8 Prayer with fasting is good, but better than both is almsgiving with righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than wealth with wrongdoing. It is better to give alms than to lay up gold. 9 For almsgiving saves from death and purges away every sin. Those who give alms will enjoy a full life, 10 but those who commit sin and do wrong are their own worst enemies. 11 "I will now declare the whole truth to you and will conceal nothing from you. Already I have declared it to you when I said, "It is good to conceal the secret of a king, but to reveal with due honor the works of God.'

1 In the records of the twelve tribes of Israel was Joachim, a man of great wealth. He always gave double in his offerings, saying, “There will be plenty from my abundance for everyone, and my offering will be for forgiveness to the Lord, for my atonement.” As the great day of the Lord approached, the sons of Israel were bringing their offerings. Rubim stood across from him and said, “It’s not right for you to offer first, since you haven’t had any children in Israel.” This deeply upset Joachim, and he went to check the records of the twelve tribes, saying, “I’ll see if I’m the only one who hasn’t had children in Israel.” He searched and found that all the righteous people had raised children. He then thought of the patriarch Abraham, who, even in his old age, was given a son, Isaac, by God. Joachim was overcome with distress and didn’t return to his wife, but instead withdrew to the desert. He set up a tent and fasted for forty days and forty nights. He told himself, “I won’t eat or drink until the Lord my God looks upon me; prayer will be my food and drink.”