Sirach 3

Good News Translation

Duties to Parents

3 Children, listen to me; I am your father. Do what I tell you and you will be safe, ² for the Lord has given fathers authority over their children and given children the obligation to obey their mothers. ³ If you respect your father, you can make up for your sins, ⁴ and if you honor your mother, you are earning great wealth. ⁵ If you respect your father, one day your own children will make you happy; the Lord will hear your prayers. ⁶ If you obey the Lord by honoring your father and making your mother happy, you will live a long life. ⁷ Obey your parents as if you were their slave. ^8 (A)Honor your father in everything you do and say, so that you may receive his blessing. ⁹ When parents give their blessing, they give strength to their children's homes, but when they curse their children, they destroy the very foundations.

¹⁰ Never seek honor for yourself at your father's expense; it is not to your credit if he is dishonored. ¹¹ Your own honor comes from the respect that you show to your father. If children do not honor their mothers, it is their own disgrace. ¹² My child, take care of your father when he grows old; give him no cause for worry as long as he lives. ¹³ Be sympathetic even if his mind fails him; don't look down on him just because you are strong and healthy. ¹⁴ The Lord will not forget the kindness you show to your father; it will help you make up for your sins. ¹⁵ When you are in trouble, the Lord will remember your kindness and will help you; your sins will melt away like frost in warm sunshine. ¹⁶ Those who abandon their parents or give them cause for anger may as well be cursing the Lord; they are already under the Lord's curse.

Humility

¹⁷ My child, be humble in everything you do, and people will appreciate it more than gifts.^{[a] 18 (B)}The greater you become, the more humble you should be; then the Lord will be pleased with you.^{[b] 20} The Lord's power is great, and he is honored by those who are humble. ²¹ Don't try to understand things that are too hard for you, or investigate matters that are beyond your power to know. ^22 (C)Concentrate on the Law, which has been given to you. You do not need to know about things which the Lord has not revealed, ²³ so don't concern yourself with them. After all, what has been shown to you is beyond human power to understand. ²⁴ Many people have been misled by their own opinions; their wrong ideas have warped their judgment.^[c]

²⁶ Stubbornness will get you into trouble at the end. If you live dangerously, it will kill you. ²⁷ A stubborn person will be burdened down with troubles. Sinners go on adding one sin to another. ²⁸ There is no cure for the troubles that arrogant people have; wickedness has taken deep root in them. ²⁹ Intelligent people will learn from proverbs and parables. They listen well because they want to learn.

Giving to the Poor

³⁰ Giving to the poor can make up for sin, just as water can put out a blazing fire. ³¹ Anyone who responds to others with acts of kindness is thinking of the future, because he will find help if he ever falls on hard times.