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Against Loose Talk

⁴ One who trusts others too quickly has a shallow mind,
   and one who sins does wrong to himself.
⁵ One who rejoices in wickedness^* will be condemned,^*
6   but one who hates gossip has less evil.
⁷ Never repeat a conversation,
   and you will lose nothing at all.
⁸ With friend or foe do not report it,
   and unless it would be a sin for you, do not reveal it;
⁹ for someone may have heard you and watched you,
   and in time will hate you.
¹⁰ Have you heard something? Let it die with you.
   Be brave, it will not make you burst!
¹¹ Having heard something, the fool suffers birth-pangs
   like a woman in labour with a child.
¹² Like an arrow stuck in a person’s thigh,
   so is gossip inside a fool.

¹³ Question a friend; perhaps he did not do it;
   or if he did, so that he may not do it again.
¹⁴ Question a neighbour; perhaps he did not say it;
   or if he said it, so that he may not repeat it.
¹⁵ Question a friend, for often it is slander;
   so do not believe everything you hear.
¹⁶ A person may make a slip without intending it.
   Who has not sinned with his tongue?
¹⁷ Question your neighbour before you threaten him;
   and let the law of the Most High take its course.^*