Sirach 20:1-8

On speech

1 There is a bad time to rebuke someone. Those who keep silent are the prudent ones.
2 How much better to investigate than to be angry!
3 And those who confess openly will be kept from loss.
4 Like eunuchs desiring to violate a girl, so are those who make decisions by force.
5 There are people who are silent and are found to be wise, and there are those who are hated because they talk a lot.
6 There are those who keep silent because they have nothing to say in response, and there are those who keep silent because they know the right time.
7 Wise people keep silent until the proper moment, but those who swagger and are senseless will miss the right moment.
8 Those who talk excessively will be loathed, and those who pretend to have authority will be hated. in bad circumstances, and there's a windfall that results in loss.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. LXXb How good it is when someone who is reproved shows a changed heart and mind! In this way, you will escape sinning voluntarily.
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