Ecclesiasticus 19

¹A workman that is a drunkard shall not be rich: and he that contemneth small things, shall fall by little and little.

²Wine and women make wisemen to apostatate, and shall reprove the prudent:

³and he that joineth himself to harlots, shall be naught. Rottenness and worms shall inherit him, and he shall be lifted up for a greater example, and his life shall be taken out of the number.

⁴He that giveth credit quickly, is light of heart, and shall be lessened: and he shall moreover be counted one that sinneth against his own soul.

⁵He that rejoiceth in iniquity, shall be reprehended, and he that hateth chastisement shall be diminished of life: and he that hateth babbling, extinguisheth malice.

⁶He that sinneth against his own soul, shall repent: and he that is delighted in naughtiness, shall be reprehended.

⁷Iterate not a wicked and hard word, and thou shalt not be lessened.

⁸To friend and foe tell not thy mind: and if thou have sin disclose it not.

⁹For he will hear thee, and will watch thee, and as it were defending the sin he will hate thee, and so will he be present with thee always.

¹⁰Hast thou heard a word against thy neighbour? Let it die together in thee, trusting that it will not burst thee.

¹¹At the presence of a word the fool travaileth, as the groaning of the childbirth of an infant.

¹²An arrow stickt in the thigh of flesh: so is a word in the heart of a fool.

¹³Rebuke a friend, lest perhaps he hath not understood, and say: I did it not: or if he did it, that he do it not again.

¹⁴Rebuke thy neighbour, lest perhaps he said it not: and if he said it, lest perhaps he iterate it.

¹⁵Rebuke thy friend: for there is often a fault committed.

¹⁶And believe not every word. There is that offendeth with the tongue, but not from his heart.

¹⁷For who is there that hath not offended in his tongue? Rebuke thy neighbour before thou threaten.

¹⁸And give place to the fear of the Highest: because the fear of God is all wisdom, and to fear God is in it, & the disposition of the law is in all wisdom.

¹⁹And the discipline of wickedness is not wisdom: and the cogitation of sinners is not prudence.

²⁰There is wickedness, and in it execration: and there is a fool that hath less wisdom.

²¹Better is a man that hath less wisdom and lacketh understanding, in fear, than he that aboundeth in understanding and transgresseth the law of the Highest.

²²There is an assured subtility, & the same wicked.

²³And there is that uttereth an exact word telling the truth. There is that wickedly humbleth himself, and his inner parts be full of deceit:

²⁴and there is a just man that submitteth himself overmuch of great humility: and there is a just one that boweth his face, and feigneth himself not to see that which is unknown:

²⁵and if he be forbidden to sin for imbecility of power, if he shall find a time to do evil, he will do evil.

²⁶Aman is known by the sight, and a wiseman is known by the shew of his face.

²⁷The clothing of the body, and the laughing of the teeth, and the going of the man tell of him.

²⁸There is a lying chastisement in the anger of a contumelious person: and there is a judgement, that is not allowed to be good: and there is that holdeth his peace, and he is wise.