Sirach 19:13-17
Revised Standard Version
13 Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it;
but if he did anything, so that he may do it no more.
14 Question a neighbor, perhaps he did not say it;
but if he said it, so that he may not say it again.
15 Question a friend, for often it is slander;
so do not believe everything you hear.
16 A person may make a slip without intending it.
Who has never sinned with his tongue?
17 Question your neighbor before you threaten him;
and let the law of the Most High take its course.[a]
Footnotes
- Sirach 19:17 Other authorities add and do not be angry. 18 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of acceptance, and wisdom obtains his love. 19 The knowledge of the Lord’s commandments is life-giving discipline; and those who do what is pleasing to him enjoy the fruit of the tree of immortality.
Leviticus 19:16-18
Revised Standard Version
16 You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand forth against the life[a] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason with your neighbor, lest you bear sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 19:16 Heb blood
Matthew 18:15
Revised Standard Version
Reproving Another Who Sins
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
Read full chapterRevised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.