Sirach 29:14-20

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹⁴ A good person will be surety for his neighbor,
    but the one who has lost all sense of shame will fail him.
¹⁵ Do not forget the kindness of your guarantor,
    for he has given his life for you.
¹⁶ A sinner wastes the property of his guarantor,
¹⁷     and the ungrateful person abandons his rescuer.
¹⁸ Being surety has ruined many who were prosperous
    and has tossed them about like waves of the sea;
it has driven the influential into exile,
    and they have wandered among foreign nations.^(A)
19 The sinner comes to grief through surety;
    his pursuit of gain involves him in lawsuits.
²⁰ Assist your neighbor to the best of your ability,
    but be careful not to fall yourself.