Chapter 19

1Bishops, provide sustenance for the destitute and supply their needs. Give the property of their fathers to the orphans as an inheritance, and give the widows the property of their husbands. Arrange suitable marriages for young men and virgins. Give those who serve their reward. Provide shelter for the poor, satisfy the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and help the prisoners.

2Keep this in mind, and act in this way for orphans and widows by day and by night. Blessed is the one who is able to do this. Behold, he has saved himself, for he has received the widow, the orphan, and the stranger. Therefore our Lord says, “It is better to give than to receive.” But those who oppress the poor will be condemned before God on the last day for what they have done.

3Do not blame but commend the person who distributes from the alms he has received and gives to an orphan, an aged person, a sick person, or a poor man who has children. Whoever acts in this way is an altar of God. It is also right that he pray continually and without slothfulness for those who have given him alms.

4But God will reckon with anyone who receives alms while already having enough, for he has snatched away the bread of the poor and has done good neither to himself nor to others. Anyone who has wealth but gives nothing to the destitute is like the rich man who gathered his goods together and filled his barns in vain. He will be destroyed from before God, for his wealth will not profit him in the fire of God’s anger.

5Whoever acts in this way does not believe in God, but worships and trusts in his wealth. He does not desire truth, but shows partiality. He has no mercy and does not set the fear of God before his eyes. Love is not in him. He is his own enemy and has no friend. The wealth of such a person will perish, and a foreign enemy will devour it, either during his lifetime or after his death. For it is said, “The riches of one who gathers wealth through evildoing shall be taken away from him.”