Sirach 19

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 A drunken workman wil never grow rich, and one who makes light of small matters will gradual y sink.	1 An inebriated worker will not be wealthy. And whoever despises littleness will fall a little at a time.
2 Wine and women corrupt intel igent men, the customer of whores loses al sense of shame.	2 Wine and women cause wise men to fall away, and then they will complain against those who understand.
3 Grubs and worms wil have him as their legacy, and the man who knows no shame will lose his life.	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 Being too ready to trust shows shal owness of mind, and sinning harms the sinner.	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 Taking pleasure in evil earns condemnation;	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 by hating gossip one avoids evil.	6 Whoever sins against his own soul will be punished. And whoever rejoices in malice will be condemned.
7 Never repeat what you are told and you wil come to no harm;	7 You should not repeat a wicked and harsh word, and then you will not be diminished.
8 whether to friend or foe, do not talk about it, unless it would be sinful not to, do not reveal it;	8 Do not reveal your mind to friend or foe. And if there is a sin within you, do not disclose it.
9 you would be heard out, then mistrusted, and in due course you would be hated.	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 Have you heard something? Let it die with you. Courage! It wil not burst you!	10 Have you heard a word against your neighbor? Let it die within you, trusting that it will not burst forth from you.
11 A fool wil suffer birthpangs over a piece of news, like a woman labouring with child.	11 Before the face of a word, a foolish man labors, like a woman groaning as she gives birth to a child.
12 Like an arrow stuck in the flesh of the thigh, so is a piece of news inside a fool.	12 Like an arrow fixed in the flesh of the thigh, so is a word in the heart of a foolish man.
13 Question your friend, he may have done nothing at al ; and if he has done anything, he wil not do itagain.	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 Question your neighbour, he may have said nothing at al ; and if he has said anything, he wil not sayit again.	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 Question your friend, for slander is very common, do not believe al you hear.	15 Correct your friend. For often a fault has been committed.
16 People sometimes make a slip, without meaning what they say; and which of us has never sinned byspeech?	16 And do not believe every word. There is one who slips with his word, but not with his heart.
17 Question your neighbour before you threaten him, and defer to the Law of the Most High.	17 For who is there who has not offended with his words? Correct your neighbor before you reprimand him.
18	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	19 But the discipline of wickedness is not wisdom. And there is no prudence in the thoughts of sinners.
20 Wisdom consists entirely in fearing the Lord, and wisdom is entirely constituted by the fulfil ing of theLaw.	20 There is a wickedness, and in it there is abomination. And there is a foolish man who has been diminished in wisdom.
21	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 Being learned in evil, however, is not wisdom, there is no prudence in the advice of sinners.	22 There is a certain cleverness, and it is unjust.
23 There is a cleverness that is detestable; whoever has no wisdom is a fool.	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 Better be short of sense and ful of fear, than abound in shrewdness and violate the Law.	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 There is a wickedness which is scrupulous but nonetheless dishonest, and there are those whomisuse kindness to win their case.	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 There is the person who wil walk bowed down with grief, when inwardly this is nothing but deceit:	26 A man is recognized by his appearances. But when you meet an understanding man, he is recognized by his face.
27 he hides his face and pretends to be deaf, if he is not unmasked, he wil take advantage of you.	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 the person who is prevented from sinning by lack of strength, yet he wil do wrong when hegets the chance.	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.
29 You can tel a person by his appearance, you can tell a thinker by the look on his face.
30 The way a person dresses, the way he laughs, the way he walks, tel you what he is.