Chapter 4

¹Therefore when Tobias thought that his prayer was heard that he might die, he called to him Tobias his son, ²And said to him: Hear, my son, the words of my mouth, and lay them as a foundation in thy heart. ³When God shall take my soul, thou shalt bury my body: and thou shalt honour thy mother all the days of her life: ⁴For thou must be mindful what and how great perils she suffered for thee in her womb. ⁵And when she also shall have ended the time of her life, bury her by me. ⁶And all the days of thy life have God in thy mind: and take heed thou never consent to sin, nor transgress the commandments of the Lord our God. ⁷Give alms out of thy substance, and turn not away thy face from any poor person: for so it shall come to pass that the face of the Lord shall not be turned from thee. ⁸According to thy ability be merciful. ⁹If thou have much give abundantly: if thou have a little, take care even so to bestow willingly a little. ¹⁰For thus thou storest up to thyself a good reward for the day of necessity. ¹¹For alms deliver from all sin, and from death, and will not suffer the soul to go into darkness. ¹²Alms shall be a great confidence before the most high God, to all them that give it. ¹³Take heed to keep thyself, my son, from all fornication, and beside thy wife never endure to know a crime. ¹⁴Never suffer pride to reign in thy mind, or in thy words: for from it all perdition took its beginning. ¹⁵If any man hath done any work for thee, immediately pay him his hire, and let not the wages of thy hired servant stay with thee at all. ¹⁶See thou never do to another what thou wouldst hate to have done to thee by another. ¹⁷Eat thy bread with the hungry and the needy, and with thy garments cover the naked. ¹⁸Lay out thy bread, and thy wine upon the burial of a just man, and do not eat and drink thereof with the wicked. ¹⁹Seek counsel always of a wise man. ²⁰Bless God at all times: and desire of him to direct thy ways, and that all thy counsels may abide in him. ²¹I tell thee also, my son, that I lent ten talents of silver, while thou wast yet a child, to Gabelus, in Rages a city of the Medes, and I have a note of his hand with me: ²²Now therefore inquire how thou mayst go to him, and receive of him the foresaid sum of money, and restore to him the note of his hand. ²³Fear not, my son: we lead indeed a poor life, but we shall have many good things if we fear God, and depart from all sin, and do that which is good.