1 It is better to have virtue, even if it means having no children. Your virtue will be recognized by other people and by God, and you will be remembered for it for ever.
2 Virtue provides an example for people to follow; when it is not there, they miss it. It has always been the finest prize a person can win, and it will always be so. It is the noblest of all the good qualities a person can have.
3 No matter how many children are born of a forbidden union, none of them will ever amount to anything. They are illegitimate; they can never lay a firm foundation for themselves, never take deep root.
4 Like trees with shallow roots, they put out leaves for a while, but they sway in the wind, and storms uproot them.
5 Their branches snap off before they mature; their fruit never ripens, and it is good for nothing.
6 On Judgement Day children born of a forbidden union will testify to the sin of their parents and act as witnesses against them.
7 Righteous people, however, will find rest, even if they die young.