Sirach 24
Good News Translation
In Praise of Wisdom
24 Listen to Wisdom! She proudly sings her own praises among the Israelites, her own people, 2 in the assembly of the Most High, in the presence of his power.[a]
3 I am the word spoken by the Most High.
I covered the earth like a mist.
4 (A)I made my home in highest heaven,
my throne on a pillar of cloud.
5 Alone I walked around the circle of the sky
and walked through the ocean beneath the earth.
6 I ruled over[b] all the earth and the ocean waves,
over every nation, over every people.
7 I looked everywhere for a place to settle,
some part of the world to make my home.
8 Then my Creator, who created the universe,
told me where I was to live.
Make your home in Israel, he said.
The descendants of Jacob will be your people.
9 He created me in eternity, before time began,
and I will exist for all eternity to come.
10 I served him in the Sacred Tent
and then made my home on Mount Zion.
11 He settled me in the Beloved City
and gave me authority over Jerusalem.
12 I put down roots among an honored people
whom the Lord had chosen as his own.
13 I grew tall, like the cedars in Lebanon,
like the cypresses on Mount Hermon,
14 like the palm trees of Engedi,[c]
like the roses of Jericho,
like beautiful olive trees in the fields,
like plane trees growing by the water.
15 My breath was the spicy smell of cinnamon,
of sweet perfume and finest myrrh,
of stacte, onycha, and galbanum,
the fragrant incense in the Sacred Tent.
16 Like an oak I spread out my branches,
magnificent and graceful.
17 Like a grapevine I put out lovely shoots;
my blossoms gave way to rich and glorious fruit.[d]
19 Come to me, all you that want me,
and eat your fill of my fruit.
20 You will remember me as sweeter than honey,
better than honey from the comb.
21 Eat me, and you will hunger for more;
drink me, and you will thirst for more.
22 Obey me, and you will never have cause for embarrassment;
do as I say, and you will be safe from sin.
Wisdom and the Law
23 Wisdom is the Law, the Law which Moses commanded us to keep, the covenant of God Most High, the inheritance of the synagogues of Israel.[e] 25 The Law overflows with Wisdom like the Pishon River, like the Tigris at fruit-picking time. 26 The Law brims over with understanding like the Euphrates, like the Jordan at harvest time. 27 It sparkles with teachings like the Nile,[f] like the Gihon at grape-picking time.
28 The first human being ever created never knew Wisdom completely, and the last person on earth will be no more successful. 29 The possibilities of Wisdom are vaster than the ocean; her resources are more profound than the deepest waters beneath the earth.
30 As for me, I thought of myself as an irrigation canal bringing water from a river into a garden. 31 I only intended to water my orchard and flower beds, but the canal soon became a river, and the river became a sea. 32 And so I present you with my learning; I hold it high, so that its light can be seen everywhere, like that of the rising sun. 33 Like an inspired prophet, I pour out my teachings, so that future generations can benefit from them. 34 Please realize that I have not done all this hard work for myself alone, but to help anyone who wants to be wise.
Footnotes
- Sirach 24:2 power; or angels.
- Sirach 24:6 ruled over; some manuscripts have gained possession of.
- Sirach 24:14 of Engedi; some manuscripts have on the seashore.
- Sirach 24:17 Some manuscripts add verse 18: I am the mother of beautiful love, of fear, knowledge, and holy hope. Since I am eternal, I am given to all my children, who are named by him.
- Sirach 24:23 Some manuscripts add verse 24: Always be strong in the Lord; stay with him, so that he may make you strong. There is no God but the Lord Almighty, and no savior except him.
- Sirach 24:27 One ancient translation It sparkles...Nile; Greek It makes teachings shine like light.
Sirach 24
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
The Praise of Wisdom[a]
24 Wisdom praises herself,
and tells of her glory in the midst of her people.
2 In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth,
and in the presence of his hosts she tells of her glory:
3 “I came forth from the mouth of the Most High,
and covered the earth like a mist.
4 I dwelt in the highest heavens,
and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.
5 Alone I compassed the vault of heaven
and traversed the depths of the abyss.
6 Over waves of the sea, over all the earth,
and over every people and nation I have held sway.[b]
7 Among all these I sought a resting place;
in whose territory should I abide?
8 “Then the Creator of all things gave me a command,
and my Creator chose the place for my tent.
He said, ‘Make your dwelling in Jacob,
and in Israel receive your inheritance.’
9 Before the ages, in the beginning, he created me,
and for all the ages I shall not cease to be.
10 In the holy tent I ministered before him,
and so I was established in Zion.
11 Thus in the beloved city he gave me a resting place,
and in Jerusalem was my domain.
12 I took root in an honored people,
in the portion of the Lord, his heritage.
13 “I grew tall like a cedar in Lebanon,
and like a cypress on the heights of Hermon.
