Sirach 46

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

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^[a] 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^[b] 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,^[c]
    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!