Sirach 51:17-30
Revised Standard Version
17 I made progress therein;
to him who gives wisdom I will give glory.
18 For I resolved to live according to wisdom,[a]
and I was zealous for the good;
and I shall never be put to shame.
19 My soul grappled with wisdom,[b]
and in my conduct I was strict;[c]
I spread out my hands to the heavens,
and lamented my ignorance of her.
20 I directed my soul to her,
and through purification I found her.
I gained understanding[d] with her from the first,
therefore I will not be forsaken.
21 My heart was stirred to seek her,
therefore I have gained a good possession.
22 The Lord gave me a tongue as my reward,
and I will praise him with it.
23 Draw near to me, you who are untaught,
and lodge in my school.
24 Why do you say you are lacking in these things,[e]
and why are your souls very thirsty?
25 I opened my mouth and said,
Get these things[f] for yourselves without money.
26 Put your neck under the yoke,
and let your souls receive instruction;
it is to be found close by.
27 See with your eyes that I have labored little
and found for myself much rest.
28 Get instruction with a large sum of silver,
and you will gain by it much gold.
29 May your soul rejoice in his mercy,
and may you not be put to shame when you praise him.
30 Do your work before the appointed time,
and in God’s[g] time he will give you your reward.
Footnotes
- Sirach 51:18 Gk her
- Sirach 51:19 Gk her
- Sirach 51:19 The Greek text of this line is uncertain
- Sirach 51:20 Gk heart
- Sirach 51:24 Cn Compare Heb Syr: The Greek text of this line is uncertain
- Sirach 51:25 Greek lacks these things
- Sirach 51:30 Gk his
Sirach 42:15-43:11
Revised Standard Version
The Works of God in Nature
15 I will now call to mind the works of the Lord,
and will declare what I have seen.
By the words of the Lord his works are done.
16 The sun looks down on everything with its light,
and the work of the Lord is full of his glory.
17 The Lord has not enabled his holy ones
to recount all his marvelous works,
which the Lord the Almighty has established
that the universe may stand firm in his glory.
18 He searches out the abyss, and the hearts of men,[a]
and considers their crafty devices.
For the Most High knows all that may be known,
and he looks into the signs[b] of the age.
19 He declares what has been and what is to be,
and he reveals the tracks of hidden things.
20 No thought escapes him,
and not one word is hidden from him.
21 He has ordained the splendors of his wisdom,
and he is from everlasting and to everlasting.
Nothing can be added or taken away,
and he needs no one to be his counselor.
22 How greatly to be desired are all his works,
and how sparkling they are to see![c]
23 All these things live and remain for ever
for every need, and are all obedient.
24 All things are twofold, one opposite the other,
and he has made nothing incomplete.
25 One confirms the good things of the other,
and who can have enough of beholding his glory?
The Splendor of the Sun
43 The pride of the heavenly heights is the clear firmament,
the appearance of heaven in a spectacle of glory.
2 The sun, when it appears, making proclamation as it goes forth,
is a marvelous instrument, the work of the Most High.
3 At noon it parches the land;
and who can withstand its burning heat?
4 A man tending[d] a furnace works in burning heat,
but the sun burns the mountains three times as much;
it breathes out fiery vapors,
and with bright beams it blinds the eyes.
5 Great is the Lord who made it;
and at his command it hastens on its course.
The Splendor of the Moon
6 He made the moon also, to serve in its season[e]
to mark the times and to be an everlasting sign.
7 From the moon comes the sign for feast days,
a light that wanes when it has reached the full.
8 The month is named for the moon,
increasing marvelously in its phases,
an instrument of the hosts on high
shining forth in the firmament of heaven.
The Glory of the Stars and the Rainbow
9 The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven,
a gleaming array in the heights of the Lord.
10 At the command of the Holy One they stand as ordered,
they never relax in their watches.
11 Look upon the rainbow, and praise him who made it,
exceedingly beautiful in its brightness.
Footnotes
- Sirach 42:18 Gk and the heart
- Sirach 42:18 Gk sign
- Sirach 42:22 The Greek of this line is uncertain
- Sirach 43:4 Other authorities read blowing
- Sirach 43:6 The Greek text of this line is uncertain
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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