stepfamilies

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

¹⁴By reason of this grace, I bend my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵from whom all paternity in heaven and on earth takes its name.

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

⁸But if anyone has no concern for his own, and especially for those of his own household, he has denied the faith, and he is worse than an unbeliever.

¹⁵But if it seems evil to you that you would serve the Lord, a choice is given to you. Choose today what pleases you, and whom you ought to serve above all else, either the gods that your fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

⁸Listen, my son, to the discipline of your father, and forsake not the law of your mother,

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.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that all who believe in him may not perish, but may have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world, in order to judge the world, but in order that the world may be saved through him.

²⁰A wise son gladdens the father. But the foolish man despises his mother.

²⁹Whoever troubles his own house will possess the winds. And whoever is foolish will serve the wise.

²⁷Whoever pursues avarice disturbs his own house. But whoever hates bribes shall live. Through mercy and faith, sins are purged. But through the fear of the Lord, each one turns aside from evil.

⁴‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Whoever will have cursed father or mother shall die a death.’

⁵For if a man does not know how to lead his own house, how will he take care of the Church of God?

¹Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is just.

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.

²⁴For this reason, a man shall leave behind his father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife; and the two shall be as one flesh.

⁴A diligent woman is a crown to her husband. And she who acts with confusion as to which things are worthy is decay to his bones.

⁴but a man who leads his own house well, having children who are subordinate with all chastity.

³So I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ. But the head of woman is man. Yet truly, the head of Christ is God.

¹⁹Therefore, let us love God, for God first loved us.

¹⁷But the mercy of the Lord is from eternity, and even unto eternity, upon those who fear him. And his justice is with the sons of the sons, ¹⁸with those who serve his covenant and have been mindful of his commandments by doing them.

²⁰My son, preserve the precepts of your father, and do not dismiss the law of your mother.

⁶And these words, which I instruct to you this day, shall be in your heart. ⁷And you shall explain them to your sons. And you shall meditate upon them sitting in your house, and walking on a journey, when lying down and when rising up.