Ecclesiasticus, 3
1. Children, listen to me for I am your father: do what I tell you, and so be safe;
1. My son, if you come forward to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for temptation.
2. for the Lord honours the father above his children and upholds the rights of a mother over her sons.
2. Set your heart right and be steadfast, and do not be hasty in time of calamity.
3. Whoever respects a father expiates sins,
3. Cleave to him and do not depart, that you may be honored at the end of your life.
4. whoever honours a mother is like someone amassing a fortune.
4. Accept whatever is brought upon you, and in changes that humble you be patient.
5. Whoever respects a father will in turn be happy with children, the day he prays for help, he will be heard.
5. For gold is tested in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.
6. Long life comes to anyone who honours a father, whoever obeys the Lord makes a mother happy.
6. Trust in him, and he will help you; make your ways straight, and hope in him.
7. Such a one serves parents as well as the Lord.
7. You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; and turn not aside, lest you fall.
8. Respect your father in deed as well as word, so that blessing may come on you from him;
8. You who fear the Lord, trust in him, and your reward will not fail;
9. since a father's blessing makes his children's house firm, while a mother's curse tears up its foundations.
9. you who fear the Lord, hope for good things, for everlasting joy and mercy.
10. Do not make a boast of disgrace overtaking your father, your father's disgrace reflects no honour on you;
10. Consider the ancient generations and see: who ever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame? Or who ever persevered in the fear of the Lord and was forsaken? Or who ever called upon him and was overlooked?
11. for a person's own honour derives from the respect shown to his father, and a mother held in dishonour is a reproach to her children.
11. For the Lord is compassionate and merciful; he forgives sins and saves in time of affliction.
12. My child, support your father in his old age, do not grieve him during his life.
12. Woe to timid hearts and to slack hands, and to the sinner who walks along two ways!
13. Even if his mind should fail, show him sympathy, do not despise him in your health and strength;
13. Woe to the faint heart, for it has no trust! Therefore it will not be sheltered.
14. for kindness to a father will not be forgotten but will serve as reparation for your sins.
14. Woe to you who have lost your endurance! What will you do when the Lord punishes you?
15. On your own day of ordeal God will remember you: like frost in sunshine, your sins will melt away.
15. Those who fear the Lord will not disobey his words, and those who love him will keep his ways.
16. Whoever deserts a father is no better than a blasphemer, and whoever distresses a mother is accursed of the Lord.
16. Those who fear the Lord will seek his approval, and those who love him will be filled with the law.
17. My child, be gentle in carrying out your business, and you will be better loved than a lavish giver.
17. Those who fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and will humble themselves before him.
18. The greater you are, the more humbly you should behave, and then you will find favour with the Lord;
18. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, but not into the hands of men; for as his majesty is, so also is his mercy.
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20. for great though the power of the Lord is, he accepts the homage of the humble.
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21. Do not try to understand things that are too difficult for you, or try to discover what is beyond your powers.
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22. Concentrate on what has been assigned you, you have no need to worry over mysteries.
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23. Do not meddle with matters that are beyond you; what you have been taught already exceeds the scope of the human mind.
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24. For many have been misled by their own notions, wicked presumption having warped their judgement.
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26. A stubborn heart will come to a bad end, and whoever dallies with danger will perish in it.
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27. A stubborn heart is weighed down with troubles, the sinner heaps sin on sin.
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28. For the disease of the proud there is no cure, since an evil growth has taken root there.
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29. The heart of the sensible will reflect on parables, an attentive ear is the sage's dream.
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30. Water puts out a blazing fire, almsgiving expiates sins.
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31. Whoever gives favours in return is mindful of the future; at the moment of falling, such a person will find support.
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