Sirach 3

Duties to parents

1 Listen to a father's warning, children, and act accordingly so that you may be safe.
2 The Lord gives pride of place to a father above his children and establishes a mother's judgment above that of her offspring.
3 Those who honor their fathers will make up for their own sins,
4 and those who praise their mother are like people storing up treasure.
5 Those who honor their fathers will be made happy by their own children, and they will be heard when they pray.
6 Those who praise their fathers will live a long life, and those who listen to the Lord will give rest to their mothers,
7 and they will serve their parents as their masters.
8 Honor your father in action and word so that a blessing will come from him to you,
9 since a father's blessing supports his children's families, but a mother's curse undermines their foundations.
10 Don't glorify yourself in your father's disgrace, because your father's disgrace brings you no credit.
11 A father's honor is the starting point for his children's reputation, and a mother in disrepute is a disgrace to her children.
12 My child, help your father in his old age, and don't give him grief during his life.
13 And if his understanding fails, be tolerant, and don't shame him, because you have all your faculties.
14 Taking care of one's father won't be forgotten. It will be credited to you against your sins.
15 When you are in trouble, this will be recalled about you; like frost warmed by sunshine, so your sins will melt away.
16 Those who abandon their fathers are like blasphemers, and those who anger their mothers have been cursed by the Lord.

Humility and charity

17 My child, conduct your affairs with gentleness, and you will be loved more than a person of good repute.
18 However great you become, humble yourself more, and you will find favor before the Lord, and he is glorified by the humble.
20 because the Lord's power is great,
21 Don't seek out things that are too difficult for you, and don't investigate matters too perplexing for you.
22 Think about what you have been commanded, because you have no need for matters that are hidden.
23 Don't meddle in things beyond your own affairs since you have already been shown things beyond human understanding.
24 Speculation has led many people astray, and false conjectures have weakened their thoughts.
26 A stubborn heart will come to misery, and whoever loves danger will be destroyed by it. by suffering, and the sinner will keep on sinning.
27 A stubborn heart will be weighed down
28 There's no healing for the distress of arrogant people, because an evil plant has taken root in them.
29 The hearts of intelligent people will think about a proverb, and the wise desire people who are ready to listen.
30 Water will put out a blazing fire, and giving to those in need will make up for sins.
31 Those who repay favors consider the future, and at the moment when they fall, they will find support.

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. LXXb adds 3:7a Those who fear the Lord will honor their father.
  • [b]. Heb a person who gives
  • [c]. LXXb adds 3:19 Many are lofty and of high repute, but to the gentle he reveals his secrets.
  • [d]. LXXb adds 3:25 If you have no pupils, you will be at a loss for light, and if you are without knowledge, don’t exult in it.
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