CHAPTER 4
1 Therefore when Tobit guessed his prayer to be heard, that he might die, he called Tobias, his son, to him,
2 and said to him, My son, hear thou the words of my mouth, and build or ground thou them as a foundament in thine heart.
3 When God hath taken my soul, bury thou my body; and thou shalt do honour to thy mother in all the days of her life;
4 for thou owest to be mindful, what perils and how great perils she suffered for thee in her womb.
5 And when also she hath [full-]filled or ended the time of her life, thou shalt bury her beside me.
6 And in all the days of thy life have thou God in mind, and be thou ware [or beware], lest anytime thou consent to sin, and forsake the behests of our God.
7 And of thy own chattel [or thy substance] do thou alms-[deeds], and do not thou turn away thy face from any poor man*; and so it shall be done, that the face of the Lord be not turned away from thee.
8 As thou mayest, that is, after thy power, be thou merciful. [What manner wise thou shalt be able, so be thou merciful.]
9 If thou hast much, give thou plenteously [or abundantly]; if thou hast a little, also be thou busy to part willfully or gladly a little.
10 Certainly then thou treasurest to thee a good meed, in the day of need;
11 for why alms-[deeds] delivereth from all sin and from death, and shall not suffer the soul to go into dark-nesses.
12 Alms-[deeds] shall be the great trust before the highest God to all men doing it.
13 Son, take heed to thyself, and flee from all fornication, and besides thy wife, suffer thou never to know sin.
14 And suffer thou never pride to have lordship in thy wit, neither in thy word; for all loss [or perdition], either damnation, took beginning in pride.
15 Whoever worketh anything to thee, yield thou anon his meed, and utterly the hire of thine hired man, or thy workman, dwell it not with thee.
16 That that thou hatest to be done to thee of another man, see thou, lest anytime thou do that thing to another man. [That of another thou hatest to be done to thee, look thou, that anytime thou do it not to another.]
17 Eat thy bread with hungry men and needy, and with thy clothes cover thou naked men.
18 Ordain thy bread and thy wine on the sepulchre, or the burying, of a just [or rightwise] man, and do not thou eat and drink thereof with sinners.
19 Ever[more] seek thou perfectly counsel of a wise man.
20 In all time bless thou God, and ask thou of him, that he dress [or make ready] thy ways, and all thy counsels dwell in him.
21 Also, my son, I show to thee, that while thou were yet a little child [or little infant], I gave ten talents of silver to Gabael, in Rages, a city of Media; and I have his obligation [or the writ of it] with me;
22 therefore inquire thou busily, how thou shalt come to him, and receive thou of him the foresaid weight of silver, and restore to him his obligation [or his writ].
23 My son, do not thou dread; forsooth we lead a poor life, but we shall have many goods, if we dread God, and go away from all sin†, and do well.
* CHAPTER 4:7 If thou mayest not give chattel, give thou will, and sign of compassion. † CHAPTER 4:23 That is, deadly sin, for we may not utterly eschew all venial in this life.