Sirach 44:1-50:24

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

¹⁶ Enoch pleased the Lord, and was taken up;
    he was an example of repentance to all generations.

¹⁷ Noah was found perfect and righteous;
    in the time of wrath he was taken in exchange;
therefore a remnant was left to the earth
    when the flood came.
¹⁸ Everlasting covenants were made with him
    that all flesh should not be blotted out by a flood.

¹⁹ Abraham was the great father of a multitude of nations,
    and no one has been found like him in glory;
²⁰ he kept the law of the Most High,
    and was taken into covenant with him;
he established the covenant in his flesh,
    and when he was tested he was found faithful.
²¹ Therefore the Lord^[c] assured him by an oath
    that the nations would be blessed through his posterity;
that he would multiply him like the dust of the earth,
    and exalt his posterity like the stars,
and cause them to inherit from sea to sea
    and from the River to the ends of the earth.

²² To Isaac also he gave the same assurance
    for the sake of Abraham his father.

45 From his descendants the Lord^[e] brought forth a man of mercy,
    who found favor in the sight of all flesh
and was beloved by God and man,
    Moses, whose memory is blessed.
² He made him equal in glory to the holy ones,
    and made him great in the fears of his enemies.
³ By his words he caused signs to cease;
    the Lord^[f] glorified him in the presence of kings.
He gave him commands for his people,
    and showed him part of his glory.
⁴ He sanctified him through faithfulness and meekness;
    he chose him out of all mankind.
⁵ He made him hear his voice,
    and led him into the thick darkness,
and gave him the commandments face to face,
    the law of life and knowledge,
to teach Jacob the covenant,
    and Israel his judgments.

⁶ He exalted Aaron, the brother of Moses,^[g]
    a holy man like him, of the tribe of Levi.
⁷ He made an everlasting covenant with him,
    and gave him the priesthood of the people.
He blessed him with splendid vestments,
    and put a glorious robe upon him.
⁸ He clothed him with superb perfection,
    and strengthened him with the symbols of authority,
    the linen breeches, the long robe, and the ephod.
⁹ And he encircled him with pomegranates,
    with very many golden bells round about,
to send forth a sound as he walked,
    to make their ringing heard in the temple
    as a reminder to the sons of his people;
¹⁰ with a holy garment, of gold and blue
    and purple, the work of an embroiderer;
with the oracle of judgment, Urim and Thummim;
¹¹     with twisted scarlet, the work of a craftsman;
with precious stones engraved like signets,
    in a setting of gold, the work of a jeweler,
for a reminder, in engraved letters,
    according to the number of the tribes of Israel;
¹² with a gold crown upon his turban,
    inscribed like a signet with “Holiness,”
a distinction to be prized, the work of an expert,
    the delight of the eyes, richly adorned.
¹³ Before his time there never were such beautiful things.
    No outsider ever put them on,
but only his sons
    and his descendants perpetually.
¹⁴ His sacrifices shall be wholly burned
    twice every day continually.
¹⁵ Moses ordained him,
    and anointed him with holy oil;
it was an everlasting covenant for him
    and for his descendants all the days of heaven,
to minister to the Lord^[h] and serve as priest
    and bless his people in his name.
¹⁶ He chose him out of all the living
    to offer sacrifice to the Lord,
incense and a pleasing odor as a memorial portion,
    to make atonement for the people.^[i]
17 In his commandments he gave him
    authority and statutes and^[j] judgments,
to teach Jacob the testimonies,
    and to enlighten Israel with his law.
¹⁸ Outsiders conspired against him,
    and envied him in the wilderness,
Dathan and Abi′ram and their men
    and the company of Korah, in wrath and anger.
¹⁹ The Lord saw it and was not pleased,
    and in the wrath of his anger they were destroyed;
he wrought wonders against them
    to consume them in flaming fire.
²⁰ He added glory to Aaron
    and gave him a heritage;
he allotted to him the first of the first fruits,
    he prepared bread of first fruits in abundance;
²¹ for they eat the sacrifices to the Lord,
    which he gave to him and his descendants.
²² But in the land of the people he has no inheritance,
    and he has no portion among the people;
    for the Lord^[k] himself is his^[l] portion and inheritance.

