SIRACH 28

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¹He that taketh vengeance shall find vengeance from the Lord; And he will surely make firm his sins.

²Forgive thy neighbour the hurt that he hath done thee; And then thy sins shall be pardoned when thou prayest.

³Man cherisheth anger against man; And doth he seek healing from the Lord?

⁴Upon a man like himself he hath no mercy; And doth he make supplication for his own sins?

⁵He being himself flesh nourisheth wrath: Who shall make atonement for his sins?

⁶Remember thy last end, and cease from enmity: Remember corruption and death, and abide in the commandments.

⁷Remember the commandments, and be not wroth with thy neighbour; And remember the covenant of the Highest, and wink at ignorance.

⁸Abstain from strife, and thou shalt diminish thy sins: For a passionate man will kindle strife;

⁹And a man that is a sinner will trouble friends, And will make debate among them that be at peace.

¹⁰As is the fuel of the fire, so will it burn; And as the stoutness of the strife is, so will it burn: As is the strength of the man, so will be his wrath; And as is his wealth, so will he exalt his anger.

¹¹A contention begun in haste kindleth a fire; And a hasty fighting sheddeth blood.

¹²If thou blow a spark, it shall burn; And if thou spit upon it, it shall be quenched: And both these shall come out of thy mouth.

¹³Curse the whisperer and double-tongued: For he hath destroyed many that were at peace.

¹⁴A third person’s tongue hath shaken many, And dispersed them from nation to nation; And it hath pulled down strong cities, And overthrown the houses of great men.

¹⁵A third person’s tongue hath cast out brave women, And deprived them of their labours.

¹⁶He that hearkeneth unto it shall not find rest, Nor shall he dwell quietly.

¹⁷The stroke of a whip maketh a mark in the flesh; But the stroke of a tongue will break bones.

¹⁸Many have fallen by the edge of the sword: Yet not so many as they that have fallen because of the tongue.

¹⁹Happy is he that is sheltered from it, That hath not passed through the wrath thereof; That hath not drawn its yoke, And hath not been bound with its bands.

²⁰For the yoke thereof is a yoke of iron, And the bands thereof are bands of brass.

²¹The death thereof is an evil death; And Hades were better than it.

²²It shall not have rule over godly men; And they shall not be burned in its flame.

²³They that forsake the Lord shall fall into it; And it shall burn among them, and shall not be quenched: It shall be sent forth upon them as a lion; And as a leopard it shall destroy them.

²⁴Look that thou hedge thy possession about with thorns; Bind up thy silver and thy gold;

²⁵And make a balance and a weight for thy words; And make a door and a bar for thy mouth.

²⁶Take heed lest thou slip therein; Lest thou fall before one that lieth in wait.