SIRACH 27

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¹Many have sinned for a thing indifferent; And he that seeketh to multiply gain will turn his eye away.

²A nail will stick fast between the joinings of stones; And sin will thrust itself in between buying and selling.

³Unless a man hold on diligently in the fear of the Lord, His house shall soon be overthrown.

⁴In the shaking of a sieve, the refuse remaineth; So the filth of man in his reasoning.

⁵The furnace will prove the potter’s vessels; And the trial of a man is in his reasoning.

⁶The fruit of a tree declareth the husbandry thereof; So is the utterance of the thought of the heart of a man.

⁷Praise no man before thou hearest him reason; For this is the trial of men.

⁸If thou followest righteousness, thou shalt obtain her, And put her on, as a long robe of glory.

⁹Birds will resort unto their like; And truth will return unto them that practise her.

¹⁰The lion lieth in wait for prey; So doth sin for them that work iniquity.

¹¹The discourse of a godly man is always wisdom: But the foolish man changeth as the moon.

¹²Among men void of understanding observe the opportunity; But stay continually among the thoughtful.

¹³The discourse of fools is an offence; And their laughter is in the wantonness of sin.

¹⁴The talk of a man of many oaths will make the hair stand upright; And their strife maketh one stop his ears.

¹⁵The strife of the proud is a shedding of blood; And their reviling of each other is a grievous thing to hear.

¹⁶He that revealeth secrets destroyeth credit, And shall not find a friend to his mind.

¹⁷Love a friend, and keep faith with him: But if thou reveal his secrets, Thou shalt not pursue after him;

¹⁸For as a man hath destroyed his enemy, So hast thou destroyed the friendship of thy neighbour.

¹⁹And as a bird which thou hast loosed out of thy hand, So hast thou let thy neighbour go, and thou wilt not catch him again:

²⁰Pursue him not, for he is gone far away, And hath escaped as a gazelle out of the snare.

²¹For a wound may be bound up, and after reviling there may be a reconcilement; But he that revealeth secrets hath lost hope.

²²One that winketh with the eye contriveth evil things; And no man will remove him from it.

²³When thou art present, he will speak sweetly, And will admire thy words; But afterward he will writhe his mouth, And set a trap for thee in thy words.

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

²⁵One that casteth a stone on high casteth it on his own head; And a deceitful stroke will open wounds.

²⁶He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; And he that setteth a snare shall be taken therein.

²⁷He that doeth evil things, they shall roll upon him, And he shall not know whence they have come to him.

²⁸Mockery and reproach are from the haughty; And vengeance, as a lion, shall lie in wait for him.

²⁹They that rejoice at the fall of the godly shall be taken in a snare; And anguish shall consume them before they die.

³⁰Wrath and anger, these also are abominations; And a sinful man shall possess them.