Ben Sira - chapter 3

(translation by Edgar Goodspeed)
3: 1 - 31
Listen to me, your father, O children, and act in such a way that you may be preserved. for the Lord has glorified the father above his children, and he has established the rights of the mother over her sons. Those who provide parents atone for their sins and those who respect their mother are like those who lay up treasure. Those who provide for their father will be gladdened by their children, and will be heard on the day that they pray. Those who show their father honor will have long lives, and those who listen to the Lord will refresh their mother and will serve their parents as their masters. Honor your father in word and deed, so that his blessing may attend you. For a father's blessing establishes the houses of his children, but a mother's curse uproots their foundations. do not glority yourself by dishonoring your father, for your father's disgrace is no glory to you. for a man's glory arises from honoring his father, and a neglected mother is a reproach to her children. My child, help your father in his old age, and do not grieve him, as long as he lives. If his understanding fails, be considerate, and do not humiliate him, when you are in all your strength. Charity given to a father will not be forgotten, and will build you up a further atonement for your sins. When you are in trouble, you will be remembered; like frost in sunshine your sins will melt away. Whoever deserts a father is like a blasphemer, and whoever angers a mother is cursed by the Lord. My child, carry on your business in humility, and you will be loved by those whom God accepts. The greater you are, the more you must practice humility, and you will find favor with the Lord. For the Lord's power is great, and he is glorified by the humble-minded. do not seek for what is too hard for you, and do not investigate what is beyond your strength; think of the commands that have been given you, for you have no need of the things that are hidden. Do not waste your labor on what is superfluous to your work, for more than you can understand has been shown you. For many have been led astray by their imagination, and wicked fancy has made their minds slip. It will go hard with an obstinate heart at the end, and the man who loves danger will perish through it. An obstinate heart will be loaded with troubles, and the sinner adds sin to sins. There is no cure for the misfortune of the proud, for a wicked plant has taken root in him. The mind of the intelligent appreciates proverbs, and an attentive ear is the desire of the wise. As water will quench a blazing fire, so charity will atone for sin. Those who repay favors give thought to the future; when they fall they will find support.