14 I grew tall like a palm tree in En-gedi,[c]
and like rosebushes in Jericho;
like a fair olive tree in the field,
and like a plane tree beside water[d] I grew tall.
15 Like cassia and camel’s thorn I gave forth perfume,
and like choice myrrh I spread my fragrance,
like galbanum, onycha, and stacte,
and like the odor of incense in the tent.
16 Like a terebinth I spread out my branches,
and my branches are glorious and graceful.
17 Like the vine I bud forth delights,
and my blossoms become glorious and abundant fruit.[e]
19 “Come to me, you who desire me,
and eat your fill of my fruits.
20 For the memory of me is sweeter than honey,
and the possession of me sweeter than the honeycomb.
21 Those who eat of me will hunger for more,
and those who drink of me will thirst for more.
22 Whoever obeys me will not be put to shame,
and those who work with me will not sin.”
Wisdom and the Law
23 All this is the book of the covenant of the Most High God,
the law that Moses commanded us
as an inheritance for the congregations of Jacob.[f]
25 It overflows, like the Pishon, with wisdom,
and like the Tigris at the time of the first fruits.
26 It runs over, like the Euphrates, with understanding,
and like the Jordan at harvest time.
27 It pours forth instruction like the Nile,[g]
like the Gihon at the time of vintage.
28 The first man did not know wisdom[h] fully,
nor will the last one fathom her.
29 For her thoughts are more abundant than the sea,
and her counsel deeper than the great abyss.
30 As for me, I was like a canal from a river,
like a water channel into a garden.
31 I said, “I will water my garden
and drench my flower-beds.”
And lo, my canal became a river,
and my river a sea.
32 I will again make instruction shine forth like the dawn,
and I will make it clear from far away.
33 I will again pour out teaching like prophecy,
and leave it to all future generations.
34 Observe that I have not labored for myself alone,
but for all who seek wisdom.[i]
Footnotes
- Sirach 24:1 This heading is included in the Gk text.
- Sirach 24:6 Other ancient authorities read I have acquired a possession
- Sirach 24:14 Other ancient authorities read on the beaches
- Sirach 24:14 Other ancient authorities omit beside water
- Sirach 24:17 Other ancient authorities add as verse 18, I am the mother of beautiful love, of fear, of knowledge, and of holy hope; being eternal, I am given to all my children, to those who are named by him.
- Sirach 24:23 Other ancient authorities add as verse 24, “Do not cease to be strong in the Lord, cling to him so that he may strengthen you; the Lord Almighty alone is God, and besides him there is no savior.”
- Sirach 24:27 Syr: Gk It makes instruction shine forth like light
- Sirach 24:28 Gk her
- Sirach 24:34 Gk her
Sirach 24
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
24 Wisdom shall praise her own self, and shall be honoured in God, and shall glory in the midst of her people,
2 And shall open her mouth in the churches of the most High, and shall glorify herself in the sight of his power,
3 And in the midst of her own people she shall be exalted, and shall be admired in the holy assembly.
4 And in the multitude of the elect she shall have praise, and among the blessed she shall be blessed, saying:
5 I came out of the mouth of the most High, the firstborn before all creatures:
6 I made that in the heavens there should rise light that never faileth, and as a cloud I covered all the earth:
7 I dwelt in the highest places, and my throne is in a pillar of a cloud.
8 I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven, and have penetrated into the bottom of the deep, and have walked in the waves of the sea,
9 And have stood in all the earth: and in every people,
10 And in every nation I have had the chief rule:
11 And by my power I have trodden under my feet the hearts of all the high and low: and in all these I sought rest, and I shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord.
12 Then the creator of all things commanded, and said to me: and he that made me, rested in my tabernacle,
13 And he said to me: Let thy dwelling be in Jacob, and thy inheritance in Israel, and take root in my elect.
14 From the beginning, and before the world, was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling place I have ministered before him.
15 And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem.
16 And I took root in an honourable people, and in the portion of my God his inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints.
17 I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree on mount Sion.
18 I was exalted like a palm tree in Cades, and as a rose plant in Jericho:
19 As a fair olive tree in the plains, and as a plane tree by the water in the streets, was I exalted.
20 I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon. and aromatical balm: I yielded a sweet odour like the best myrrh:
21 And I perfumed my dwelling as storax, and galbanum, and onyx, and aloes, and as the frankincense not cut, and my odour is as the purest balm.
22 I have stretched out my branches as the turpentine tree, and my branches are of honour and grace.
23 As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odour: and my flowers are the fruit of honour and riches.
24 I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope.
25 In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue.
26 Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits.
27 For my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb.
28 My memory is unto everlasting generations.
29 They that eat me, shall yet hunger: and they that drink me, shall yet thirst.
30 He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin.
31 They that explain me shall have life everlasting.
32 All these things are the book of life, and the covenant of the most High, and the knowledge of truth.
33 Moses commanded a law in the precepts of justices, and an inheritance to the house of Jacob, and the promises to Israel.
