Sirach 19

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