1 There is a bad time to rebuke someone. Those who keep silent are the prudent ones. 2 How much better to investigate than to be angry! 3 And those who confess openly will be kept from loss. 4 Like eunuchs desiring to violate a girl, so are those who make decisions by force. 5 There are people who are silent and are found to be wise, and there are those who are hated because they talk a lot. 6 There are those who keep silent because they have nothing to say in response, and there are those who keep silent because they know the right time.7 Wise people keep silent until the proper moment, but those who swagger and are senseless will miss the right moment. 8 Those who talk excessively will be loathed, and those who pretend to have authority will be hated. Sirach 20:1-8