Sirach 27

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Many have sinned for the sake of profit, one who hopes to be rich must turn a blind eye.	1 Because of need, many have sinned. And whoever seeks to be enriched, averts his eye.
2 A peg wil stick in the joint between two stones, and sin wil wedge itself between sel ing and buying.	2 Like a post fixed in the middle of adjoining stones, so also will sin become wedged between selling and buying.
3 Whoever does not firmly hold to the fear of the Lord, his house wil soon be overthrown.	3 Sin will be crushed with the one who sins.
4 In a shaken sieve the rubbish is left behind, so too the defects of a person appear in speech.	4 If you do not hold yourself steadfastly to the fear of the Lord, your house will be quickly overthrown.
5 The kiln tests the work of the potter, the test of a person is in conversation.	5 Just as the dust remains when one shakes a sieve, so will the doubt of a man remain in his thoughts.
6 The orchard where the tree grows is judged by its fruit, similarly words betray what a person feels.	6 The furnace tests the potter’s vessels, and the trial of the tribulation tests just men.
7 Do not praise anyone who has not yet spoken, since this is where people 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 pursue virtue, you will attain it and put it on like a festal gown.	8 You should not praise a man before he speaks; for such is the testing of men.
9 Birds consort with their kind, truth comes home to those who practise 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 The lion lies in wait for its prey, so does sin for those who do wrong.	10 Birds flock to their own kind. And truth will return to those who practice it.
11 The conversation of the devout is wisdom at all times, but the fool is as changeable as the moon.	11 The lion lies in wait for its prey continually. So also do sins lie in wait for those who work iniquity.
12 When visiting stupid people, choose the right moment, but among the thoughtful take your time.	12 A holy man persists in wisdom like the sun. But a senseless man changes like the moon.
13 The conversation of fools is disgusting, raucous their laughter in their sinful pleasures.	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 The talk of hard-swearing people makes your hair stand on end, their brawling makes you stop yourears.	14 The discussions of sinners are hateful, and their laughter is a delight in sin.
15 A quarrel between the proud leads to bloodshed, and their insults are embarrassing 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 A betrayer of secrets forfeits al trust and wil never find the kind of friend he wants.	16 The shedding of blood is in the quarrels of the arrogant; and their evil talk is grievous to hear.
17 Be fond of a friend and keep faith with him, but if you have betrayed his secrets, do not go after himany more;	17 Whoever discloses the secret of a friend breaks faith; and he will not find a friend for his soul.
18 for, as one destroys a person by kil ing him, so you have kil ed your neighbour's friendship,	18 Love your neighbor, and be united with him faithfully.
19 and as you let a bird slip through your fingers, so you have let your friend go, and wil not catch him.	19 But if you disclose his secrets, you should not continue to follow after him.
20 Do not go after him -- he is far away, he has fled like a gazel e from the snare.	20 For like a man who destroys his friend, so also is he who destroys the friendship of his neighbor.
21 For a wound can be bandaged and abuse forgiven, but for the betrayer of a secret there is no hope.	21 And like someone releasing a bird from his hand, so have you abandoned your neighbor, and you will not obtain him again.
22 Someone with a sly wink is plotting mischief, no one can dissuade him from it.	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 Honey-tongued to your face, he is lost in admiration at your words; but behind your back he has otherthings to say, and turns your words into a stumbling-block.	23 You will no longer be able to bind his wound. For there may be a reconciliation from cursing.
24 I have found many things to hate, but nothing as much as him, and the Lord hates him too.	24 But to disclose the secrets of a friend is the hopeless act of an unhappy soul.
25 Whoever throws a stone in the air, throws it on to his own head; a treacherous blow cuts both ways.	25 One who winks with the eye fabricates iniquity, and no one will cast him aside.
26 The man who digs a pit falls into it, whoever sets a snare wil be caught by 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 On anyone who does evil, evil wil recoil, without his knowing where it comes from.	27 I have hated many things, but I have not done as he has done, and the Lord will hate him.
28 Sarcasm and abuse are the mark of the arrogant, but vengeance lies in wait like a lion for such a one.	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 will close on all who rejoice in the downfal of the devout, and pain wil eat them up beforethey 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 Resentment and anger, these are foul things too, and a sinner is a master at them both.	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.