folly, and be humbled.
11 Do not affect to treat him as an equal, do not trust his flow of words; since all this talking is expresslymeant to test you, under cover of geniality he wil be weighing you up.	11 Be not lowly in thy wisdom, lest being humbled thou be deceived into folly.
12 Pitiless is anyone who retails gossip; he wil not spare you either blows or chains.	12 If thou be invited by one that is mightier, withdraw thyself: for so he will invite thee the more.
13 Be wary, take very great care, because you are walking with your own downfal .	13 Be not troublesome to him, lest thou be put back: and keep not far from him, lest thou be forgotten.
14	14 Affect not to speak with him as an equal: and believe not his many words: for by much talk he will sift thee, and smiling will examine thee concerning thy secrets.
15 Every living thing loves its own sort, and every man his fel ow.	15 His cruel mind will lay up thy words: and he will not spare to do thee hurt, and to cast thee into prison.
16 Every creature mixes with its kind, and human beings stick to their own sort.	16 Take heed to thyself, and attend diligently to what thou hearest: for thou walkest in danger of thy ruin.
17 How can wolf and lamb agree? - Just so with sinner and devout.	17 When thou hearest those things, see as it were in sleep, and thou shalt awake.
18 What peace can there be between hyena and dog? And what peace between rich and poor?	18 Love God all thy life, and call upon him for thy salvation.
19 Wild desert donkeys are the prey of lions; so too, the poor is the quarry of the rich.	19 Every beast loveth its like: so also every man him that is nearest to himself.
20 The proud thinks humility abhorrent; so too, the rich abominates the poor.	20 All flesh shall consort with the like to itself, and every man shall associate himself to his like.
21 When the rich stumbles he is supported by friends; when the poor fal s, his friends push him away.	21 If the wolf shall at any time have fellowship with the lamb, so the sinner with the just.
22 When the rich slips, there are many hands to catch him, if he talks nonsense he is congratulated. Thepoor slips, and is blamed for it, he may talk good sense, but no room is made for him.	22 What fellowship hath a holy man with a dog, or what part hath the rich with the poor?
23 The rich speaks and everyone stops talking, and then they praise his discourse to the skies. The poorspeaks and people say, 'Who is this?' and if he stumbles, they trip him up yet more.	23 The wild ass is the lion's prey in the desert: so also the poor are devoured by the rich.
24 Wealth is good where there is no sin, poverty is evil, the godless say.	24 And as humility is an abomination to the proud: so also the rich man abhorreth the poor.
25 The heart moulds a person's expression whether for better or worse.	25 When a rich man is shaken, he is kept up by his friends: but when a poor man is fallen down, he is thrust away even by his acquaintance.
26 Happy heart, cheerful expression; but wearisome work, inventing proverbs.	26 When a rich man hath been deceived, he hath many helpers: he hath spoken proud things, and they have justified him.
	27 The poor man was deceived, and he is rebuked also: he hath spoken wisely, and could have no place.
	28 The rich man spoke, and all held their peace, and what he said they extol even to the clouds.
	29 The poor man spoke, and they say: Who is this? and if he stumble, they will overthrow him.
	30 Riches are good to him that hath no sin in his conscience: and poverty is very wicked in the mouth of the ungodly.
	31 The heart of a man changeth his countenance, either for good, or for evil.
	32 The token of a good heart, and a good countenance thou shalt hardly find, and with labour.