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1 There is a reproof that is not comely: again, some man holdeth his tongue, and he is wise. 2 It is much better to reprove, than to be angry secretly: and he that confesseth his fault shall be preserved from hurt. 3 How good is it, when thou art reproved, to shew repentance! for so shalt thou escape wilful sin. 4 As is the lust of an eunuch to deflower a virgin; so is he that executeth judgment with violence. 5 There is one that keepeth silence, and is found wise: and another by much babbling becometh hateful. 6 Some man holdeth his tongue, because he hath not to answer: and some keepeth silence, knowing his time. 7 A wise man will hold his tongue till he see opportunity: but a babbler and a fool will regard no time. 8 He that useth many words shall be abhorred; and he that taketh to himself authority therein shall be hated. 9 There is a sinner that hath good success in evil things; and there is a gain that turneth to loss. 10 There is a gift that shall not profit thee; and there is a gift whose recompence is double. 11 There is an abasement because of glory; and there is that lifteth up his head from a low estate. 12 There is that buyeth much for a little, and repayeth it sevenfold. 13 A wise man by his words maketh him beloved: but the graces of fools shall be poured out. 14 The gift of a fool shall do thee no good when thou hast it; neither yet of the envious for his necessity: for he looketh to receive many things for one. 15 He giveth little, and upbraideth much; he openeth his mouth like a crier; to day he lendeth, and to morrow will he ask it again: such an one is to be hated of God and man. 16 The fool saith, I have no friends, I have no thank for all my good deeds, and they that eat my bread speak evil of me. 17 How oft, and of how many shall he be laughed to scorn! for he knoweth not aright what it is to have; and it is all one unto him as if he had it not. 18 To slip upon a pavement is better than to slip with the tongue: so the fall of the wicked shall come speedily. 19 An unseasonable tale will always be in the mouth of the unwise. 20 A wise sentence shall be rejected when it cometh out of a fool's mouth; for he will not speak it in due season. 21 There is that is hindered from sinning through want: and when he taketh rest, he shall not be troubled. 22 There is that destroyeth his own soul through bashfulness, and by accepting of persons overthroweth himself. 23 There is that for bashfulness promiseth to his friend, and maketh him his enemy for nothing. 24 A lie is a foul blot in a man, yet it is continually in the mouth of the untaught. 25 A thief is better than a man that is accustomed to lie: but they both shall have destruction to heritage. 26 The disposition of a liar is dishonourable, and his shame is ever with him. 27 A wise man shall promote himself to honour with his words: and he that hath understanding will please great men. 28 He that tilleth his land shall increase his heap: and he that pleaseth great men shall get pardon for iniquity. 29 Presents and gifts blind the eyes of the wise, and stop up his mouth that he cannot reprove. 30 Wisdom that is hid, and treasure that is hoarded up, what profit is in them both? 31 Better is he that hideth his folly than a man that hideth his wisdom. 32 Necessary patience in seeking ing the Lord is better than he that leadeth his life without a guide.
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[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Sirach 20:7
Those who notice what is evil in their neighbors, and yet refrain their tongue in silence, withdraw, as it were, the aid of medicine from observed sores and become the cause of death because they would not cure the venom that they could have cured. The tongue, therefore, should be discreetly curbed, not tied up fast. For it is written, “A wise person will hold his tongue until the opportune time.” He will do this in order that when he considers it opportune, he can with assurance relinquish the censorship of silence and apply himself to the helpful service by speaking such things as are appropriate. And again it is written, “There is a time to keep silence and a time to speak.” For, indeed, the appropriate time for each should be discreetly weighed just in case, on the one hand, when the tongue should be restrained it is allowed to run loose to no profit in what is said, or, on the other hand, when it could say something profitably, it shirks its duty and restrains itself. The psalmist spoke of this well when he said, “Set a watch, O Lord, on my mouth, and guard the door of my lips.” For he is not looking for a wall to set about his lips but a door—in other words, something that can be opened or shut. This is something we need to learn with discretion so that we use our voice in a discreet and fitting time to open the mouth, and at the appropriate time also let silence close it. But those who spend time in much speaking are to be admonished that they vigilantly note from what a state of being in the right they fall away when they flow forth in a multitude of words. For the human mind is just like water, which, when closed in is collected to higher levels because it seeks again the height from which it descended. By the same token, when that water is let loose, it falls away in that it disperses itself unprofitably through the lowest places.

Source: PASTORAL RULE 3:14
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Sirach 20:14
The gift of a fool is useless, since the doctrine of heretics benefits no one. “It is as though he had seven eyes,” because the intentions of his will are contaminated by various perversities, always ready to do harm. The number seven, which is identified with perfection by the divine charisms that the prophet Isaiah lists as gifts of the Holy Spirit, can, conversely, sometimes indicate the fullness of wickedness, as in that Gospel passage where the Savior tells about the unclean spirit that for a time abandons a person. “When the unclean spirit leaves the person, it roams through arid places in search of repose, and, finding none, it says, ‘I will return to my house where I left.’ Returning, he finds it swept and clean. Then he goes and brings with him seven other spirits worse than himself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first.”

Source: ON ECCLESIASTICUS 4:13
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Sirach 20:18
A person once said, indicating how easily one falls because of the tongue, “Many fall by the sword, but not as many as by the tongue.” And revealing the seriousness of such a fall, the same person again said, “A slip on the pavement is preferable to a fall caused by the tongue.” And not only does he speak of falls, but also he urges great vigilance against being made to fall when he says, “Make gates and bars for your mouth,” not that we would set actual gates and bars but that with great caution we would close our mouths before what is unbecoming.

Source: BAPTISMAL INSTRUCTIONS 1:17
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Sirach 20:25
The text was not written to justify the thief as though he were not guilty, but by using the comparison it indicates that the habit of lying is worse. As is said in the prophet Ezekiel, the fornication of Jerusalem is worse if compared with that of Samaria, though both merit condemnation. And in the Gospel, according to the word of the Lord, the sin of Sodom will be judged with more forbearance than that of Judea. In a mysterious way the thieves could indicate the Jews, of whom Paul says, “You who preach against stealing, steal,” and the lying heretics, whose crime is more intolerable than that of the Jews, since after receiving the grace of baptism and putting on the garments of Christ, they have returned to apostasy, offending the grace of the Spirit—but both crimes will be met with eternal perdition if repentance does not intervene.

Source: ON ECCLESIASTICUS 4:14
[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Sirach 20:30
Differently to be admonished are those who, though able to preach worthily, are afraid by reason of excessive humility and those whom imperfection or age forbids to preach and yet precipitancy impels. For those who, though able to preach with profit, still shrink back through excessive humility are to be admonished to gather from consideration of a lesser matter how faulty they are in a greater one. For, if they were to hide from their indigent neighbors money that they possessed themselves, they would undoubtedly show themselves to be promoters of their calamity. Let them perceive, then, in what guilt those are implicated who, in withholding the word of preaching from their sinning brethren, hide away the remedies of life from dying souls. Concerning this, a certain wise man also well says, “Wisdom that is hid and treasure that is unseen—what profit is in them both?” If a famine were wasting away the people, and they themselves kept hidden corn, undoubtedly they would be the authors of death. Let them consider therefore with what punishment they must be visited who, when souls are perishing from famine of the Word, do not supply the bread of grace that they have themselves received. Solomon also had something good to say about this: “He who hides corn shall be cursed among the people.” For to hide corn is to retain for one’s self the words of sacred preaching. And everyone who does so is cursed among the people, because through his fault of silence only he is condemned in the punishment of the many whom he might have corrected.

Source: PASTORAL RULE 3:25