Sirach 19

Common English Bible

19 A drunken worker^[a]
won’t become rich,
    and whoever neglects the little things
    will fail little by little.
² Wine and women
will mislead an intelligent person,
    and the one who has sex with prostitutes will become more reckless.
³ Decay and worms will possess him,
    and his reckless soul will be carried away.
⁴ Those who trust others too quickly
have empty heads,
    and those who sin injure themselves.
⁵ Those who rejoice in wickedness
will be condemned.^[b]
6 And those who are reticent to speak
diminish wickedness.
⁷ Never repeat something that you’ve heard,
    and you will not lose anything.
⁸ Don’t report it to a friend or an enemy,
    and, as long as it wouldn’t be a sin for you, don’t reveal it.
⁹ People might hear you or observe you,
    and in time they will hate you.
¹⁰ Have you heard some word?
Let it perish along with you.
    Have courage!
    It won’t make you burst.
¹¹ Because of something spoken,
a fool will suffer labor pains
    like those caused by a baby
    about to be delivered.
¹² Like an arrow stuck in a thigh,
    so is a word in the belly of a fool.
¹³ Question a friend;
perhaps he didn’t do it.
    And if he did, question him
    so he doesn’t do it again.
¹⁴ Question a neighbor;
perhaps she didn’t say it.
    And if she did say it,
    question her so that she doesn’t repeat it.
¹⁵ Question a friend, because it often
turns out to be a false accusation.
    Don’t trust everything that is said.
¹⁶ There are those who slip,
and it wasn’t intentional.
    Who hasn’t sinned with the tongue?
¹⁷ Question your neighbor
before issuing a threat,
    and give the Law of the Most High
    its place.^[c]