Read & explore together
Do not let a rumor demand release
Sirach 19:4–12, from the Catholic additional books, warns against quick trust, delight in wrong, and especially repeating what we hear. This wisdom passage teaches careful speech, showing that gossip harms both the speaker and relationships.
Understanding the passage
Listening in context
In this part of Sirach from the Catholic additional books, the teaching moves through short sayings about trust, wickedness, gossip, secrecy, hatred, and self-control. The passage stays in wisdom instruction, using vivid comparisons to show what loose speech does and why restraint is wiser in dealing with what one hears.
Sirach 19:4–12Main takeaway
This passage teaches that wise people do not rush to believe or spread rumours, but exercise self-control with what they hear.
Look closely at the words
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01Quick trust and delight in wrongThe passage begins by warning that a person who is quick to trust is “shallow-hearted”. That suggests a lack of depth or careful judgement.
Explanation
The passage begins by warning that a person who is quick to trust is “shallow-hearted”. That suggests a lack of depth or careful judgement. It also links wrongdoing with harm to one’s own soul, then adds that rejoicing in wickedness leads to condemnation. Speech problems are therefore part of a larger moral issue, not a small habit.
02Hating gossip and refusing to repeat itSirach next praises the person who hates gossip, saying such a person has less wickedness.
Explanation
Sirach next praises the person who hates gossip, saying such a person has less wickedness. The instruction then becomes very direct: never repeat what you are told. The point is practical as well as moral. Passing things on does not help you, and the text says you will not lose anything by keeping silent.
03Do not reveal what you hearThe warning applies whether the matter concerns a friend or an enemy. The passage says not to tell it and not to reveal it, unless silence itself would be sinful.
Explanation
The warning applies whether the matter concerns a friend or an enemy. The passage says not to tell it and not to reveal it, unless silence itself would be sinful. It then gives a consequence: the person who hears and notices your behaviour may later hate you. Gossip damages trust between people.
04Let the word die with youThe teacher urges courage and restraint: if you hear something, let it die with you. The phrase “be brave” shows that silence can take strength.
Explanation
The teacher urges courage and restraint: if you hear something, let it die with you. The phrase “be brave” shows that silence can take strength. A fool, by contrast, feels pressure to let the word out. Two comparisons picture this inner strain and the damage gossip causes when lodged within a foolish person.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01According to this passage, what is wrong with being hasty to trust?
Look at the description in Sirach 19:4 and connect it with the later warnings about gossip and careless speech.
02Who does Sirach say should be protected from repeated talk: friends, enemies, or both?
Read Sirach 19:8 carefully and notice how wide the instruction is.
03What pictures does Sirach use to describe the pressure and pain of gossip in a fool?
Identify the two comparisons at the end of the passage and consider what each image shows.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Sirach 19:4–12
4He who is hasty to trust is shallow-hearted. He who sins offends against his own soul.
5He who rejoices in wickedness will be condemned.
6He who hates gossip has less wickedness.
7Never repeat what is told you, and you won’t lose anything.
8Whether it is of friend or foe, don’t tell it. Unless it is a sin to you, don’t reveal it.
9For if he has heard you and observed you, when the time comes, he will hate you.
10Have you heard something? Let it die with you. Be brave: it will not make you burst!
11A fool will travail in pain with a word, as a woman in labor with a child.
12As an arrow that sticks in the flesh of the thigh, so is gossip in a fool.