Sirach
As found in the Greek Septuagint
GNB
Chapter 27
Sad Observations (Continued from chapter 26)
Sirach 27:1 Many people have sinned while looking for a profit; if you want to be rich you have to keep blinders on your eyes.
Sirach 27:2 It is hard to remove a peg that is stuck between two stones of a house, and it is just as hard to remove dishonesty from buying and selling.
Sirach 27:3 Unless you are determined in your fear of the Lord, your house is going to come down on you.
Sirach 27:4 Your talk shows your faults; it is like a sieve that separates out the rubbish.
Sirach 27:5 The way you think shows your character just as surely as a kiln shows any flaws in the pottery being fired.
Sirach 27:6 You can tell how well a tree has been cared for by the fruit it bears, and you can tell a person's feelings by the way he expresses himself.
Sirach 27:7 Never praise anyone before you hear him talk; that is the real test.
Sirach 27:8 If you try to be honest, you can be, and it will improve your character as handsome clothing improves your appearance.
Sirach 27:9 Birds come to roost with those of their own kind, and the habit of honesty comes to those who try to be honest.
Sirach 27:10 Sin waits for those looking for a chance to sin, just as a lion waits for prey.
Sirach 27:11 When devout people talk, what they say always makes sense, but foolish people are always contradicting themselves.
Sirach 27:12 When you find yourself with stupid people, look for some excuse to leave, but when you are with serious-minded people, stay as long as you can.
Sirach 27:13 The stories that foolish people tell are offensive, and they make jokes about the worst kinds of sin.
Sirach 27:14 When such people curse, it is enough to make your hair stand on end, and when they start arguing among themselves, all you can do is to stop up your ears.
Sirach 27:15 It is painful to listen to them insult each other, and such blustering can lead to violence.
Sirach 27:16 If you repeat secrets that have been told to you, you are destroying the confidence others have in you, and you will never have a close friend.
Sirach 27:17 Respect your friends, and keep faith with them. If you do betray a friend's confidence, you may as well forget you have a friend.
Sirach 27:18 You have killed that friendship just as surely as if you had taken a weapon and killed an enemy.
Sirach 27:19 Your friend is gone. You can no more get him back than you can get a bird to come back to your hand once you let it go.
Sirach 27:20 Don't bother going after him. It's too late. He is gone, like a deer escaped from a trap.
Sirach 27:21 Wounds can be bandaged and insults can be forgiven, but if you betray a confidence, it is hopeless.
Sirach 27:22 When someone starts winking at you, he has something bad in mind, and nothing can stop him from going through with it.
Sirach 27:23 When he's with you, his talk is so nice! He compliments you on every word you say. But behind your back it's a different story; he will take what you have said and turn it against you.
Sirach 27:24 There is nothing in the world that I hate as much as a person like that-and the Lord hates him too.
Sirach 27:25 Throw a stone straight up in the air and it will come down on your head. Strike a blow, and you yourself will be wounded.
Sirach 27:26 People who set traps fall into them themselves.
Sirach 27:27 People who hurt others will be hurt by their own actions and will have no idea why.
Sirach 27:28 Arrogant people insult others and make fun of them, but someone is waiting like a lion for a chance to take revenge on them.
Sirach 27:29 Those who are happy to witness the downfall of devout people are going to fall into a trap and die a painful death.
Sirach 27:30 Anger and a hot temper are horrible things, but sinners have both.