Sirach 27

DOUAI-RHEIMS	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Through poverty many have sinned: and he that seeketh to be enriched, turneth away his eye.	1 For the sake of profit many sin, and the struggle for wealth blinds the eyes.
2 As a stake sticketh fast in the midst of the joining of stones, so also in the midst of selling and buying, sin shall stick fast.	2 Like a peg driven between fitted stones, between buying and selling sin is wedged in.
3 Sin shall be destroyed with the sinner.	3 Unless you earnestly hold fast to the fear of the LORD, suddenly your house will be thrown down.
4 Unless thou hold thyself diligently in the fear of the Lord, thy house shall quickly be overthrown.	4 When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do a man's faults when he speaks.
5 As when one sifteth with a sieve, the dust will remain: so will the perplexity of a man in his thoughts.	5 As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in his conversation is the test of a man.
6 The furnace trieth the potter's vessels, and the trial of affliction just men.	6 The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does a man's speech disclose the bent of his mind.
7 Be the dressing of a tree sheweth the fruit thereof, so a word out of the thought of the heart of man.	7 Praise no man before he speaks, for it is then that men are tested.
8 Praise not a man before he speaketh, for this is the trial of men.	8 If you strive after justice you will attain it, and put it on like a splendid robe.
9 If thou followest justice, thou shalt obtain her: and shalt put her on as a long robe of honour, and thou shalt dwell with her: and she shall protect thee for ever, and in the day of acknowledgment thou shalt find a strong foundation.	9 Birds nest with their own kind, and fidelity comes to those who live by it.
10 Birds resort unto their like: so truth will return to them that practise her.	10 As a lion crouches in wait for prey, so do sins for evildoers.
11 The lion always lieth in wait for prey: so do sine for them that work iniquities.	11 Ever wise are the discourses of the devout, but the godless man, like the moon, is inconstant.
12 A holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun: but a fool is changed as the moon.	12 Limit the time you spend among fools, but frequent the company of thoughtful men.
13 In the midst of the unwise keep in the word till its time: but be continually among men that think.	13 The conversation of the wicked is offensive, their laughter is wanton guilt.
14 The discourse of sinners is hateful, and their laughter is at the pleasures of sin.	14 Their oath-filled talk makes the hair stand on end, their brawls make one stop one's ears.
15 The speech that sweareth much shall make the hair of the head stand upright: and its irreverence shall make one stop his ears.	15 Wrangling among the haughty ends in bloodshed, their cursing is painful to hear.
16 Is the quarrels of the proud is the shedding of blood: and their cursing is a grievous hearing.	16 He who betrays a secret cannot be trusted, he will never find an intimate friend.
17 He that discloseth the secret of a friend loseth his credit, and shall never find a friend to his mind.	17 Cherish your friend, keep faith with him; but if you betray his confidence, follow him not;
18 Love thy neighbour, and be joined to him with fidelity.	18 For as an enemy might kill a man, you have killed your neighbor's friendship.
19 But if thou discover his secrets, follow no more after him.	19 Like a bird released from the hand, you have let your friend go and cannot recapture him;
20 For as a man that destroyeth his friend, so also is he that destroyeth the friendship of his neighbour.	20 Follow him not, for he is far away, he has fled like a gazelle from the trap.
21 And as one that letteth a bird go out of his hand, so hast thou let thy neighbour go, and thou shalt not get him again.	21 A wound can be bound up, and an insult forgiven, but he who betrays secrets does hopeless damage.
22 Follow after him no more, for he is gone afar off, he is fled, as a roe escaped out of the snare: because his soul is wounded.	22 He who has shifty eyes plots mischief and no one can ward him off;
23 Thou canst no more bind him up. And of a curse there is reconciliation:	23 In your presence he uses honeyed talk, and admires your every word, But later he changes his tone and twists your words to your ruin.
24 But to disclose the secrets of a friend, leaveth no hope to an unhappy soul.	24 There is nothing that I hate so much, and the LORD hates him as well.
25 He that winketh with the eye forgeth wicked things, and no man will cast him off:	25 As a stone falls back on him who throws it up, so a blow struck in treachery injures more than one.
26 In the sight of thy eyes he will sweeten his mouth, and will admire thy words: but at the last he will writhe his mouth, and on thy words he will lay a stumblingblock.	26 As he who digs a pit falls into it, and he who lays a snare is caught in it,
27 I have hated many things, but not like him, and the Lord will hate him.	27 Whoever does harm will be involved in it without knowing how it came upon him.
28 If one cast a stone on high, it will fall upon his own head: and the deceitful stroke will wound the deceitful.	28 Mockery and abuse will be the lot of the proud, and vengeance lies in wait for them like a lion.
29 He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it: and he that setteth a stone for his neighbour, shall stumble upon it: and he that layeth a snare for another, shall perish in it.	29 The trap seizes those who rejoice in pitfalls, and pain will consume them before they die;
30 A mischievous counsel shall be rolled back upon the author, and he shall not know from whence it cometh to him.	30 Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.
31 Mockery and reproach are of the proud, and vengeance as a lion shall lie in wait for him.
32 They shall perish in a snare that are delighted with the fall of the just: and sorrow shall consume them before they die.
33 Anger and fury are both of them abominable, and the sinful man shall be subject to them.