Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 3

¹ Children, listen to me your father, do what I tell you, and so be safe;

² for the Lord honours the father in his children, and upholds the rights of a mother over her sons.

³ Whoever respects his father is atoning for his sins,

⁴ he who honours his mother is like someone amassing a fortune.

⁵ Whoever respects his father will be happy with children of his own, he shall be heard on the day when he prays.

⁶ Long life comes to him who honours his father, he who sets his mother at ease is showing obedience to the Lord.

⁷ He serves his parents as he does his Lord.

⁸ Respect your father in deed as well as word, so that blessing may come on you from him;

⁹ since a father’s blessing makes the houses of his children firm, while a mother’s curse tears up their foundations.

¹⁰ Do not make a boast of disgrace overtaking your father, your father’s disgrace reflects no honour on you;

¹¹ for a man’s honour derives from the respect shown to his father, and a mother held in dishonour is a reproach to her children.

¹² My son, support your father in his old age, do not grieve him during his life.

¹³ Even if his mind should fail, show him sympathy, do not despise him in your health and strength;

¹⁴ for kindness to a father shall not be forgotten but will serve as reparation for your sins.

¹⁵ In the days of your affliction it will be remembered of you, like frost in sunshine, your sins will melt away.

¹⁶ The man who deserts his father is no better than a blasphemer, and whoever angers his mother is accursed of the Lord.

¹⁷ My son, be gentle in carrying out your business, and you will be better loved than a lavish giver.

¹⁸ The greater you are, the more you should behave humbly, and then you will find favour with the Lord;

²⁰ for great though the power of the Lord is, he accepts the homage of the humble.

²¹ Do not try to understand things that are too difficult for you, or try to discover what is beyond your powers.

²² Concentrate on what has been assigned you, you have no need to worry over mysteries.

²³ Do not meddle with matters that are beyond you; what you have been taught already exceeds the scope of the human mind.

²⁴ For many have been misled by their own presumption, and wrong-headed opinions have warped their ideas.

²⁶ A stubborn heart will come to a bad end at last, and whoever loves danger will perish in it.

²⁷ A stubborn heart is weighed down with troubles, the sinner heaps sin on sin.

²⁸ There is no cure for the proud man’s malady, since an evil growth has taken root in him.

²⁹ The heart of a sensible man will reflect on parables, an attentive ear is the sage’s dream.

³⁰ Water quenches a blazing fire, almsgiving atones for sins.

³¹ Whoever gives favours in return is mindful of the future; at the moment of his fall he will find support.