Sirach 22

¹Lazy people

are like stones

that everyone spits on,

²or a pile of manure

that you have to walk around.

If you touch them,

you want to wash your hands.

Children's Behavior

³A father is ashamed if his son

isn't well behaved,

and a disobedient daughter

is even worse.

⁴If a daughter is sensible

she will get a good husband,

but a shameless girl

only brings her father pain.

⁵If a woman insults her father

and her husband,

they will be disgraced

and in return

will humiliate her.

⁶Picking the wrong time

to criticize your children

is like playing happy music

at a funeral,

but punishment and correction

are always wise.

⁷Bring up your children well

and no one will guess

you were poor as a child.

⁸But rude and arrogant children

are a disgrace

to a good family.

Trying To Teach Fools

⁹Just try to wake someone

from deep sleep,

to fix shattered pottery,

or to teach fools!

¹⁰Tell them a story,

and they will doze off;

and afterwards, they will ask,

“So what's your point?”

¹¹Mourn for the dead,

who rest in darkness,

but weep even more for fools,

doomed to live

in the darkness of stupidity.

¹²After a death,[#Gn 50.10; Jdt 16.23,24.]

you mourn seven days,

but you mourn for ungodly fools

until the day they die.

¹³To avoid lots of problems

and have a peaceful life,

stay away from stupid people

and do not talk to them.

When a wet dog shakes itself,

water flies everywhere,

but humans who have no sense

splatter everyone nearby

with troubles.

¹⁴A fool is a heavier burden

than a load of lead,

¹⁵or a bag of sand or salt,

or a lump of iron ore.

A Mind That Thinks and Reasons Well

¹⁶An earthquake cannot loosen

a wooden beam set firmly

in the walls of a building,

and no crisis can shake you up

if you have prepared your mind

and decided what you must do.

¹⁷A mind that thinks

and reasons well

is like a smooth wall

decorated with carvings.

¹⁸But foolish cowards

will not stand firm

when fearsome disaster hits,

just as small rocks are blown

from the top of a vineyard wall

by the wind.

Friends and Neighbors

¹⁹Poke someone in the eye

and they will shed tears;

but wound their heart

and they will show deep pain.

²⁰You can throw stones

to frighten birds away,

and you can end a friendship

by tossing insults.

²¹Threaten a friend with a sword,

and you can still hope

the friendship will heal.

²²And you can argue with friends

and later, win them back.

But if you are arrogant

and insult them,

if you tell their secrets

or harm them

when they trusted you,

they will be gone for good.

²³Earn the trust of your neighbors

when they are poor,

and if they become wealthy

you can celebrate with them.

Be a true friend

when they have troubles,

and later they will share

their inheritance with you.

²⁴When you smell smoke

you will soon see flames,

and when you hear insults,

you will soon see murder.

²⁵I will never be ashamed

to protect my friends,

and I will always be there

when I am needed.

²⁶But if they turn and harm me,

all who find out

will be on their guard

against them.

A Prayer

²⁷Our Lord, help me to be careful

in everything I say,

so that my mouth

will not be my downfall.