Sirach 12

Sirach 12

¹If you do good, know to whom you do it,[#Mt 7.6]

and you will be thanked for your good deeds.

²Do good to the devout, and you will be repaid—[#Mt 10.41; Lk 6.35]

if not by them, certainly by the Most High.

³No good comes to one who persists in evil[#Tob 4.7]

or to one who does not give alms.

⁴Give to the devout, but do not help the sinner.[#Tob 4.17; Mt 5.43–48]

⁵Do good to the humble, but do not give to the ungodly;

hold back their bread, and do not give it to them,

for by means of it they might subdue you;

then you will receive twice as much evil

for all the good you have done to them.

⁶For the Most High also hates sinners[#Ps 11.5, 6]

and will inflict punishment on the ungodly.

⁷Give to the one who is good, but do not help the sinner.

⁸A friend is not known in prosperity,[#Sir 6.7; #12.8 Other ancient authorities read punished]

nor is an enemy hidden in adversity.

⁹One’s enemies are friendly when one prospers,[#Prov 19.4, 7; #12.9 Heb: Gk grieved]

but in adversity even one’s friend disappears.

¹⁰Never trust your enemy,

for like corrosion in copper, so is his wickedness.

¹¹Even if he humbles himself and walks bowed down,[#Ps 10.10; Sir 19.26]

take care to be on your guard against him.

Be to him like one who polishes a mirror,

to be sure it does not become completely tarnished.

¹²Do not put him next to you,

or he may overthrow you and take your place.

Do not let him sit at your right hand,

or else he may try to take your own seat,

and at last you will acknowledge my words

and be stung by what I have said.

¹³Who pities a snake charmer when he is bitten[#Ps 58.5; Eccl 10.11; Jer 8.17]

or all those who go near wild animals?

¹⁴So no one pities people who associate with sinners[#Sir 21.2]

and become involved in their sins.

¹⁵They stand by you for a while,

but if you falter, they will not be there.

¹⁶Enemies speak sweetly with their lips,[#Ps 28.3; 55.21; Prov 26.24, 25; Jer 41.6, 7]

but in their hearts they plan to throw you into a pit;

enemies may have tears in their eyes,

but if they find an opportunity they will never have enough of your blood.

¹⁷If evil comes upon you, you will find them there ahead of you;[#Ps 41.9]

pretending to help, they will trip you up.

¹⁸Then they will shake their heads and clap their hands[#Sir 13.7, 25]

and whisper much and show their true faces.