Sirach 13

1Whoever touches pitch will have his hand stick to it, and whoever associates with a scoffer will learn his way.

2Do not carry what is heavier than you, and do not associate with one richer than you.

3If a rich man does wrong, he acts arrogantly; but if a poor man does wrong, he himself pleads for mercy.

4If you are useful to him, he will make use of you; and if you bow down, he will not spare you.

5If you have something, he will speak kindly with you, and he will strip you bare without feeling pain.

6He has need of you, and he will deceive you; he will smile at you and reassure you.

7As long as you are useful, he will make sport of you; two or three times he will flatter you. Then he will look at you as if to pass beyond you, and he will shake his head at you.

8Be careful not to be too bold, and do not make yourself like those who lack understanding.

9When a noble draws near, keep your distance, and then he will bring you nearer still.

10Do not draw near, lest you be pushed away; and do not stay far off, lest you be hated.

11Do not trust his ease with you, and do not believe his many words; for with much talk he is testing you, and while laughing with you he is probing you.

12A cruel man will give a stumbling block and will not spare; against the life of many he plots a plot.

13Be on guard and be very careful, and do not walk with violent men.

14All flesh loves its own kind, and every person the one like himself.

15Every kind of flesh keeps to its own kind, and a man is joined to his own kind.

16What fellowship has a wolf with a lamb? So a wicked man with a righteous man, and likewise a rich man with a man brought low.

17What peace can there be between a hyena and a dog? What peace can there be between a rich man and a poor man?

18The wild beasts of the wilderness are food for the lion; so the poor are the pasture of the rich.

19Humility is abhorrent to pride, and the poor are abhorrent to the rich.

20When a rich man stumbles, he is supported by a friend; but when a poor man stumbles, he is driven away from friend to friend.

21A rich man speaks, and many are his supporters; even his ugly words are made beautiful.

22A poor man totters; he speaks, and they cry, “Away, away!”; but an intelligent man speaks, and there is no place for him.

23When a rich man speaks, everyone falls silent, and they lift up his sense to the clouds.

24When a poor man speaks, they say, “Who is this?” and if he stumbles, they push him down all the more.

25Wealth is good if there is no iniquity, and poverty is bad according to the mouth of arrogance.

26A man's heart changes his face, whether for good or for bad.