Sirach 13 He that touchith pitch, schal be defoulid of it; and he that comyneth with a proude man, schal clothe pride.

Wycliffe⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ He that touchith pitch, schal be defoulid of it; and he that comyneth with a proude man, schal clothe pride. ² He reisith a weiyte on hym silf, that comyneth with a more onest man than hym silf; and be thou not felowe to a man richere than thou. ³ What schal a cawdroun comyne to a pot? for whanne tho hirtlen hem silf togidere, the pot schal be brokun. ⁴ A riche man schal do vniustli, and schal gnaste; but a pore man hirt schal be stille. ⁵ If thou yyuest, he schal take thee; and if thou hast not, he schal forsake thee. ⁶ If thou hast, he schal lyue togidere with thee, and schal make thee voide; and he schal not haue sorewe on thee. ⁷ If thou art nedeful to hym, he schal disseyue thee; and he schal flatere, and schal yyue hope, tellinge to thee alle goodis; and schal seie, What is nede to thee? ⁸ And he schal schende thee in hise metis, til he anyntische thee twies and thries, and at the laste he schal scorne thee; aftirward he schal se, and schal forsake thee, and he schal moue his heed to thee. ⁹ Be thou maad meke to God, and abide thou hise hondis. ¹⁰ Take heede, lest thou be disseyued, and be maad lowe in foli. ¹¹ Nyle thou be lowe in thi wisdom, lest thou be maad low, and be disseyued in to foli. ¹² Whanne thou art clepid of a miytiere man, go thou awei; for bi this he schal more clepe thee. ¹³ Be thou not greetli pressyng, lest thou be hurtlid doun; and be thou not fer fro hym, lest thou go in to foryetyng. ¹⁴ Witholde thou not to speke with hym euenli, and bileue thou not to hise many wordis; for of myche speche he schal tempte thee, and he schal leiye priuyli, and schal axe thee of thin hid thingis. ¹⁵ His cruel soule schal kepe thi wordis, and he schal not spare of malice, and of bondis. ¹⁶ Be war to thee, and take heede diligentli to thin heryng; for thou goist with thi distriyng. ¹⁷ But thou heringe tho thingis, se as in sleep, and thou schalt wake. ¹⁸ In al thi lijf loue thou God, and inwardli clepe thou him in thin heelthe. ¹⁹ Ech beeste loueth a beeste lijk it silf; so and ech man owith to loue his neiybore. ²⁰ Ech fleisch schal be ioyned to fleisch lijk it silf, and ech man schal be felouschipid to a man lijk hym silf. ²¹ As a wulf schal comyne sum tyme with a lomb, so a synnere with a iust man. ²² What comininge is of an hooli man to a dogge? ethir what good part is of a riche man to a pore man? ²³ The huntyng of a lioun is a wielde asse in desert; so the lesewis of riche men ben pore men. ²⁴ And as mekenesse is abhomynacioun to a proude man, so and a pore man is abhomynacioun of a riche man. ²⁵ A riche man moued is confermed of hise frendis; but a meke man, whanne he fallith, schal be cast out, yhe, of knowun men. ²⁶ Many rekyuereris ben to a riche man disseyued; he spak proudli, and thei iustifieden hym. ²⁷ A meke man is disseiued, ferthermore also he is repreuyd; he spak wiseli, and no place was youun to hym. ²⁸ The riche man spak, and alle men weren stille; and thei schulen brynge his word til to the cloudis. ²⁹ A pore man spak, and thei seien, Who is this? and if he offendith, thei schulen destrye hym. ³⁰ Catel is good to hym, to whom is no synne in conscience; and `the worste pouert is in the mouth of a wickid man. ³¹ The herte of a man chaungith his face, ethir in good ethir in yuel. ³² Of hard and with trauel thou schalt fynde the step of a good herte, and a good face.