On Honour

1. God is worthy of honour by way of honourable acts

rather than by way of the foulness or sinfulness

whereby many people consider they do Him honour.

 

2. One should honour God in one’s thoughts,

by means of the power (lit. “virtue”) of understanding and loving,

of humility and remembering.

 

3. He is not honouring God

who names Him when singing about Him,

while thinking of the vile deeds he longs to perform.

 

4. Whoever decides to swear by God over a trifling matter

and in so doing opts to bear false witness,

knows not how to honour God’s name.

 

5. Alas! So much has God honoured man

in this world, which man dishonours Him

within his wisdom and his will.

 

6. Such honour pertains to God

that it constitutes the greatest of all <honours>,

namely, that men should die for the love of Him.[1]

 

7. He commits great foulness towards God

who fails to love Him more than he does sin,

which lacks all goodness.

 

8. An honour <proceeding >from God is worth more

than an honour <bestowed by> all people,

which <latter> shall revert to nothing.

 

9. Whoever would like to honour God greatly

should frequently remember

the honour He has rendered us by becoming incarnate.

 

10. He who had the ability to ensure that God was honoured throughout the world,

were he not to do so, should abide in great fear,

because on Judgment Day he shall not be able to exonerate himself.

 

---