34 He appointed to David his servant to raise up of him a most mighty king, and sitting on the throne of glory for ever.
35 Who filleth up wisdom as the Phison, and as the Tigris in the days of the new fruits.
36 Who maketh understanding to abound as the Euphrates, who multiplieth it as the Jordan in the time of harvest.
37 Who sendeth knowledge as the light, and riseth up as Gehon in the time of the vintage.
38 Who first hath perfect knowledge of her, and a weaker shall not search her out.
39 For her thoughts are more vast than the sea, and her counsels more deep than the great ocean.
40 I, wisdom, have poured out rivers.
41 I, like a brook out of a river of a mighty water; I, like a channel of a river. and like an aqueduct, came out of paradise.
42 I said: I will water my garden of plants, and I will water abundantly the fruits of my meadow.
43 And behold my brook became a great river, and my river came near to a sea:
44 For I make doctrine to shine forth to all as the morning light, and I will declare it afar off.
45 I will penetrate to all the lower parts of the earth, and will behold all that sleep, and will enlighten all that hope in the Lord.
46 I will yet pour out doctrine as prophecy, and will leave it to them that seek wisdom, and will not cease to instruct their offspring even to the holy age.
47 See ye that I have not laboured for myself only, but for all that seek out the truth.
Sirach 24
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
24 Wisdom will praise herself,
and will glory in the midst of her people.[a]
2 In the assembly of the Most High she will open her mouth,
and in the presence of his host she will glory:
3 “I came forth from the mouth of the Most High,
and covered the earth like a mist.
4 I dwelt in high places,
and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.
5 Alone I have made the circuit of the vault of heaven
and have walked in the depths of the abyss.
6 In the waves of the sea, in the whole earth,
and in every people and nation I have gotten a possession.
7 Among all these I sought a resting place;
I sought in whose territory I might lodge.
8 “Then the Creator of all things gave me a commandment,
and the one who created me assigned a place for my tent.
And he said, ‘Make your dwelling in Jacob,
and in Israel receive your inheritance.’
9 From eternity, in the beginning, he created me,
and for eternity I shall not cease to exist.
10 In the holy tabernacle I ministered before him,
and so I was established in Zion.
11 In the beloved city likewise he gave me a resting place,
and in Jerusalem was my dominion.
12 So I took root in an honored people,
in the portion of the Lord, who is their inheritance.
13 “I grew tall like a cedar in Leb′anon,
and like a cypress on the heights of Hermon.
14 I grew tall like a palm tree in En-ged′i,[b]
and like rose plants in Jericho;
like a beautiful olive tree in the field,
and like a plane tree I grew tall.
15 Like cassia and camel’s thorn I gave forth the aroma of spices,
and like choice myrrh I spread a pleasant odor,
like gal′banum, on′ycha, and stacte,
and like the fragrance of frankincense in the tabernacle.
16 Like a terebinth I spread out my branches,
and my branches are glorious and graceful.
17 Like a vine I caused loveliness to bud,
and my blossoms became glorious and abundant fruit.[c]
19 “Come to me, you who desire me,
and eat your fill of my produce.
20 For the remembrance of me is sweeter than honey,
and my inheritance sweeter than the honeycomb.
21 Those who eat me will hunger for more,
and those who drink me will thirst for more.
22 Whoever obeys me will not be put to shame,
and those who work with my help will not sin.”
Wisdom and the Law
23 All this is the book of the covenant of the Most High God,
the law which Moses commanded us
as an inheritance for the congregations of Jacob.[d]
25 It fills men with wisdom, like the Pishon,
and like the Tigris at the time of the first fruits.
26 It makes them full of understanding, like the Euphrates,
and like the Jordan at harvest time.
27 It makes instruction shine forth like light,
like the Gihon at the time of vintage.
28 Just as the first man did not know her perfectly,
the last one has not fathomed her;
29 for her thought is more abundant than the sea,
and her counsel deeper than the great abyss.
30 I went forth like a canal from a river
and like a water channel into a garden.
31 I said, “I will water my orchard
and drench my garden plot”;
and lo, my canal became a river,
and my river became a sea.
32 I will again make instruction shine forth like the dawn,
and I will make it shine afar;
33 I will again pour out teaching like prophecy,
and leave it to all future generations.
34 Observe that I have not labored for myself alone,
but for all who seek instruction.[e]
Footnotes
- Sirach 24:1 Or will glorify herself in the midst of the people.
- Sirach 24:14 Other authorities read on the beaches
- Sirach 24:17 Other authorities add 18 I am the mother of beautiful love, of fear, of knowledge, and of holy hope; being eternal, I therefore am given to all my children, to those who are named by him.
- Sirach 24:23 Other authorities add 24 “Do not cease to be strong in the Lord, cleave to him so that he may strengthen you; the Lord Almighty alone is God, and besides him there is no savior.”
- Sirach 24:34 Gk it
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 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.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 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.