SIRACH 22

1A slothful man is compared to a stone that is defiled;

And every one will hiss him out in his disgrace.

2A slothful man is compared to the filth of a dunghill:

Every man that taketh it up will shake out his hand.

3A father hath shame in having begotten an uninstructed son;

And a foolish daughter is born to his loss.

4A prudent daughter shall inherit a husband of her own;

And she that bringeth shame is the grief of him that begat her.

5She that is bold bringeth shame upon father and husband;

And she shall be despised of them both.

6Unseasonable discourse is as music in mourning;

But stripes and correction are wisdom at every season.

7He that teacheth a fool is as one that glueth a potsherd together;

Even as one that waketh a sleeper out of a deep sleep.

8He that discourseth to a fool is as one discoursing to a man that slumbereth;

And at the end he will say, What is it? 9-101

11Weep for the dead, for light hath failed him;

And weep for a fool, for understanding hath failed him:

Weep more sweetly for the dead, because he hath found rest;

But the life of the fool is worse than death.

12Seven days are the days of mourning for the dead;

But for a fool and an ungodly man, all the days of his life.

13Talk not much with a foolish man,

And go not to one that hath no understanding:

Beware of him, lest thou have trouble;

And so thou shalt not be 2 defiled in his onslaught:

Turn aside from him, and thou shalt find rest;

And so thou shalt not be wearied in his madness.

14What shall be heavier than lead?

And what is the name thereof, but a fool?

15Sand, and salt, and a mass of iron, is easier to bear,

Than a man without understanding.

16Timber girt and bound into a building shall not be loosed with shaking:

So a heart established in due season on well advised counsel shall not be afraid.

17A heart settled upon a thoughtful understanding

Is as an ornament of plaister on a polished wall.

18Pales set on a high place will not stand against the wind:

So a fearful heart in the imagination of a fool will not stand against any fear.

19He that pricketh the eye will make tears to fall;

And he that pricketh the heart maketh it to shew feeling.

20Whoso casteth a stone at birds frayeth them away;

And he that upbraideth a friend will dissolve friendship.

21If thou hast drawn a sword against a friend, despair not;

For there may be a returning.

22If thou hast opened thy mouth against a friend, fear not;

For there may be a reconciling;

Except it be for upbraiding, and arrogance, and disclosing of a secret, and a treacherous blow:

For these things every friend will flee.

23Gain trust with thy neighbour in his poverty,

That in his prosperity thou mayest have gladness:

Abide stedfast unto him in the time of his affliction,

That thou mayest be heir with him in his inheritance. 3

24Before fire is the vapour and smoke of a furnace;

So revilings before bloodshed.

25I will not be ashamed to shelter a friend;

And I will not hide myself from his face:

26And if any evil happen unto me because of him,

Every one that heareth it will beware of him.

27Who shall set a watch over my mouth,

And a seal of shrewdness upon my lips,

That I fall not from it, and that my tongue destroy me not?