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Stay Away From Evil Friends

Apocrypha & Pseudepigrapha Alphabet of Ben Sira, Letter Peh

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published March 15, 2026

<p>"Control your face around evil friends. Do not walk on the road with them. Hold your feet back around them, lest you be caught in their trap."</p>

<p>This proverb, corresponding to the letter Peh (פ) in the Alphabet of Ben Sira, is about the danger of bad company. And unlike some of the text's more outrageous claims, this one sounds like advice your grandmother might give you.</p>

<p>The metaphor is physical and vivid. Control your face -- meaning, don't let your expression reveal warmth or friendship toward people who are dangerous. Don't walk with them on the road, because roads in the ancient world were where bandits operated and deals were struck. And hold your feet back, because bad companions are compared to trappers -- the kind who set snares for animals.</p>

<p>The Alphabet of Ben Sira, written between 700 and 1000 CE, organizes its wisdom by Hebrew letter. Each letter prompts a new proverb, and the child prodigy Ben Sira rattles them off to his increasingly astonished teacher. This particular lesson echoes (Psalm 1:1), which blesses the person who doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners. Ben Sira takes that biblical principle and makes it street-level practical. Don't just avoid evil in the abstract. Avoid evil people. Physically. Walk the other way.</p>

<p>It's the kind of advice that sounds obvious until you realize how hard it is to follow.</p>

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