²³ Phin′ehas the son of Elea′zar is the third in glory,
    for he was zealous in the fear of the Lord,
and stood fast, when the people turned away,
    in the ready goodness of his soul,
    and made atonement for Israel.
²⁴ Therefore a covenant of peace was established with him,
    that he should be leader of the sanctuary and of his people,
that he and his descendants should have
    the dignity of the priesthood for ever.
²⁵ A covenant was also established with David,
    the son of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah:
the heritage of the king is from son to son only;
    so the heritage of Aaron is for his descendants.
²⁶ May the Lord^[m] grant you wisdom in your heart
    to judge his people in righteousness,
so that their prosperity may not vanish,
    and that their glory may endure throughout their generations.^[n]

46 Joshua the son of Nun was mighty in war,
    and was the successor of Moses in prophesying.
He became, in accordance with his name,
    a great savior of God’s^[o] elect,
to take vengeance on the enemies that rose against them,
    so that he might give Israel its inheritance.
² How glorious he was when he lifted his hands
    and stretched out his sword against the cities!
³ Who before him ever stood so firm?
    For he waged the wars of the Lord.
⁴ Was not the sun held back by his hand?
    And did not one day become as long as two?
⁵ He called upon the Most High, the Mighty One,
    when enemies pressed him on every side,
⁶ and the great Lord answered him
    with hailstones of mighty power.
He hurled down war upon that nation,
    and at the descent of Beth-hor′on^[p] he destroyed those who resisted,
so that the nations might know his armament,
    that he was fighting in the sight of the Lord;
    for he wholly followed the Mighty One.
⁷ And in the days of Moses he did a loyal deed,
    he and Caleb the son of Jephun′neh:
they withstood the congregation,^[q]
    restrained the people from sin,
    and stilled their wicked murmuring.
⁸ And these two alone were preserved
    out of six hundred thousand people on foot,
to bring them into their inheritance,
    into a land flowing with milk and honey.
⁹ And the Lord gave Caleb strength,
    which remained with him to old age,
so that he went up to the hill country,
    and his children obtained it for an inheritance;
¹⁰ so that all the sons of Israel might see
    that it is good to follow the Lord.

¹¹ The judges also, with their respective names,
    those whose hearts did not fall into idolatry
and who did not turn away from the Lord—
    may their memory be blessed!
¹² May their bones revive from where they lie,
    and may the name of those who have been honored
    live again in their sons!

47 And after him Nathan rose up
    to prophesy in the days of David.

² As the fat is selected from the peace offering,
    so David was selected from the sons of Israel.
³ He played with lions as with young goats,
    and with bears as with lambs of the flock.
⁴ In his youth did he not kill a giant,
    and take away reproach from the people,
when he lifted his hand with a stone in the sling
    and struck down the boasting of Goliath?
⁵ For he appealed to the Lord, the Most High,
    and he gave him strength in his right hand
to slay a man mighty in war,
    to exalt the power^[s] of his people.
⁶ So they glorified him for his ten thousands,
    and praised him for the blessings of the Lord,
    when the glorious diadem was bestowed upon him.
⁷ For he wiped out his enemies on every side,
    and annihilated his adversaries the Philistines;
    he crushed their power^[t] even to this day.
⁸ In all that he did he gave thanks
    to the Holy One, the Most High, with ascriptions of glory;
he sang praise with all his heart,
    and he loved his Maker.
⁹ He placed singers before the altar,
    to make sweet melody with their voices.
¹⁰ He gave beauty to the feasts,
    and arranged their times throughout the year,^[u]
while they praised God’s^[v] holy name,
    and the sanctuary resounded from early morning.
¹¹ The Lord took away his sins,
    and exalted his power^[w] for ever;
he gave him the covenant of kings
    and a throne of glory in Israel.

