Chapter 3
Responsibilities to Parents
1 Children, listen to me, your father;
act accordingly, that you may be safe.
2 For the Lord sets a father in honor over his children
and confirms a mother’s authority over her sons.
3 Those who honor their father atone for sins;
4 they store up riches who respect their mother.
5 Those who honor their father will have joy in their own children,
and when they pray they are heard.
6 Those who respect their father will live a long life;
those who obey the Lord honor their mother.
7 Those who fear the Lord honor their father,
and serve their parents as masters.
8 In word and deed honor your father,
that all blessings may come to you.(A)
9 A father’s blessing gives a person firm roots,
but a mother’s curse uproots the growing plant.(B)
10 Do not glory in your father’s disgrace,
for that is no glory to you!
11 A father’s glory is glory also for oneself;
they multiply sin who demean their mother.(C)
12 My son, be steadfast in honoring your father;
do not grieve him as long as he lives.(D)
13 Even if his mind fails, be considerate of him;
do not revile him because you are in your prime.
14 Kindness to a father will not be forgotten;
it will serve as a sin offering—it will take lasting root.
15 In time of trouble it will be recalled to your advantage,
like warmth upon frost it will melt away your sins.
16 Those who neglect their father are like blasphemers;
those who provoke their mother are accursed by their Creator.(E)
Humility
17 My son, conduct your affairs with humility,
and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts.
18 Humble yourself the more, the greater you are,
and you will find mercy in the sight of God.(F)
20 For great is the power of the Lord;
by the humble he is glorified.
21 What is too sublime for you, do not seek;
do not reach into things that are hidden from you.(G)
22 What is committed to you, pay heed to;
what is hidden is not your concern.
23 In matters that are beyond you do not meddle,
when you have been shown more than you can understand.
24 Indeed, many are the conceits of human beings;
evil imaginations lead them astray.
Docility
25 Without the pupil of the eye, light is missing;
without knowledge, wisdom is missing.
26 A stubborn heart will fare badly in the end;
those who love danger will perish in it.
27 A stubborn heart will have many a hurt;
adding sin to sin is madness.
28 When the proud are afflicted, there is no cure;
for they are offshoots of an evil plant.(H)
29 The mind of the wise appreciates proverbs,
and the ear that listens to wisdom rejoices.
Alms for the Poor
30 As water quenches a flaming fire,
so almsgiving atones for sins.(I)
31 The kindness people have done crosses their paths later on;
should they stumble, they will find support.
Footnotes
- 3:1–16
- 3:17–24
- 3:18
Other ancient texts read as v. 19:
Many are lofty and famous,
but to the humble he reveals his plan.
- 3:25–29
Cross references
- 3:8 : Ex 20:12; Dt 5:16; Mt 15:4; 19:19; Mk 7:10; 10:19; Lk 18:20; Eph 6:2–3.
- 3:9 : Gn 27:27–29; 49:2–27.
- 3:11 : Prv 17:6.
- 3:12 : Prv 23:22.
- 3:16 : Prv 19:26; 30:11, 14, 17.
- 3:18 : Mt 23:12; Lk 1:52; 14:11; 18:14.
- 3:21 : Ps 131:1.
- 3:28 : Dt 32:32; Wis 12:10.
- 3:30 : Sir 7:32–36; 29:8–13; Dt 15:7–11; Tb 12:9; Dn 4:24.
