Sirach 22

1 A lazy person is compared to a filthy stone, and everyone hisses at him in disgrace.

2 A lazy person is compared to dung from a manure heap; everyone who picks it up shakes it off his hand.

3 An uninstructed son is a disgrace to the father who produced him, and a daughter is born to his loss.

4 A daughter with good sense will inherit a husband, but a daughter who brings shame causes grief to her father.

5 A brazen daughter disgraces both father and husband and will be dishonored by them both.

6 An ill-timed story is like music during mourning, but flogging and discipline are always timely for imparting wisdom.

9 Whoever teaches a fool is like someone gluing a broken clay pot together or waking someone from deep sleep.

10 Whoever tells a story to a fool speaks to someone half asleep; when the story ends, the fool asks, “What was that?”

11 Weep for the dead, because his light has failed, and weep for the fool, because his understanding has failed. Weep more gently for the dead, because he has found rest, but a fool’s life is worse than death.

12 Mourning for the dead lasts seven days, but mourning for a fool and an ungodly person lasts every day of his life.

13 Do not multiply words with a fool or approach someone without understanding. Guard yourself from him so that you do not have trouble or become stained by his outbursts. Turn away from him and you will find rest, free from weariness at his madness.

14 What is heavier than lead? What else can it be called but a fool?

15 Sand, salt, and a lump of iron are easier to bear than a person without understanding.

16 A wooden frame bound into a building will not come apart when shaken; in the same way, a heart established by thoughtful counsel will not be afraid at the proper time.

17 A heart firmly grounded in understanding is like fine plaster on a polished wall.

18 A fence set on a height cannot withstand the wind; in the same way, a timid heart guided by a fool’s imagination cannot withstand any fear.

19 Whoever pricks an eye brings tears, and whoever pricks a heart reveals its awareness.

20 Whoever throws a stone at birds frightens them away, and whoever reproaches a friend destroys friendship.

21 Even if you draw a sword against a friend, do not despair, for a return is possible.

22 Even if you open your mouth against a friend, do not be afraid, for reconciliation is possible—except after reproach, arrogance, revealing a secret, or a treacherous wound. Because of these things every friend will flee.

23 Remain faithful beside your neighbor in his poverty so that you may share fully in his prosperity. Stay with him in a time of affliction so that you may share his inheritance.

24 Vapor and smoke from a furnace come before fire; in the same way, insults come before bloodshed.

25 I will not be ashamed to protect a friend, and I will not hide from him.

26 If harm comes to me because of him, everyone who hears of it will guard against him.

27 Who will set a guard over my mouth and a shrewd seal on my lips, so that I do not fall because of them and my tongue does not destroy me?