Ben Sira 4:1-10

1 My son, defraud not the poor of his living, and make not the needy eyes to wait long.
2 Make not a hungry soul sorrowful, neither provoke a man in his distress.
3 Add not more trouble to a heart that is vexed, and defer not to give to him that is in need.
4 Reject not the supplication of the afflicted, neither turn away thy face from a poor man.
5 Turn not away thine eye from the needy, and give him no occasion to curse thee;
6 for if he curse thee in the bitterness of his soul, his prayer shall be heard by Him that made him.
7 Get thyself the love of the congregation, and bow thy head to great man.
8 Let it not grieve thee to bow down thine ear to the poor, and give him a friendly answer with meekness.
9 Deliver him that suffereth wrong from the hand of the oppressor, and be not fainthearted when thou sittest in judgment.
10 Be as a father unto the fatherless, and in the stead of a husband unto their mother; so shalt thou be as the son of the Most High, and He shall love thee more than thy mother doth.
Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.