Ben Sira 19:11-16 New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE)

11. Having heard something, the fool goes into labor,like a woman giving birth to a child.

12. Like an arrow stuck in a fool’s thigh,so is gossip in the belly of a fool.

13. Admonish your friend—he may not have done it;and if he did, that he may not do it again.

14. Admonish your neighbor—he may not have said it;and if he did, that he may not say it again.

15. Admonish your friend—often it may be slander;do not believe every story.

16. Then, too, a person can slip and not mean it;who has not sinned with his tongue?

Ben Sira 19