¹² After him rose up a wise son
    who fared amply^[x] because of him;
¹³ Solomon reigned in days of peace,
    and God gave him rest on every side,
that he might build a house for his name
    and prepare a sanctuary to stand for ever.
¹⁴ How wise you became in your youth!
    You overflowed like a river with understanding.
¹⁵ Your soul covered the earth,
    and you filled it with parables and riddles.
¹⁶ Your name reached to far-off islands,
    and you were loved for your peace.
¹⁷ For your songs and proverbs and parables,
    and for your interpretations, the countries marveled at you.
¹⁸ In the name of the Lord God,
    who is called the God of Israel,
you gathered gold like tin
    and amassed silver like lead.
¹⁹ But you laid your loins beside women,
    and through your body you were brought into subjection.
²⁰ You put a stain upon your honor,
    and defiled your posterity,
so that you brought wrath upon your children
    and they were grieved^[y] at your folly,
²¹ so that the sovereignty was divided
    and a disobedient kingdom arose out of E′phraim.
²² But the Lord will never give up his mercy,
    nor cause any of his works to perish;
he will never blot out the descendants of his chosen one,
    nor destroy the posterity of him who loved him;
so he gave a remnant to Jacob,
    and to David a root of his stock.

²³ Solomon rested with his fathers,
    and left behind him one of his sons,
ample in^[z] folly and lacking in understanding,
    Rehobo′am, whose policy caused the people to revolt.
Also Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin
    and gave to E′phraim a sinful way.
²⁴ Their sins became exceedingly many,
    so as to remove them from their land.
²⁵ For they sought out every sort of wickedness,
    till vengeance came upon them.

48 Then the prophet Eli′jah arose like a fire,
    and his word burned like a torch.
² He brought a famine upon them,
    and by his zeal he made them few in number.
³ By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens,
    and also three times brought down fire.
⁴ How glorious you were, O Eli′jah, in your wondrous deeds!
    And who has the right to boast which you have?
⁵ You who raised a corpse from death
    and from Hades, by the word of the Most High;
⁶ who brought kings down to destruction,
    and famous men from their beds;
⁷ who heard rebuke at Sinai
    and judgments of vengeance at Horeb;
⁸ who anointed kings to inflict retribution,
    and prophets to succeed you.^[aa]
9 You who were taken up by a whirlwind of fire,
    in a chariot with horses of fire;
¹⁰ you who are ready^[ab] at the appointed time, it is written,
    to calm the wrath of God before it breaks out in fury,
to turn the heart of the father to the son,
    and to restore the tribes of Jacob.
¹¹ Blessed are those who saw you,
    and those who have been adorned^[ac] in love;
    for we also shall surely live.^[ad]

¹² It was Eli′jah who was covered by the whirlwind,
    and Eli′sha was filled with his spirit;
in all his days he did not tremble before any ruler,
    and no one brought him into subjection.
¹³ Nothing was too hard for him,
    and when he was dead his body prophesied.
¹⁴ As in his life he did wonders,
    so in death his deeds were marvelous.

¹⁷ Hezeki′ah fortified his city,
    and brought water into the midst of it;
he tunneled the sheer rock with iron
    and built pools for water.
¹⁸ In his days Sennach′erib came up,
    and sent the Rab′shakeh;^[af]
he lifted up his hand against Zion
    and made great boasts in his arrogance.
¹⁹ Then their hearts were shaken and their hands trembled,
    and they were in anguish, like women in travail.
²⁰ But they called upon the Lord who is merciful,
    spreading forth their hands toward him;
and the Holy One quickly heard them from heaven,
    and delivered them by the hand of Isaiah.
²¹ The Lord^[ag] smote the camp of the Assyrians,
    and his angel wiped them out.
²² For Hezeki′ah did what was pleasing to the Lord,
    and he held strongly to the ways of David his father,
which Isaiah the prophet commanded,
    who was great and faithful in his vision.

