rebellious children

¹⁷The eye of one who mocks his father and who despises the childbearing of his mother, let the ravens of the torrent tear it out, and let the sons of the eagles consume it.

¹⁸If a man produces a disobedient and reckless son, who will not listen to the orders of his father or mother, and, having been corrected, shows contempt for obedience: ¹⁹they shall take him and lead him to the elders of the city and to the gate of judgment. ²⁰And they shall say to them: ‘This our son is reckless and disobedient. He shows contempt when listening to our admonitions. He occupies himself with carousing, and self-indulgence, and feasting.’ ²¹Then the people of the city shall stone him to death. And he shall die, so that you may take away the evil from your midst. And so may all of Israel, upon hearing it, be very afraid.

¹²Honor your father and your mother, so that you may have a long life upon the land, which the Lord your God will give to you.

²⁰Children, obey your parents in all things. For this is well-pleasing to the Lord.

⁹Whoever curses his father or mother shall die a death; he has cursed his father and mother. So let his blood be upon him.

¹⁵The rod and its correction distribute wisdom. But the child who is left to his own will, brings shame to his mother.

¹⁷Teach your son, and he will refresh you, and he will give delight to your soul.

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

¹And know this: that in the last days perilous times will press near. ²Men will be lovers of themselves, greedy, self-exalting, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked, ³without affection, without peace, false accusers, unchaste, cruel, without kindness, ⁴traitorous, reckless, self-important, loving pleasure more than God,

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

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

¹⁵Foolishness has been bound to the heart of a child, and a rod of discipline shall cause it to flee.

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

⁹The Lord is not delaying his promise, as some imagine, but he does act patiently for your sake, not wanting anyone to perish, but wanting all to be turned back to penance.

¹¹And he said: “A certain man had two sons. ¹²And the younger of them said to the father, ‘Father, give me the portion of your estate which would go to me.’ And he divided the estate between them. ¹³And after not many days, the younger son, gathering it all together, set out on a long journey to a distant region. And there, he dissipated his substance, living in luxury. ¹⁴And after he had consumed it all, a great famine occurred in that region, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵And he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that region. And he sent him to his farm, in order to feed the swine. ¹⁶And he wanted to fill his belly with the scraps that the swine ate. But no one would give it to him.