Wisdom of Ben Sira 51

New Catholic Bible

¹ I give thanks to you, O Lord and King,
    and praise you, O God my Savior.
I give thanks to your name,
²     for you have been my protector and my support.
You have rescued me from destruction,
    from the snare laid by a slanderous tongue,
    and from lips that fabricate falsehood.
In the face of my adversaries you came to my aid;
³     in the greatness of your mercy and of your name you rescued me:
from the gnashing teeth waiting to devour me,
    from the hands of those who sought my life,
    and from the many ordeals I endured,
⁴ from the choking fire that enveloped me,
    and from the fire that I had not kindled,
⁵ from the deep recesses of the netherworld,
    from deceiving lips and lying words
⁶     and a treacherous slander delivered to the king.
I was at the point of death,
    and my soul was hovering near the depths of the netherworld.
⁷ I was surrounded on every side
    and there was no one to help me.
I looked for human assistance
    but there was none.
⁸ Then I remembered your mercy, O Lord,
    and your kind deeds from the ages.
For you deliver those who put their trust in you
    and rescue them from the power of their enemies.
⁹ Therefore, from the earth I sent up my plea,
    begging to be rescued from death.
¹⁰ I cried out: “Lord, you are my Father,
    and the champion of my salvation;
do not abandon me in my days of ordeal,
    for I am helpless when confronted by the arrogant.
I will praise your name continually
    and sing hymns of thanksgiving.”
¹¹ Thereupon my prayer was heard,
    for you saved me from destruction
    and delivered me from my desperate plight.
¹² For this reason, I thank you and I praise you;
    I bless the name of the Lord.^[b]

¹³ While I was still young, before I set off on my travels,
    I openly sought wisdom in my prayers.
¹⁴ Outside the temple I prayed for her,
    and I will seek her until my death.
¹⁵ From the first blossoming to the ripening of her grape,
    she has been my heart’s delight.
My foot has continued unswervingly on a level path;
    I have sought her since my youth.
¹⁶ I inclined my ear slightly and received her,
    and I profited thereby with much instruction.
¹⁷ Thanks to her I have advanced,
    and I will give glory to him who has granted me wisdom.
¹⁸ I resolved to put into practice what I had learned;
    I earnestly pursued goodness, and I will never be put to shame.
¹⁹ With all my strength I strove to possess wisdom,
    and I was scrupulous in keeping the law.
I stretched out my hands on high
    and lamented how little I really knew of her.
²⁰ I set my heart on possessing wisdom,
    and by keeping myself pure I found her.
With her I gained understanding immediately;
    therefore, I will never be forsaken.
²¹ I yearned to discover her from the very core of my being;
    therefore, I have gained a prize possession.
²² As my reward the Lord has granted me eloquence,
    which I will use to sing his praises.
²³ Come close to me, you who are unlearned,
    and take up your lodging in my school.
²⁴ Why do you complain that you still lack these things,
    and why do you continue to endure such great thirst?
²⁵ I have opened my mouth and spoken:
    Acquire wisdom for yourselves without cost.
²⁶ Put your neck under her yoke,
    and allow your souls to receive instruction;
    it is close by if you wish to find it.
²⁷ See for yourselves that my labors were minimal,
    but my reward of serenity has been great.
²⁸ You may expend a great deal of silver to acquire instruction,
    but, as a result, you will gain much gold.^[d]
29 May your soul rejoice in the mercy of the Lord,
    and may you never be ashamed to praise him.
³⁰ Do your work in the appointed time,
    and in his own time God will give you your reward.