Sirach
Chapter 3
Honor Your Father and Mother
My children, it is your father speaking; listen to me, follow my advice, and you will be saved.
For the Lord established that children should respect their father; he also affirmed the right of the mother over her children.
Whoever honors his father atones for his sins;
he who gives glory to his mother prepares a treasure for himself.
Whoever honors his father will find joy through his own children and will be heard when he prays.
Whoever glorifies his father will have a long life. Whoever obeys the Lord brings comfort to his mother.
He serves those who brought him into the world as he would serve the Lord.
Honor your father in words and actions so that his blessing may be upon you.
A father’s blessing ensures his children’s future, but a mother’s curse can ruin them at their roots.
Do not rejoice at your father’s humiliation, for his dishonor brings you no glory.
A man’s reputation comes from his father’s honor; a mother who is disrespected is a shame to her children.
My child, care for your father in his old age and do not cause him sorrow while he is alive.
Even if he has lost his mind, be patient; do not show disrespect while you are healthy.
Kindness toward your father will never be forgotten; it will make up for your sins.
On the day of trouble, the Lord will remember this for your good; just as ice melts in the heat, your sins will melt away.
A man who abandons his father is like a blasphemer; the Lord curses anyone who troubles his mother.
Humility
My son, act with discretion in your affairs, and those acceptable to God will love you.
The more you attain, the more you should humble yourself, and in doing so, you will find favor with God.
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For the Lord’s power is great, and it is the humble who bring him glory.
Do not pursue what is beyond your capacity, nor seek to understand what is outside your ability.
Reflect on what you are commanded to do; there is no need to seek knowledge of hidden things.
Do not tire yourself with pointless questions because the knowledge you already possess exceeds human understanding.
Many have been misled by their personal theories, and false pride has weakened reason.
The stubborn person will eventually fall into evil, and those who seek danger will perish in it.
The stubborn person will be burdened with suffering; the sinner accumulates sin upon sin.
The suffering of the proud has no remedy; the roots of evil are planted deep within them.
The wise person contemplates proverbs. What the wise person seeks is an attentive ear.
Almsgiving
Just as water extinguishes flames, almsgiving earns forgiveness for sins.
The man who responds by doing good prepares for the future; at the moment of his downfall, he will find support.
Commentaries
Honor Your Father and Mother.
Ben Sirach references Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16, which clearly command honoring one’s father and mother. In a society that deeply valued family structure, it was natural for him to highlight respect and reverence for those who represent and maintain divine order—namely, parents. The family was the first human community where the main social hierarchy was evident: the father stands at the top, similar to how God is viewed in relation to the world and the king over the nation; the mother comes next, and must be honored and respected; then the children, who are entirely subject to this social order—within the family, to their parents; and in society, to the king and his officials. According to Jesus of Nazareth, this family structure must be left behind if one truly wants to follow him: “whoever does not leave father and mother…” (Lk 14:26). This does not mean abandoning family members, but rather rejecting a family system that has traditionally supported social, economic, and religious systems opposing God’s will and hindering the coming of the kingdom.
Humility.
One of the most important virtues a person can have is humility, which means not valuing oneself more than others. Humility provides two main benefits: earning love from others and receiving compassion and mercy from God. Additionally, it is to the humble that God reveals His plans (20; cf. Lk 10:21). The virtue of humility should be a major focus for the wise; the wiser someone is, the more they should recognize how much they still have to learn. Verses 22-29, which address the intellectual person, deal with the arrogance of those who believed they had great mastery of science and knowledge at a time when Greek thought led people to believe that wisdom was knowing many things and mastering numerous subjects. For the wisdom tradition in Israel, wisdom involves respecting God, obeying His commands, and living a good life.
Almsgiving.
The act of giving alms was a crucial part of Jewish devotion; it served as a way to atone for sins. By the time of the New Testament, many Pharisees gave alms publicly, attracting attention to gain sympathy and admiration. Jesus corrects this mindset and tells his disciples to do so in a manner that “the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing” (Mt 6:3). Christians who are aware and dedicated to the Gospel should find ways to promote social practices that aim to eliminate poverty and, in turn, the root causes of injustice.