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Duties towards Parents

3Listen to me your father, O children;
   act accordingly, that you may be kept in safety.
² For the Lord honours a father above his children,
   and he confirms a mother’s right over her children.
³ Those who honour their father atone for sins,
⁴   and those who respect their mother are like those who lay up treasure.
⁵ Those who honour their father will have joy in their own children,
   and when they pray they will be heard.
⁶ Those who respect their father will have long life,
   and those who honour^* their mother obey the Lord;
⁷   they will serve their parents as their masters.^*
8 Honour your father by word and deed,
   that his blessing may come upon you.
⁹ For a father’s blessing strengthens the houses of the children,
   but a mother’s curse uproots their foundations.
¹⁰ Do not glorify yourself by dishonouring your father,
   for your father’s dishonour is no glory to you.
¹¹ The glory of one’s father is one’s own glory,
   and it is a disgrace for children not to respect their mother.

¹² My child, help your father in his old age,
   and do not grieve him as long as he lives;
¹³ even if his mind fails, be patient with him;
   because you have all your faculties do not despise him.
¹⁴ For kindness to a father will not be forgotten,
   and will be credited to you against your sins;
¹⁵ in the day of your distress it will be remembered in your favour;
   like frost in fair weather, your sins will melt away.
¹⁶ Whoever forsakes a father is like a blasphemer,
   and whoever angers a mother is cursed by the Lord.

Humility

¹⁷ My child, perform your tasks with humility;^*
   then you will be loved by those whom God accepts.
¹⁸ The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself;
   so you will find favour in the sight of the Lord.^*
20 For great is the might of the Lord;
   but by the humble he is glorified.
²¹ Neither seek what is too difficult for you,
   nor investigate what is beyond your power.
²² Reflect upon what you have been commanded,
   for what is hidden is not your concern.
²³ Do not meddle in matters that are beyond you,
   for more than you can understand has been shown to you.
²⁴ For their conceit has led many astray,
   and wrong opinion has impaired their judgement.

²⁵ Without eyes there is no light;
   without knowledge there is no wisdom.^*
26 A stubborn mind will fare badly at the end,
   and whoever loves danger will perish in it.
²⁷ A stubborn mind will be burdened by troubles,
   and the sinner adds sin to sins.
²⁸ When calamity befalls the proud, there is no healing,
   for an evil plant has taken root in him.
²⁹ The mind of the intelligent appreciates proverbs,
   and an attentive ear is the desire of the wise.

Alms for the Poor

³⁰ As water extinguishes a blazing fire,
   so almsgiving atones for sin.
³¹ Those who repay favours give thought to the future;
   when they fall they will find support.