Old Testament

New Testament

Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 27:19-24 Good News Bible Anglicised (GNBDC)

19. Your friend is gone. You can no more get him back than you can get a bird to come back to your hand once you let it go.

20. Don't bother going after him. It's too late. He is gone, like a deer escaped from a trap.

21. Wounds can be bandaged and insults can be forgiven, but if you betray a confidence, it is hopeless.

22. When someone starts winking at you, he has something bad in mind, and nothing can stop him from going through with it.

23. When he's with you, his talk is so nice! He compliments you on every word you say. But behind your back it's a different story; he will take what you have said and turn it against you.

24. There is nothing in the world that I hate as much as a person like that — and the Lord hates him too.

Read complete chapter Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 27