Day 201: Sirach 40 - 43

(ECCLESIASTICUS, OR THE WISDOM OF JESUS, SON OF SIRACH)

Chapter 40

1: Hard work was created for everyone, and a heavy yoke is laid on the children of Adam, from the day they come forth from their mother’s womb until the day they return to the mother of all the living.
2: Perplexities and fear of heart are theirs, and anxious thought of the day of their death.
3: From the one who sits on a splendid throne to the one who grovels in dust and ashes,
4: from the one who wears purple and a crown to the one who is clothed in sackcloth,
5: there is anger and envy and trouble and unrest, and fear of death, and fury and strife. And when one rests upon his bed, his sleep at night confuses his mind.
6: He gets little or no rest; he struggles in his sleep as he did by day. He is troubled by the visions of his mind like one who has escaped from the battlefield.
7: At the moment he reaches safety he wakes up, astonished that his fears were groundless.
8: To all creatures, human and animal, but to sinners seven times more,
9: come death and bloodshed and strife and sword, calamities and famine and ruin and plague.
10: All these were created for the wicked, and on their account the flood came.
11: All that is of earth returns to earth, and what is from above returns above.
12: All bribery and injustice will be blotted out, but good faith will last forever.
13: The wealth of the unjust will dry up like a river, and crash like a loud clap of thunder in a storm.
14: As a generous person has cause to rejoice, so lawbreakers will utterly fail.
15: The children of the ungodly put out few branches; they are unhealthy roots on sheer rock.
16: The reeds by any water or river bank are plucked up before any grass;
17: but kindness is like a garden of blessings, and almsgiving endures forever.
18: Wealth and wages make life sweet, but better than either is finding a treasure.
19: Children and the building of a city establish one’s name, but better than either is one who finds wisdom. Cattle and orchards make one prosperous; but a blameless wife is accounted better than either.
20: Wine and music gladden the heart, but the love of friends is better than either.
21: The flute and the harp make sweet melody, but a pleasant voice is better than either.
22: The eye desires grace and beauty, but the green shoots of grain more than either.
23: A friend or companion is always welcome, but a sensible wife is better than either.
24: Kindred and helpers are for a time of trouble, but almsgiving rescues better than either.
25: Gold and silver make one stand firm, but good counsel is esteemed more than either.
26: Riches and strength build up confidence, but the fear of the Lord is better than either. There is no want in the fear of the Lord, and with it there is no need to seek for help.
27: The fear of the Lord is like a garden of blessing, and covers a person better than any glory.
28: My child, do not lead the life of a beggar; it is better to die than to beg.
29: When one looks to the table of another, one’s way of life cannot be considered a life. One loses self-respect with another person’s food, but one who is intelligent and well instructed guards against that. 30: In the mouth of the shameless begging is sweet, but it kindles a fire inside him.

Chapter 41

1: O death, how bitter is the thought of you to one at peace among possessions, who has nothing to worry about and is prosperous in everything, and still is vigorous enough to enjoy food! ,
2: O death, how welcome is your sentence to one who is needy and failing in strength,
worn down by age and anxious about everything; to one who is contrary, and has lost all patience!
3: Do not fear death’s decree for you; remember those who went before you and those who will come after.
4: This is the Lord’s decree for all flesh; why then should you reject the will of the Most High? Whether life lasts for ten years or a hundred or a thousand, there are no questions asked in Hades.
5: The children of sinners are abominable children, and they frequent the haunts of the ungodly.
6: The inheritance of the children of sinners will perish, and on their offspring will be a perpetual disgrace.
7: Children will blame an ungodly father, for they suffer disgrace because of him.
8: Woe to you, the ungodly, who have forsaken the law of the Most High God!
9: If you have children, calamity will be theirs; you will beget them only for groaning.
When you stumble, there is lasting joy; and when you die, a curse is your lot.
10: Whatever comes from earth returns to earth; so the ungodly go from curse to destruction.
11: The human body is a fleeting thing, but a virtuous name will never be blotted out.
12: Have regard for your name, since it will outlive you longer than a thousand hoards of gold.
13: The days of a good life are numbered, but a good name lasts forever.
14: My children, be true to your training and be at peace; hidden wisdom and unseen treasure - of what value is either?
15: Better are those who hide their folly than those who hide their wisdom.
16: Therefore show respect for my words; for it is not good to feel shame in every circumstance, nor is every kind of abashment to be approved.
17: Be ashamed of sexual immorality, before your father or mother; and of a lie, before a prince or a ruler;
18: of a crime, before a judge or magistrate; and of a breach of the law, before the congregation and the people; of unjust dealing, before your partner or your friend;
19: and of theft, in the place where you live. Be ashamed of breaking an oath or agreement, and of leaning on your elbow at meals; of surliness in receiving or giving,
20: and of silence, before those who greet you; of looking at a prostitute,
21: and of rejecting the appeal of a relative; of taking away someone’s portion or gift,
and of gazing at another man’s wife;
22: of meddling with his servant-girl - and do not approach her bed; of abusive words, before friends - and do not be insulting after making a gift.

