【Sirach】Chapter 27 << Last Chapter Next Chapter >>

27:1 For the sake of profit many sin, and the struggle for wealth blinds the eyes.

27:2 Like a peg driven between fitted stones, between buying and selling sin is wedged in.

27:3 Unless you earnestly hold fast to the fear of the LORD, suddenly your house will be thrown down.

27:4 When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do a man’s faults when he speaks.

27:5 As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in his conversation is the test of a man.

27:6 The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does a man’s speech disclose the bent of his mind.

27:7 Praise no man before he speaks, for it is then that men are tested.

27:8 If you strive after justice you will attain it, and put it on like a splendid robe.

27:9 Birds nest with their own kind, and fidelity comes to those who live by it.

27:10 As a lion crouches in wait for prey, so do sins for evildoers.

27:11 Ever wise are the discourses of the devout, but the godless man, like the moon, is inconstant.

27:12 Limit the time you spend among fools, but frequent the company of thoughtful men.

27:13 The conversation of the wicked is offensive, their laughter is wanton guilt.

27:14 Their oath-filled talk makes the hair stand on end, their brawls make one stop one’s ears.

27:15 Wrangling among the haughty ends in bloodshed, their cursing is painful to hear.

27:16 He who betrays a secret cannot be trusted, he will never find an intimate friend.

27:17 Cherish your friend, keep faith with him; but if you betray his confidence, follow him not;

27:18 For as an enemy might kill a man, you have killed your neighbor’s friendship.

27:19 Like a bird released from the hand, you have let your friend go and cannot recapture him;

27:20 Follow him not, for he is far away, he has fled like a gazelle from the trap.

27:21 A wound can be bound up, and an insult forgiven, but he who betrays secrets does hopeless damage.

27:22 He who has shifty eyes plots mischief and no one can ward him off;

27:23 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.

27:24 There is nothing that I hate so much, and the LORD hates him as well.

27:25 As a stone falls back on him who throws it up, so a blow struck in treachery injures more than one.

27:26 As he who digs a pit falls into it, and he who lays a snare is caught in it,

27:27 Whoever does harm will be involved in it without knowing how it came upon him.

27:28 Mockery and abuse will be the lot of the proud, and vengeance lies in wait for them like a lion.

27:29 The trap seizes those who rejoice in pitfalls, and pain will consume them before they die;

27:30 Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.

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