Sirach 21:1-10

On sin

1 My child, if you have sinned, don't do it any longer, and pray concerning your previous sins.
2 Run away from sin like you would from a snake: If you go near it, it will bite you. Its teeth are lion's teeth, destroying a person's life.
3 All lawlessness is a two-edged sword, and there's no healing for its wound.
4 Alarm and insolence will strip away wealth; thus will an arrogant person's house be uprooted.
5 The petition of the poor goes from their mouth to God's ears, and his judgment comes quickly.
6 Anyone who hates reproof walks in the footsteps of a sinner, and those who fear the Lord will turn back to him from the heart.
7 Those who are powerful in speech are widely known, but those who are thoughtful know when they slip.
8 Those who build their houses with another person's money are like those who gather stones for their own burial mound.
9 A gathering of lawless people is the same as bundled flax; their end is a flaming fire.
10 The path of sinners is made level with stones, but its end is the pit of hell.

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