Sir 21:1-10

1My child, if you have sinned, do so no more,

and for your past sins pray to be forgiven.

2Flee from sin as from a serpent

that will bite you if you go near it;

Its teeth, lion’s teeth,

destroying human lives.

3All lawlessness is like a two-edged sword;

when it cuts, there is no healing.^a

4Panic and pride wipe out wealth;

so too the house of the proud is uprooted.

5Prayer from the lips of the poor is heard at once,

and justice is quickly granted them.

6Whoever hates correction walks the sinner’s path,^b

but whoever fears the Lord repents in his heart.

7Glib speakers are widely known,

but when they slip the sensible perceive it.

8Those who build their houses with someone else’s money

are like those who collect stones for their funeral mounds.

9A band of criminals is like a bundle of tow;

they will end in a flaming fire.^c

10The path of sinners is smooth stones,

but its end is the pit of Sheol.^*