Sirach 47  New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

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

² As the fat is set apart from the offering of well-being,
    so David was set apart from the Israelites.
³ He played with lions as though they were young goats,
    and with bears as though they were lambs of the flock.
⁴ In his youth did he not kill a giant,
    and take away the people’s disgrace,
when he whirled the stone in the sling
    and struck down the boasting Goliath?
⁵ For he called on the Lord, the Most High,
    and he gave strength to his right arm
to strike down a mighty warrior,
    and to exalt the power^[a] of his people.
⁶ So they glorified him for the tens of thousands he conquered,
    and praised him for the blessings bestowed by the Lord,
    when the glorious diadem was given to him.
⁷ For he wiped out his enemies on every side,
    and annihilated his adversaries the Philistines;
    he crushed their power^[b] to our own day.
⁸ In all that he did he gave thanks
    to the Holy One, the Most High, proclaiming his 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.^[c]
10 He gave beauty to the festivals,
    and arranged their times throughout the year,^[d]
while they praised God’s^[e] holy name,
    and the sanctuary resounded from early morning.
¹¹ The Lord took away his sins,
    and exalted his power^[f] forever;
he gave him a covenant of kingship
    and a glorious throne in Israel.

¹² After him a wise son rose up
    who because of him lived in security:^[g]
13 Solomon reigned in an age of peace,
    because God made all his borders tranquil,
so that he might build a house in his name
    and provide a sanctuary to stand forever.
¹⁴ How wise you were when you were young!
    You overflowed like the Nile^[h] with understanding.
¹⁵ Your influence spread throughout the earth,
    and you filled it with proverbs having deep meaning.
¹⁶ Your fame reached to far-off islands,
    and you were loved for your peaceful reign.
¹⁷ Your songs, proverbs, and parables,
    and the answers you gave astounded the nations.
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 brought in women to lie at your side,
    and through your body you were brought into subjection.
²⁰ You stained your honor,
    and defiled your family line,
so that you brought wrath upon your children,
    and they were grieved^[i] at your folly,
²¹ because the sovereignty was divided
    and a rebel kingdom arose out of Ephraim.
²² But the Lord will never give up his mercy,
    or cause any of his works to perish;
he will never blot out the descendants of his chosen one,
    or destroy the family line of him who loved him.
So he gave a remnant to Jacob,
    and to David a root from his own family.

²³ Solomon rested with his ancestors,
    and left behind him one of his sons,
broad in^[j] folly and lacking in sense,
    Rehoboam, whose policy drove the people to revolt.
Then Jeroboam son of Nebat led Israel into sin
    and started Ephraim on its sinful ways.
²⁴ Their sins increased more and more,
    until they were exiled from their land.
²⁵ For they sought out every kind of wickedness,
    until vengeance came upon them.