²³ In his days the sun went backward,
    and he lengthened the life of the king.
²⁴ By the spirit of might he saw the last things,
    and comforted those who mourned in Zion.
²⁵ He revealed what was to occur to the end of time,
    and the hidden things before they came to pass.

49 The memory of Josi′ah is like a blending of incense
    prepared by the art of the perfumer;
it is sweet as honey to every mouth,
    and like music at a banquet of wine.
² He was led aright in converting the people,
    and took away the abominations of iniquity.
³ He set his heart upon the Lord;
    in the days of wicked men he strengthened godliness.

¹⁴ No one like Enoch has been created on earth,
    for he was taken up from the earth.
¹⁵ And no man like Joseph^[am] has been born,
    and his bones are cared for.
¹⁶ Shem and Seth were honored among men,
    and Adam above every living being in the creation.

50 The leader of his brethren and the pride of his people^[an]
    was Simon the high priest, son of Onias,
who in his life repaired the house,
    and in his time fortified the temple.
² He laid the foundations for the high double walls,^[ao]
    the high retaining walls for the temple enclosure.
³ In his days a cistern for water was quarried out,^[ap]
    a reservoir like the sea in circumference.
⁴ He considered how to save his people from ruin,
    and fortified the city to withstand a siege.
⁵ How glorious he was when the people gathered round him
    as he came out of the inner sanctuary!^[aq]
6 Like the morning star among the clouds,
    like the moon when it is full;
⁷ like the sun shining upon the temple of the Most High,
    and like the rainbow gleaming in glorious clouds;
⁸ like roses in the days of the first fruits,
    like lilies by a spring of water,
    like a green shoot on Leb′anon^[ar] on a summer day;
⁹ like fire and incense in the censer,
    like a vessel of hammered gold
    adorned with all kinds of precious stones;
¹⁰ like an olive tree putting forth its fruit,
    and like a cypress towering in the clouds.
¹¹ When he put on his glorious robe
    and clothed himself with superb perfection
and went up to the holy altar,
    he made the court of the sanctuary glorious.
¹² And when he received the portions from the hands of the priests,
    as he stood by the hearth of the altar
with a garland of brethren around him,
    he was like a young cedar on Leb′anon;
and they surrounded him like the trunks of palm trees,
¹³     all the sons of Aaron in their splendor
with the Lord’s offering in their hands,
    before the whole congregation of Israel.
¹⁴ Finishing the service at the altars,
    and arranging the offering to the Most High, the Almighty,
¹⁵ he reached out his hand to the cup
    and poured a libation of the blood of the grape;
he poured it out at the foot of the altar,
    a pleasing odor to the Most High, the King of all.
¹⁶ Then the sons of Aaron shouted,
    they sounded the trumpets of hammered work,
they made a great noise to be heard
    for remembrance before the Most High.
¹⁷ Then all the people together made haste
    and fell to the ground upon their faces
to worship their Lord,
    the Almighty, God Most High.
¹⁸ And the singers praised him with their voices
    in sweet and full-toned melody.^[as]
19 And the people besought the Lord Most High
    in prayer before him who is merciful,
till the order of worship of the Lord was ended;
    so they completed his service.
²⁰ Then Simon^[at] came down, and lifted up his hands
    over the whole congregation of the sons of Israel,
to pronounce the blessing of the Lord with his lips,
    and to glory in his name;
²¹ and they bowed down in worship a second time,
    to receive the blessing from the Most High.

²² And now bless the God of all,
    who in every way does great things;
who exalts our days from birth,
    and deals with us according to his mercy.
²³ May he give us^[au] gladness of heart,
    and grant that peace may be in our days in Israel,
    as in the days of old.
²⁴ May he entrust to us his mercy!
    And let him deliver us in our^[av] days!