If you have sinned, do so no more, and for your past sins pray to be forgiven. Flee from sin as from a serpent. That will bite you if you go near it; its teeth are lion's teeth, destroying the souls of men. Every offense is a two-edged sword; when it cuts, there can be no healing.
A band of criminals is like a bundle of tow; they will end in a flaming fire. The path of sinners is smooth stones that end in the depths of the nether world.
A fool's mind is like a broken jar, no knowledge at all can it hold. A fool raises his voice in laughter, but the prudent man at the most smiles gently.
The fool steps boldly into a house, while the well-bred man remains outside; a boor peeps through the doorway of a house, but a cultured man keeps his glance cast down. It is rude for one to listen at a door; a cultured man would be overwhelmed by the disgrace of it.
The lips of the impious talk of what is not their concern, but the words of the prudent are carefully weighed. Fools' thoughts are in their mouths, wise men's words are in their hearts.
Sirach 21:1-3, 9-10, 14, 20, 22-26
The sluggard is like a stone in the mud; everyone hisses at his disgrace. The sluggard is like a lump of dung; whoever touches him wipes his hands.
An unruly child is a disgrace to its father; if it be a daughter she brings him to poverty. A thoughtful daughter becomes a treasure to her husband; a shameless one is her father's grief. A hussy shames her father and her husband; by both she is despised.
Like a song in time of mourning is inopportune talk, but lashes and discipline are at all times wisdom. Teaching a fool is like gluing a broken pot, or like disturbing a man in the depths of sleep; He talks with a slumberer who talks with a fool, for when it is over, he will say, "What was that?"
Weep over the dead man, for his light has gone out; weep over the fool, for sense has left him. Weep but a little over the dead man, for he is at rest; but worse than death is the life of a fool. Seven days of mourning for the dead, but for the wicked fool a whole lifetime.
Sand and salt and an iron mass are easier to bear than a stupid man.
Sirach 22:1-12, 15
A band of criminals is like a bundle of tow; they will end in a flaming fire. The path of sinners is smooth stones that end in the depths of the nether world.
A fool's mind is like a broken jar, no knowledge at all can it hold. A fool raises his voice in laughter, but the prudent man at the most smiles gently.
The fool steps boldly into a house, while the well-bred man remains outside; a boor peeps through the doorway of a house, but a cultured man keeps his glance cast down. It is rude for one to listen at a door; a cultured man would be overwhelmed by the disgrace of it.
The lips of the impious talk of what is not their concern, but the words of the prudent are carefully weighed. Fools' thoughts are in their mouths, wise men's words are in their hearts.
Sirach 21:1-3, 9-10, 14, 20, 22-26
The sluggard is like a stone in the mud; everyone hisses at his disgrace. The sluggard is like a lump of dung; whoever touches him wipes his hands.
An unruly child is a disgrace to its father; if it be a daughter she brings him to poverty. A thoughtful daughter becomes a treasure to her husband; a shameless one is her father's grief. A hussy shames her father and her husband; by both she is despised.
Like a song in time of mourning is inopportune talk, but lashes and discipline are at all times wisdom. Teaching a fool is like gluing a broken pot, or like disturbing a man in the depths of sleep; He talks with a slumberer who talks with a fool, for when it is over, he will say, "What was that?"
Weep over the dead man, for his light has gone out; weep over the fool, for sense has left him. Weep but a little over the dead man, for he is at rest; but worse than death is the life of a fool. Seven days of mourning for the dead, but for the wicked fool a whole lifetime.
Sand and salt and an iron mass are easier to bear than a stupid man.
Sirach 22:1-12, 15