Chapter 42

1: Be ashamed of repeating what you hear, and of betraying secrets. Then you will show proper shame, and will find favour with everyone. Of the following things do not be ashamed, and do not sin to save face:
2: Do not be ashamed of the law of the Most High and his covenant, and of rendering judgement to acquit the ungodly;
3: of keeping accounts with a partner or with travelling-companions, and of dividing the inheritance of friends;
4: of accuracy with scales and weights, and of acquiring much or little;
5: of profit from dealing with merchants, and of frequent disciplining of children, and of drawing blood from the back of a wicked slave.
6: Where there is an untrustworthy wife, a seal is a good thing; and where there are many hands, lock things up.
7: When you make a deposit, be sure it is counted and weighed, and when you give or receive, put it all in writing.
8: Do not be ashamed to correct the stupid or foolish or the aged who are guilty of sexual immorality. Then you will show your sound training, and will be approved by all.
9: A daughter is a secret anxiety to her father, and worry over her robs him of sleep: when she is young, for fear she may not marry, or if married, for fear she may be disliked;
10: while a virgin, for fear she may be seduced and become pregnant in her father’s house; or having a husband, for fear she may go astray, or, though married, for fear she may be barren.
11: Keep strict watch over a headstrong daughter, or she may make you a laughing-stock to your enemies, a byword in the city and the assembly of the people, and put you to shame in public gatherings. See that there is no lattice in her room, no spot that overlooks the approaches to the house.
12: Do not let her parade her beauty before any man, or spend her time among married women;
13: for from garments comes the moth, and from a woman comes woman’s wickedness.
14: Better is the wickedness of a man than a woman who does good; it is woman who brings shame and disgrace.
15: I will now call to mind the works of the Lord, and will declare what I have seen. By the word of the Lord his works are made; and all his creatures do his will.
16: The sun looks down on everything with its light, and the work of the Lord is full of his glory.
17: The Lord has not empowered even his holy ones to recount all his marvellous works,
which the Lord the Almighty has established so that the universe may stand firm in his glory.
18: He searches out the abyss and the human heart; he understands their innermost secrets. For the Most High knows all that may be known; he sees from of old the things that are to come.
19: He discloses what has been and what is to be, and he reveals the traces of hidden things.
20: No thought escapes him, and nothing is hidden from him.
21: He has set in order the splendours of his wisdom; he is from all eternity one and the same. Nothing can be added or taken away, and he needs no one to be his counsellor.
22: How desirable are all his works, and how sparkling they are to see!
23: All these things live and remain forever; each creature is preserved to meet a particular need.
24: All things come in pairs, one opposite to the other, and he has made nothing incomplete.
25: Each supplements the virtues of the other. Who could ever tire of seeing his glory?

Chapter 43

1: The pride of the higher realms is the clear vault of the sky, as glorious to behold as the sight of the heavens.
2: The sun, when it appears, proclaims as it rises what a marvellous instrument it is, the work of the Most High.
3: At noon it parches the land, and who can withstand its burning heat?
4: A man tending a furnace works in burning heat, but three times as hot is the sun scorching the mountains; it breathes out fiery vapours, and its bright rays blind the eyes.
5: Great is the Lord who made it; at his orders it hurries on its course.
6: It is the moon that marks the changing seasons, governing the times, their everlasting sign.
7: From the moon comes the sign for festal days, a light that wanes when it completes its course.
8: The new moon, as its name suggests, renews itself; how marvellous it is in this change,
a beacon to the hosts on high, shining in the vault of the heavens!
9: The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven, a glittering array in the heights of the Lord.
10: On the orders of the Holy One they stand in their appointed places; they never relax in their watches.
11: Look at the rainbow, and praise him who made it; it is exceedingly beautiful in its brightness.
12: It encircles the sky with its glorious arc; the hands of the Most High have stretched it out.
13: By his command he sends the driving snow and speeds the lightnings of his judgement.
14: Therefore the storehouses are opened, and the clouds fly out like birds.
15: In his majesty he gives the clouds their strength, and the hailstones are broken in pieces.
17a: The voice of his thunder rebukes the earth;
16: when he appears, the mountains shake. At his will the south wind blows;
17b: so do the storm from the north and the whirlwind. He scatters the snow like birds flying down, and its descent is like locusts alighting.
18: The eye is dazzled by the beauty of its whiteness, and the mind is amazed as it falls.
19: He pours frost over the earth like salt, and icicles form like pointed thorns.
20: The cold north wind blows, and ice freezes on the water; it settles on every pool of water, and the water puts it on like a breastplate.
21: He consumes the mountains and burns up the wilderness, and withers the tender grass like fire.
22: A mist quickly heals all things; the falling dew gives refreshment from the heat.
23: By his plan he stilled the deep and planted islands in it.
24: Those who sail the sea tell of its dangers, and we marvel at what we hear.
25: In it are strange and marvellous creatures, all kinds of living things, and huge sea -monsters.
26: Because of him each of his messengers succeeds, and by his word all things hold together.
27: We could say more but could never say enough; let the final word be: ‘He is the all.’
28: Where can we find the strength to praise him? For he is greater than all his works.
29: Awesome is the Lord and very great, and marvellous is his power.
30: Glorify the Lord and exalt him as much as you can, for he surpasses even that. When you exalt him, summon all your strength, and do not grow weary, for you cannot praise him enough.
31: Who has seen him and can describe him? Or who can extol him as he is?
32: Many things greater than these lie hidden, for I have seen but few of his works.
33: For the Lord has made all things, and to the godly he has given wisdom.