Sirach 20

1There is a rebuke that is not timely, and there is one who keeps silent and is himself wise.

2How good it is to reprove rather than to become angry, and the one who confesses will be kept from loss.

3Like a eunuch’s desire to deflower a young woman, so is one who executes judgments by force.

4There is one who keeps silent and is found wise, and there is one who is hated because of much talk.

5There is one who keeps silent and is considered wise, and there is one who is despised because of much talk.

6There is one who keeps silent because there is no answer, and there is one who keeps silent because he sees the right time.

7A wise man keeps silent until the right time, but a fool does not observe the right time.

8There is success for a man in evil things, and there is a gain that leads to loss.

9There is a gift that will not profit you, and there is a gift whose repayment is double.

10There is a humiliation for the sake of glory, and there is one who from humiliation has lifted up his head.

11There is one who buys much for little, and repays it sevenfold.

12A wise man will make himself beloved by his words, but the favors of fools will be poured out.

13A wise man speaks little for himself, but the goodness of fools pours out wisdom.

14He gives little and heaps on many reproaches, and he opens his mouth like a herald.

15Today he lends, and tomorrow he demands it back; such a man is hateful.

16A fool will say, “I have no friend, and there is no gratitude for my good deeds.”

17Those who eat my bread are evil of tongue; how often, and how many, will laugh at him?

18A slip is better from the ground than from the tongue; so the downfall of the wicked will come in haste.

19An ungracious person is an untimely saying; in the mouth of the undisciplined it will be repeated continually.

20A proverb will be rejected from the mouth of a fool, for he will certainly not speak it at its proper time.

21There is one who is prevented from sinning by poverty, and in his rest he will feel no remorse.

22There is one who destroys his own life through shame, and because of a foolish face he will lose it.

23There is one who promises a favor out of shame to a friend, and so acquires him as an enemy for nothing.

24A lie is a shameful blemish in a person; in the mouth of the undisciplined it will be continually present.

25A thief is preferable to one who persists in lying; yet both will inherit destruction.

26The character of a lying man is dishonor, and his shame is continually with him.

27A wise man will advance himself by his words, and a prudent man will please great men.

28The one who works the land will raise up his grain heap, and the one who pleases great men will atone for injustice.

29Hospitality and gifts blind the eyes of the wise, and like a muzzle on the mouth they turn away rebukes.

30Hidden wisdom and an unseen treasure—what benefit is there in either of them?

31Better is a man who hides his foolishness than a man who hides his wisdom.