Sirach 16:4

4 A city will be populated through one intelligent person, but a tribe of lawless people can transform it into a desert.

Sirach 16:4 In-Context

2 If they have children, don't rejoice over them unless they respect the Lord.

3 Don't be confident that they will live, and don't rely on their great number. One is better than a thousand, and it's better to die childless than to have ungodly children.

4 A city will be populated through one intelligent person, but a tribe of lawless people can transform it into a desert.

5 My eye has seen many such things, and my ear has heard more extraordinary matters than these.

6 A fire will be kindled in an assembly of sinners, and wrath will flash forth in a disobedient nation.