Ben Sira 19:7-17

7 Recount not unto another that which is told unto thee, and thou shalt fare never the worse.
8 Whether it be to friend or foe, talk not of other men's lives; and if thou canst without offense, reveal them not;
9 for he heard and observed thee, and when time cometh he will hate thee.
10 If thou hast heard a word, let it die with thee; and be bold, it will not burst thee.
11 A fool travaileth with a word, as a woman in labor with a child.
12 As an arrow that sticketh in a man's thigh, so is a word within a fool's belly.
13 Admonish a friend; it may be he hath not done it; and if he have done it, that he do it no more.
14 Admonish thy friend; it may be he hath not said it; and if he have, that he speak it not again.
15 Admonish a friend, for many times it is a slander, and believe not every tale.
16 There is one that slippeth in his speech, but not from his heart; and who is he that hath not offended with his tongue?
17 Admonish thy neighbor before thou threaten him; and not being angry, give place to the law of the Most High.
Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.