Sirach Chapter – 22 – World English Bible British Edition

1 A slothful man is compared to a stone that is defiled; And every one will hiss him out in his disgrace.

2 A slothful man is compared to the filth of a dunghill: Every man that takes it up will shake out his hand.

3 A father has shame in having begotten an uninstructed son; And a foolish daughter is born to his loss.

4 A prudent daughter will inherit a husband of her own; And she that brings shame is the grief of her father.

5 She that is bold brings shame upon father and husband; And she will be despised of them both.

6 Unseasonable discourse is as music in mourning; But stripes and correction are wisdom at every season.

7 He that teaches a fool is as one that glues a potsherd together; Even as one that wakes a sleeper out of a deep sleep.

8 He who teaches a fool is as one who teaches a man who slumbers; And at the end he will say, What is it?

11 Weep for the dead, for light has failed him; And weep for a fool, for understanding has failed him: Weep more sweetly for the dead, because he has found rest; But the life of the fool is worse than death.

12 Seven days are the days of mourning for the dead; But for a fool and an ungodly man, all the days of his life.

13 Talk not much with a foolish man, And go not to one that has no understanding: Beware of him, lest you have trouble; And so you shall not be defiled in his onslaught: Turn away from him, and you will find rest; And so you shall not be wearied in his madness.

14 What shall be heavier than lead? And what is the name thereof, but a fool?

15 Sand, and salt, and a mass of iron, is easier to bear, Than a man without understanding.

16 Timber girded and bound into a building will not be released with shaking: So a heart established in due season on well advised counsel will not be afraid.

17 A heart settled upon a thoughtful understanding Is as an ornament of plaster on a polished wall.

18 Pales 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.

19 He that pricks the eye will make tears to fall; And he that pricks the heart makes it to show feeling.

20 Whoso casts a stone at birds frays them away; And he that upbraids a friend will dissolve friendship.

21 If you have drawn a sword against a friend, despair not; For there may be a returning.

22 If you have opened your 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.

23 Gain trust with your neighbour in his poverty, That in his prosperity you may have gladness: Stay steadfast to him in the time of his affliction, That you may be heir with him in his inheritance.

24 Before fire is the vapour and smoke of a furnace; So revilings before bloodshed.

25 I will not be ashamed to shelter a friend; And I will not hide myself from his face:

26 And if any evil happen to me because of him, Every one that hears it will beware of him.

27 Who 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?