Sirach 27

1 Many have sinned for the sake of profit, and whoever seeks to increase wealth turns away his eyes.

2 A peg is driven between fitted stones, and sin is crushed in between selling and buying.

3 Unless someone holds firmly to the fear of the Lord, his house will quickly be overturned.

4 When a sieve is shaken, refuse remains; in the same way, a person’s filth remains in his thinking.

5 A furnace tests a potter’s vessels, and a person’s test lies in his reasoning.

6 Fruit reveals how a tree was cultivated; in the same way, a word reveals the thought in a person’s heart.

7 Do not praise a man before considering his reasoning, for this is how people are tested.

8 If you pursue righteousness, you will obtain it and wear it like a glorious robe.

9 Birds settle with their own kind, and truth returns to those who practice it.

10 A lion lies in wait for prey, and sin lies in wait for those who practice wrongdoing.

11 A devout person’s account is always marked by wisdom, but a fool changes like the moon.

12 Among people without understanding, wait for the right time; among thoughtful people, remain continually.

13 A fool’s account is offensive, and his laughter delights in sin.

14 The speech of someone who swears constantly makes hair stand on end, and the fighting of such people makes listeners stop their ears.

15 The fighting of the arrogant sheds blood, and their insults are painful to hear.

16 Whoever reveals secrets loses trust and will never find a friend close to his soul.

17 Love your friend and be faithful to him, but if you reveal his secrets, do not pursue him afterward.

18 Just as someone has lost a dead loved one, so you have lost your neighbor’s friendship.

19 Like a bird released from your hand, you have let your neighbor go and will not catch him again.

20 Do not pursue him, for he has gone far away and escaped like a gazelle from a trap.

21 A wound can be bandaged, and reconciliation can follow insults, but whoever reveals secrets has lost hope.

22 Whoever signals with his eye devises evil, and no one will remove that evil from him.

23 In your presence he sweetens his speech and marvels at your words; afterward he twists his mouth and turns your words into a stumbling block.

24 I have hated many things but nothing like him, and the Lord will hate him.

25 Whoever throws a stone upward throws it onto his own head, and a deceitful blow opens wounds.

26 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever sets a trap will be caught in it.

27 Whoever does evil will have it roll back on him without knowing where it came from.

28 Mockery and reproach belong to the arrogant person, and vengeance lies in wait for him like a lion.

29 Those who rejoice at the fall of the devout will be caught in a trap, and anguish will consume them before they die.

30 Resentment and wrath are detestable things, and a sinner holds firmly to both.