Sirach 19

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