The results of evil.  Sir.40.12-17

¹²All bribery and injustice will be blotted out,
but good faith will stand for ever.
¹³The wealth of the unjust will dry up like a torrent,
and crash like a loud clap of thunder in a rain.
¹⁴A generous man will be made glad;
likewise transgressors will utterly fail.
¹⁵The children of the ungodly will not put forth many branches;
they are unhealthy roots upon sheer rock.
¹⁶The reeds by any water or river bank
will be plucked up before any grass.
¹⁷Kindness is like a garden of blessings,
and almsgiving endures for ever.

The joys of human life.  Sir.40.18-27

¹⁸Life is sweet for the self-reliant and the worker,
but he who finds treasure is better off than both.
¹⁹Children and the building of a city establish a man's name,
but a blameless wife is accounted better than both.
²⁰Wine and music gladden the heart,
but the love of wisdom is better than both.
²¹The flute and the harp make pleasant melody,
but a pleasant voice is better than both.
²²The eye desires grace and beauty,
but the green shoots of grain more than both.
²³A friend or a companion never meets one amiss,
but a wife with her husband is better than both.
²⁴Brothers and help are for a time of trouble,
but almsgiving rescues better than both.
²⁵Gold and silver make the foot stand sure,
but good counsel is esteemed more than both.
²⁶Riches and strength lift up the heart,
but the fear of the Lord is better than both.
There is no loss in the fear of the Lord,
and with it there is no need to seek for help.
²⁷The fear of the Lord is like a garden of blessing,
and covers a man better than any glory.

Begging.  Sir.40.28-30

²⁸My son, do not lead the life of a beggar;
it is better to die than to beg.
²⁹When a man looks to the table of another,
his existence cannot be considered as life.
He pollutes himself with another man's food,
but a man who is intelligent and well instructed guards against that.
³⁰In the mouth of the shameless begging is sweet,
but in his stomach a fire is kindled.