fatherhood

¹³As a father is compassionate to his sons, so has the Lord been compassionate to those who fear him.

⁴And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but educate them with the discipline and correction of the Lord.

⁷The just who walks in his simplicity shall leave behind him blessed sons.

²¹Fathers, do not provoke your children to indignation, lest they lose heart.

¹Listen, sons, to the discipline of a father, and pay attention, so that you may know prudence. ²I will bestow upon you a good gift. Do not relinquish my law. ³For I, too, was the son of my father, tender and an only son in the sight of my mother. ⁴And he taught me, and he also said: “Let your heart accept my words. Keep my precepts, and you shall live. ⁵Obtain wisdom, obtain prudence. May you neither forget, nor turn away from, the words of my mouth. ⁶Do not send her away, and she will guard you. Love her, and she will preserve you.

¹⁹For I know that he will instruct his sons, and his household after him, to keep to the way of the Lord, and to act with judgment and justice, so that, for the sake of Abraham, the Lord may bring about all the things that he has spoken to him.”

⁶The proverb is: A youth is close to his way; even when he is old, he will not withdraw from it.

²⁴He who spares the rod hates his son. But he who loves him urgently instructs him.

¹¹My son, do not discard the discipline of the Lord, and do not fall away when you are corrected by him. ¹²For whomever the Lord loves, he corrects, and just as a father does with a son, he wins him over.

⁴I have no greater grace than this, when I hear that my sons are walking in the truth.

²⁰And rising up, he went to his father. But while he was still at a distance, his father saw him, and he was moved with compassion, and running to him, he fell upon his neck and kissed him. ²¹And the son said to him: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. Now I am not worthy to be called your son.’ ²²But the father said to his servants: ‘Quickly! Bring out the best robe, and clothe him with it. And put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. ²³And bring the fatted calf here, and kill it. And let us eat and hold a feast. ²⁴For this son of mine was dead, and has revived; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to feast.

³Behold, the inheritance of the Lord is sons, the reward is the fruit of the womb. ⁴Like arrows in the hand of the powerful, so are the sons of those who have been cast out. ⁵Blessed is the man who has filled his desire from these things. He will not be confounded when he speaks to his enemies at the gate.

⁵And he has received testimony with Jacob, and he has set a law within Israel. Such great things, he has commanded our fathers, so as to make these things known to their sons, ⁶so that another generation might know them, and so that the sons, who will be born and who will grow up, shall describe them to their sons. ⁷So then, may they put their hope in God, and may they not forget the works of God, and may they seek his commandments. ⁸May they not become like their fathers, a perverse and exasperating generation: a generation that does not straighten their heart and whose spirit is not trustworthy with God.

¹⁸Teach your son; do not despair. But do not set your soul toward putting him to death.

⁹And do not choose to call anyone on earth your father. For One is your Father, who is in heaven.