he should give all of his riches away, take up
his cloak, and follow after me.
10 For I say to you here, this day, it is easier for the oxen to climb
through the keyhole in the door, than it is for a rich man to enter
Paradise."
11 Now, when the rich men heard this, they were angry, for they hid in
their false righteousness. Any that showed their true nature angered
them.
12 One of them rose. "Who are you to say these things? Who has made you
our judge? I have kept the law, I have done no evil. Why should I not
enter Paradise?"
13 "Perhaps," answered The Teacher, "what you have not done, rather
than what you have done. Do you know that your brother's widow is being
robbed? But you fear the man that robs her, and therefore will not hear
her pleas and seek justice? Do you really think you will enter
Paradise?"
14 The rich man covered his face and wept. "And your friend beside
you," continued The Teacher, "brags of his goodness. Yet how many times
have his servant's wives wept because he has shamed them, and they dare
not tell their husbands? Do you think he will enter into Paradise?
15 Does he think a sacrifice will buy his passage? No. Only if he
amends for what he has done, begs these women's forgiveness, and shows
them honor, will he reach that Place he seeks.
16 Do not think, my children, that sacrifice is the answer to
everything. It is only the sign that you have accepted your guilt, and
promised
to mend your ways. If you do not mend your ways, then the sacrifice is
useless."