Sirach 37:12-22

12 Consult instead with a godly person whom you know keeps the commandments, who thinks the same way you do and will empathize with you if you fail.

13 Listen carefully to what your own heart tells you, since nothing is more faithful to you than it.

14 At times a person's intuition keeps them informed better than seven sentries sitting high up on a lookout.

15 But above everything else, pray to the Most High, so that he may make your path straight in truth.

Speech and moderation

16 Speech is the beginning of every deed, and planning comes before every action.

17 The key to change is the heart;

18 it poses four possibilities: good and evil, life and death, and their continual master is the tongue.

19 Some people instruct many, but they are useless to themselves.

20 Some skilled speakers are hated; they will be deprived of any luxuries.

21 The Lord hasn't granted them any refinement, because they are deprived of any wisdom.

22 Some people are wise to their own benefit, and the fruits of their understanding are evident to all.

Footnotes

• [a] LXX persevere