Old Testament

New Testament

Sirach 13:9-17 Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV)

9. Humble yourself before God, and wait for his hands.

10. Be careful. Otherwise, having been seduced into foolishness, you will be humiliated.

11. Do not choose to be low in your wisdom, otherwise, having been brought low, you will be seduced into foolishness.

12. If you are invited by someone who is more powerful than you, you should decline. Otherwise, he will invite you all the more.

13. You cannot be rude to him, lest you be pushed away. And you cannot stray far from him, lest you be forgotten.

14. You cannot hold a discussion with him as with an equal. You should not trust his many words. For by much talking, he will probe you, and while smiling, he will question you about your secrets.

15. His cruel mind will store up your words; and he will not spare you from affliction, nor from prison.

16. Be cautious of yourself, and attend diligently to what you are hearing. For you are walking toward your own destruction.

17. Yet truly, while listening to these things, consider it as if it were a dream, and you will awaken.

Read complete chapter Sirach 13