The Book of Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus)
Chapter 5
1 – Set not thy heart upon unjust possessions, and say not: I have enough to live on: for it shall be of no service in the time of vengeance and darkness.
2 – Follow not in thy strength the desires of thy heart:
3 – And say not: How mighty am I? and who shall bring me under for my deeds? for God will surely take revenge.
4 – Say not: I have sinned, and whet harm hath befallen me? for the most High is a patient rewarder.
5 – Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin:
6 – And say not: The mercy of the Lord is great, he will have mercy on the multitude of my sins.
7 – For mercy and wrath quickly come from him, and his wrath looketh upon sinners.
8 – Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day.
9 – For his wrath shall come on a sudden, and in the time of vengeance he will destroy thee.
10 – Be not anxious for goods unjustly gotten: for they shall not profit thee in the day of calamity and revenge.
11 – Winnow not with every wind, and go not into every way: for so is every sinner proved by a double tongue.
12 – Be steadfast in the way of the Lord, and in the truth of thy judgment, and in knowledge, and let the word of peace and justice keep with thee.
13 – Be meek to hear the word, that thou mayst understand: and return a true answer with wisdom.
14 – If thou have understanding, answer thy neighbour: but if not, let thy hand be upon thy mouth, lest thou be surprised in an unskilful word, and be confounded.
15 – Honour and glory is in the word of the wise, but the tongue of the fool is his ruin.
16 – Be not called a whisperer, and be not taken in thy tongue, and confounded.
17 – For confusion and repentance is upon a thief, and an evil mark of disgrace upon the double tongued, but to the whisperer hatred, and enmity, and reproach.
18 – Justify alike the small and the great.
The Catholic Bible Online. Scriptures are from The Douay Rheims Catholic Bible 1582-1610 a.d. Version In the Public Domain. The Douay Rheims Bible is a translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English undertaken by members of the English College, Douai in the service of the Catholic Church.