Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 3
Duties to Parents
1Children, listen to me; I am your father. Do what I tell you and you will be safe, 2for the Lord has given fathers authority over their children and given children the obligation to obey their mothers. 3If you respect your father, you can make up for your sins, 4and if you honour your mother, you are earning great wealth. 5If you respect your father, one day your own children will make you happy; the Lord will hear your prayers. 6If you obey the Lord by honouring your father and making your mother happy, you will live a long life. 7Obey your parents as if you were their slave. 8Honour your father in everything you do and say, so that you may receive his blessing. 9When parents give their blessing, they give strength to their children's homes, but when they curse their children, they destroy the very foundations.
10Never seek honour for yourself at your father's expense; it is not to your credit if he is dishonoured. 11Your own honour comes from the respect that you show to your father. If children do not honour their mothers, it is their own disgrace. 12My child, take care of your father when he grows old; give him no cause for worry as long as he lives. 13Be sympathetic even if his mind fails him; don't look down on him just because you are strong and healthy. 14The Lord will not forget the kindness you show to your father; it will help you to make up for your sins. 15When you are in trouble, the Lord will remember your kindness and will help you; your sins will melt away like frost in warm sunshine. 16Those who abandon their parents or give them cause for anger may as well be cursing the Lord; they are already under the Lord's curse.
Humility
17My child, be humble in everything you do, and people will appreciate it more than gifts. 18The greater you become, the more humble you should be; then the Lord will be pleased with you. 20The Lord's power is great, and he is honoured by those who are humble. 21Don't try to understand things that are too hard for you, or investigate matters that are beyond your power to know. 22Concentrate on the Law, which has been given to you. You do not need to know about things which the Lord has not revealed, 23so don't concern yourself with them. After all, what has been shown to you is beyond human power to understand. 24Many people have been misled by their own opinions; their wrong ideas have warped their judgement.
26Stubbornness will get you into trouble in the end. If you live dangerously, it will kill you. 27A stubborn person will be burdened down with troubles. Sinners go on adding one sin to another. 28There is no cure for the troubles that arrogant people have; wickedness has taken deep root in them. 29Intelligent people will learn from proverbs and parables. They listen well because they want to learn.
Giving to the Poor
30Giving to the poor can make up for sin, just as water can put out a blazing fire. 31Anyone who responds to others with acts of kindness is thinking of the future, because he will find help if he ever falls on hard times.
Good News Translation® with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Anglicisation © The British and Foreign Bible Society 1976, 1994, 2004
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