Tobit 4:8-18

8 Give according to what you have. The more you have, the more you should give. Even if you have only a little, be sure to give something.
9 This is as good as money saved. You will have your reward in a time of trouble.
10 Taking care of the poor is the kind of offering that pleases God in heaven. Do this, and you will be kept safe from the dark world of the dead.
12 "Son, be on your guard against prostitutes. Above all, marry a woman of our tribe, because we are descendants of the prophets. Do not marry anyone who is not related to us. Remember that Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our earliest ancestors, all married relatives. God blessed them with children, and so their descendants will inherit the land of Israel.
13 Son, be loyal to your own relatives. Don't be too proud to marry one of them. Such pride leads to terrible frustration and ruin, just as laziness brings on severe poverty and causes starvation.
14 "Pay your workers each day; never keep back their wages overnight. Honor God in this way, and he will reward you. Behave properly at all times.
15 Never do to anyone else anything that you would not want someone to do to you. 1 "Do not drink so much wine that you get drunk, and do not let drinking become a habit.
16 "Give food to the hungry and clothes to people in need. If you are prosperous, give generously, and do it gladly!
17 "When one of God's faithful people has died, prepare food for the family, but never do this when someone evil dies. 2
18 "Take the advice of sensible people, and never treat any useful advice lightly.

Cross References 2

  • 1. 4.15Matthew 7.12;Luke 6.31.
  • 2. 4.17Deuteronomy 26.14.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. prepare . . . family; [or] put food on his grave.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.