Ben Sira 21:1-9

1 Have you sinned, my son? Do so no more, but pray about your former sins.
2 Flee from sin as from a snake; for if you approach sin, it will bite you. Its teeth are lion's teeth, and destroy the souls of men.
3 All lawlessness is like a two-edged sword; there is no healing for its wound.
4 Terror and violence will lay waste riches; thus the house of the proud will be laid waste.
5 The prayer of a poor man goes from his lips to the ears of God, and his judgment comes speedily.
6 Whoever hates reproof walks in the steps of the sinner, but he that fears the Lord will repent in his heart.
7 He who is mighty in speech is known from afar; but the sensible man, when he slips, is aware of it.
8 A man who builds his house with other people's money is like one who gathers stones for his burial mound.
9 An assembly of the wicked is like tow gathered together, and their end is a flame of fire.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.