Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 27
27
1THROUGH poverty many have sinned: and he that seeketh to be enriched, turneth away his eye.
2As a stake sticketh fast in the midst of the joining of stones, so also in the midst of selling and buying, sin shall stick fast.
3Sin shall be destroyed with the sinner.
4Unless thou hold thyself diligently in the fear of the Lord, thy house shall quickly be overthrown.
5As when one sifteth with a sieve, the dust will remain: so will the perplexity of a man in his thoughts.
6The furnace trieth the potter's vessels, and the trial of affliction just men.
7Be the dressing of a tree sheweth the fruit thereof, so a word out of the thought of the heart of man.
8Praise not a man before he speaketh, for this is the trial of men.
9If thou followest justice, thou shalt obtain her: and shalt put her on as a long robe of honour, and thou shalt dwell with her: and she shall protect thee for ever, and in the day of acknowledgment thou shalt find a strong foundation.
10Birds resort unto their like: so truth will return to them that practise her.
11The lion always lieth in wait for prey: so do sine for them that work iniquities.
12A holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun: but a fool is changed as the moon.
13In the midst of the unwise keep in the word till its time: but be continually among men that think.
14The discourse of sinners is hateful, and their laughter is at the pleasures of sin.
15The speech that sweareth much shall make the hair of the head stand upright: and its irreverence shall make one stop his ears.
16Is the quarrels of the proud is the shedding of blood: and their cursing is a grievous hearing.
17He that discloseth the secret of a friend loseth his credit, and shall never find a friend to his mind.
18Love thy neighbour, and be joined to him with fidelity.
19But if thou discover his secrets, follow no more after him.
20For as a man that destroyeth his friend, so also is he that destroyeth the friendship of his neighbour.
21And as one that letteth a bird go out of his hand, so hast thou let thy neighbour go, and thou shalt not get him again.
22Follow after him no more, for he is gone afar off, he is fled, as a roe escaped out of the snare: because his soul is wounded.
23Thou canst no more bind him up. And of a curse there is reconciliation:
24But to disclose the secrets of a friend, leaveth no hope to an unhappy soul.
25He that winketh with the eye forgeth wicked things, and no man will cast him off:
26In the sight of thy eyes he will sweeten his mouth, and will admire thy words: but at the last he will writhe his mouth, and on thy words he will lay a stumblingblock.
27I have hated many things, but not like him, and the Lord will hate him.
28If one cast a stone on high, it will fall upon his own head: and the deceitful stroke will wound the deceitful.
29He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it: and he that setteth a stone for his neighbour, shall stumble upon it: and he that layeth a snare for another, shall perish in it.
30A mischievous counsel shall be rolled back upon the author, and he shall not know from whence it cometh to him.
31Mockery and reproach are of the proud, and vengeance as a lion shall lie in wait for him.
32They shall perish in a snare that are delighted with the fall of the just: and sorrow shall consume them before they die.
33Anger and fury are both of them abominable, and the sinful man shall be subject to them.
Currently Selected:
Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 27: DRC1752
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.