A Father’s Charge to His Son
1On that day Tobit remembered the silver he had left on deposit with Gabael at Rages in Media, 2and he said to himself: “I have asked for death. Why not call my son Tobias and put it before him, before I die?” 3So he called him and said: “My boy, when I die, bury me. And do not neglect your mother: honor her every day you live, do what pleases her, and never give her grief. 4Remember, my boy, how many dangers she went through for your sake while she carried you. When she dies, bury her next to me, in one grave. 5Every day of your life, my boy, keep the Lord our God in mind. Never set your will on sinning or on overstepping his commandments. Do what is right as long as you live, and do not walk the roads of wrongdoing. 6For if you act in truth, things will go well in whatever you undertake — 7and so for everyone who does what is right. Out of what belongs to you, give alms, and do not let your eye grudge the alms you give. Turn your face away from no poor man, and God’s face will never be turned away from you. 8In proportion to what you have, give alms out of it; if you have little, do not be afraid to give alms in proportion to that little. 9You are laying up a sound deposit for yourself against the day of need, 10for almsgiving rescues a man from death and does not let him pass into the dark. 11Almsgiving is a fine gift for all who practice it, in the sight of the Most High. 12Guard yourself, my boy, from every kind of immorality. Above all, take your wife from the stock of your fathers; do not take a foreign wife, one who does not belong to your father’s tribe — for we are sons of prophets. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob: these are our fathers from of old. Remember, my boy, that every one of them took his wife from among his own kin, and they were blessed in their children, and their offspring will inherit the earth. 13So now, my boy, love your kinsmen. Do not let your heart grow too proud for your kinsmen, for the sons and daughters of your own people, to take a wife from among them. In pride there is ruin and much unrest; in shiftlessness there is loss and heavy want — for shiftlessness is the mother of famine. 14The wage of any man who works for you must not stay the night with you: pay it to him on the spot. If you serve God, you will be paid in your turn. Watch yourself, my boy, in everything you do, and be well schooled in your whole way of life. 15What you hate, do to no one. Do not drink wine to the point of drunkenness, and do not let drunkenness travel with you on your road. 16Give some of your bread to the hungry and some of your clothes to the naked. Whatever you have left over, make it into alms, and do not let your eye grudge the alms you give. 17Pour out your loaves on the grave of the righteous, and give none of it to sinners. 18Seek advice from every sensible person, and never make light of advice that is worth having. 19At every season bless the Lord God, and ask him that your ways be made straight and that all your paths and plans come out well — for no nation has counsel of its own; the Lord himself gives every good thing, and he brings low whomever he pleases, however he pleases. So now, my boy, hold my commandments in your mind, and let nothing rub them out of your heart. 20And now I am telling you about the ten talents of silver I left on deposit with Gabael, the son of Gabri, at Rages in Media. 21Do not be afraid, my boy, because we have come down to poverty. You have great wealth, if you fear God, keep clear of every sin, and do what pleases him.”
