Ben Sira 27:4-7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
4 When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear;
so do people’s faults when they speak.[a]
5 The furnace tests the potter’s vessels;
the test of a person is in conversation.(A)
6 The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had;
so speech discloses the bent of a person’s heart.(B)
7 Praise no one before he speaks,
for it is then that people are tested.
Footnotes
- 27:4–7, 11–15 The importance of effective speech is a favorite wisdom topic; e.g., cf. 20:1–8, 18–20; 22:27–23:15.
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