Sirach 27
Sin can easily become wedged between buying and selling, and it will ultimately be crushed with the one who sins. A person's true character is revealed through their words and actions, just as a tree's fruit is revealed through pruning. Those who pursue justice will obtain it and be protected by it, while those who work iniquity will be caught by their own sins. The company one keeps can also reveal their character, as birds flock to their own kind and the senseless change like the moon.
Because of need, many have sinned. And whoever seeks to be enriched, averts his eyeLike a post fixed in the middle of adjoining stones, so also will sin become wedged between selling and buyingSin will be crushed with the one who sinsIf you do not hold yourself steadfastly to the fear of the Lord, your house will be quickly overthrownJust as the dust remains when one shakes a sieve, so will the doubt of a man remain in his thoughtsThe furnace tests the potter’s vessels, and the trial of the tribulation tests just menAs the pruning of a tree reveals its fruit, so does a word reveal the thoughts in the heart of a manYou should not praise a man before he speaks; for such is the testing of menIf you pursue justice, you will obtain it. And you will be clothed with justice, as with a long robe of honor. And you will live with justice. And justice will protect you continually. And on the day of reckoning, you will find a strong foundationBirds flock to their own kind. And truth will return to those who practice itThe lion lies in wait for its prey continually. So also do sins lie in wait for those who work iniquityA holy man persists in wisdom like the sun. But a senseless man changes like the moonIn the midst of the senseless, retain a word for the proper time. But be continually in the midst those who are thoughtfulThe discussions of sinners are hateful, and their laughter is a delight in sinThe speech that swears many oaths will cause the hair of the head to stand upright; and its irreverence will cause the ears to be blockedThe shedding of blood is in the quarrels of the arrogant; and their evil talk is grievous to hearWhoever discloses the secret of a friend breaks faith; and he will not find a friend for his soulLove your neighbor, and be united with him faithfullyBut if you disclose his secrets, you should not continue to follow after himFor like a man who destroys his friend, so also is he who destroys the friendship of his neighborAnd like someone releasing a bird from his hand, so have you abandoned your neighbor, and you will not obtain him againYou should no longer seek him, for he is now far away; he has fled like a roe-deer from a snare. For his soul has been woundedYou will no longer be able to bind his wound. For there may be a reconciliation from cursingBut to disclose the secrets of a friend is the hopeless act of an unhappy soulOne who winks with the eye fabricates iniquity, and no one will cast him asideIn the sight of your eyes, he will sweeten his mouth, and he will admire your talk. But at the very end, he will pervert his mouth, and he will offer a scandal from your own wordsI have hated many things, but I have not done as he has done, and the Lord will hate himWhoever throws a stone straight up will find that it falls on his own head. And a deceitful wound will return to wound the deceitfulAnd whoever digs a pit will fall into it. And whoever positions a stone against his neighbor will stumble over it. And whoever lays a trap for another will perish by itWhoever sets in motion a wicked plan will find that it rolls back over him, and he will not know from which direction it will arriveMockery and derision are of the arrogant, and vengeance will lie in wait for them, like a lionWhoever enjoys the fall of the just will perish in a snare, and grief will consume them before they dieAnger and fury are both abominable, and the sinful man will be held by them
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