Sirach 40:12-17

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹² All bribery and injustice will be blotted out,
    but good faith will last forever.
¹³ The wealth of the unjust will dry up like a river
    and crash like a loud clap of thunder in a storm.^(A)
14 As a generous person has cause to rejoice,
    so lawbreakers will utterly fail.
¹⁵ The children of the ungodly put out few branches;
    they are unhealthy roots on sheer rock.^(B)
16 The reeds by any water or river bank
    are plucked up before any grass,^(C)
17 but kindness is like a garden of blessings,
    and almsgiving endures forever.^(D)