Sirach
As found in the Greek Septuagint
GNB
Chapter 19
Self-control (Continued from Chapter 18)
Sirach 19:1 If you do, you will never get rich; if you don't pay attention to small matters, you will gradually ruin yourself.
Sirach 19:2 Wine and women make sensible men do foolish things. A man who goes to prostitutes gets more and more careless,
Sirach 19:3 and that carelessness will cost him his life. Worms will feed on his decaying body.
Sirach 19:4 It is silly to trust people too quickly. If you sin, you are hurting yourself.
Sirach 19:5 If wickedness makes you happy, you will be condemned.
Sirach 19:6 Avoid idle talk, and you will avoid a lot of trouble.
Sirach 19:7 Never repeat what you hear, and you will have no regrets.
Sirach 19:8 Don't tell it to your friends or your enemies unless it would be sinful to keep it to yourself.
Sirach 19:9 Whoever hears you will take note of it, and sooner or later will hate you for it.
Sirach 19:10 Have you heard a rumor? Let it die with you. Be brave! It won't make you explode.
Sirach 19:11 A foolish person trying to keep a secret suffers like a woman in labor.
Sirach 19:12 Any time he hears a secret, it's like an arrow stuck in his leg.
Sirach 19:13 If you hear that a friend has done something wrong, ask him about it. Maybe it isn't true. If it is true, he won't do it again.
Sirach 19:14 If you hear that a neighbor has said something he shouldn't, ask him about it. Maybe he didn't say it. If he did, he won't say it again.
Sirach 19:15 If you hear something bad about a friend, ask him about it. It might be a lie. Don't believe everything you hear.
Sirach 19:16 A person may say something carelessly and not really mean it. Everyone has sinned in this way at one time or another.
Sirach 19:17 If you hear something that makes you angry with your neighbor, ask him about it before you threaten him. Leave the matter to the Law of the Most High.
Sirach 19:20 Fear the Lord and keep his Law; that is what Wisdom is all about.
Sirach 19:22 You may know everything there is to know about wickedness, but that does not make you wise. It is not sensible to follow the advice of sinners.
Sirach 19:23 It is possible to use cleverness for wicked purposes, but some people act like fools because they don't know any better.
Sirach 19:24 A devout person, even if he is not very intelligent, is better off than the cleverest sinners.
Sirach 19:25 It is possible to be marvelously clever and still be dishonest, or to get what you want by being absurdly polite.
Sirach 19:26 Then there are those wicked people who go about looking very solemn and mournful, but who are only trying to deceive you.
Sirach 19:27 They will turn their faces away and pretend not to hear you, but they'll take advantage of you when you least expect it.
Sirach 19:28 If for some reason they are unable to sin now, they'll get around to it at the first opportunity.
Sirach 19:29 You can know people by their appearance. The first time you look at them, you can tell if they have good sense.
Sirach 19:30 Their character shows in the way they dress, the way they laugh, and the way they walk.