Sirach 29:18-20

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹⁸ Being surety has ruined many who were prosperous
    and has tossed them about like waves of the sea;
it has driven the influential into exile,
    and they have wandered among foreign nations.^(A)
19 The sinner comes to grief through surety;
    his pursuit of gain involves him in lawsuits.
²⁰ Assist your neighbor to the best of your ability,
    but be careful not to fall yourself.