(ECCLESIASTICUS, OR THE WISDOM OF JESUS, SON OF SIRACH)
Chapter 44
Hymn in Honour of Our Ancestors
1: Let us now sing the praises of famous men, our ancestors in their generations.
2: The Lord apportioned to them great glory, his majesty from the beginning.
3: There were those who ruled in their kingdoms, and made a name for themselves by their valour; those who gave counsel because they were intelligent; those who spoke in prophetic oracles;
4: those who led the people by their counsels and by their knowledge of the people’s lore; they were wise in their words of instruction;
5: those who composed musical tunes, or put verses in writing;
6: rich men endowed with resources, living peacefully in their homes –
7: all these were honoured in their generations, and were the pride of their times.
8: Some of them have left behind a name, so that others declare their praise.
9: But of others there is no memory; they have perished as though they had never existed;
they have become as though they had never been born, they and their children after them.
10: But these also were godly men, whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten;
11: their wealth will remain with their descendants, and their inheritance with their children’s children.
12: Their descendants stand by the covenants; their children also, for their sake.
13: Their offspring will continue forever, and their glory will never be blotted out.
14: Their bodies are buried in peace, but their name lives on generation after generation.
15: The assembly declares their wisdom, and the congregation proclaims their praise.
16: Enoch pleased the Lord and was taken up, an example of repentance to all generations.
17: Noah was found perfect and righteous; in the time of wrath he kept the race alive; therefore a remnant was left on the earth when the flood came.
18: Everlasting covenants were made with him that all flesh should never again be blotted out by a flood.
19: Abraham was the great father of a multitude of nations, and no one has been found like him in glory.
20: He kept the law of the Most High, and entered into a covenant with him; he certified the covenant in his flesh, and when he was tested he proved faithful.
21: Therefore the Lord assured him with an oath that the nations would be blessed through his offspring; that he would make him as numerous as the dust of the earth, and exalt his offspring like the stars, and give them an inheritance from sea to sea and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
22: To Isaac also he gave the same assurance for the sake of his father Abraham. The blessing of all people and the covenant
23: he made to rest on the head of Jacob; he acknowledged him with his blessings, and gave him his inheritance; he divided his portions, and distributed them among twelve tribes. From his descendants the Lord brought forth a godly man, who found favour in the sight of all.
Chapter 45
1: and was beloved by God and people, Moses, whose memory is blessed.
2: He made him equal in glory to the holy ones, and made him great, to the terror of his enemies.
3: By his words he performed swift miracles; the Lord glorified him in the presence of kings. He gave him commandments for his people, and revealed to him his glory.
4: For his faithfulness and meekness he consecrated him, choosing him out of all humankind.
5: He allowed him to hear his voice, and led him into the dark cloud, and gave him the commandments face to face, the law of life and knowledge, so that he might teach Jacob the covenant, and Israel his decrees.
6: He exalted Aaron, a holy man like Moses who was his brother, of the tribe of Levi.
7: He made an everlasting covenant with him, and gave him the priesthood of the people.
He blessed him with stateliness, and put a glorious robe on him.
8: He clothed him in perfect splendour, and strengthened him with the symbols of authority, the linen undergarments, the long robe, and the ephod.
9: And he encircled him with pomegranates, with many golden bells all round, to send forth a sound as he walked, to make their ringing heard in the temple as a reminder to his people;
10: with the sacred vestment, of gold and violet and purple, the work of an embroiderer; with the oracle of judgement, Urim and Thummim;
11: with twisted crimson, the work of an artisan; with precious stones engraved like seals, in a setting of gold, the work of a jeweller, to commemorate in engraved letters each of the tribes of Israel;
12: with a gold crown upon his turban, inscribed like a seal with ‘Holiness’, a distinction to be prized, the work of an expert, a delight to the eyes, richly adorned.
13: Before him such beautiful things did not exist. No outsider ever put them on, but only his sons and his descendants in perpetuity.
14: His sacrifices shall be wholly burned twice every day continually.
15: Moses ordained him, and anointed him with holy oil; it was an everlasting covenant for him and for his descendants as long as the heavens endure, to minister to the Lord and serve as priest and bless his people in his name.
16: He chose him out of all the living to offer sacrifice to the Lord, incense and a pleasing odour as a memorial portion, to make atonement for the people.
17: In his commandments he gave him authority and statutes and judgements, to teach Jacob the testimonies, and to enlighten Israel with his law.
18: Outsiders conspired against him, and envied him in the wilderness, Dathan and Abiram and their followers and the company of Korah, in wrath and anger.
19: The Lord saw it and was not pleased, and in the heat of his anger they were destroyed; he performed wonders against them to consume them in flaming fire.
20: He added glory to Aaron and gave him a heritage; he allotted to him the best of the first fruits, and prepared bread of first fruits in abundance;
21: for they eat the sacrifices of the Lord, which he gave to him and his descendants.
22: But in the land of the people he has no inheritance, and he has no portion among the people; for the Lord himself is his portion and inheritance.
23: Phinehas son of Eleazar ranks third in glory for being zealous in the fear of the Lord, and standing firm, when the people turned away, in the noble courage of his soul; and he made atonement for Israel.
24: Therefore a covenant of friendship was established with him, that he should be leader of the sanctuary and of his people, that he and his descendants should have the dignity of the priesthood forever.
25: Just as a covenant was established with David son of Jesse of the tribe of Judah, that the king’s heritage passes only from son to son, so the heritage of Aaron is for his descendants alone.
26: And now bless the Lord who has crowned you with glory. May the Lord grant you wisdom of mind to judge his people with justice, so that their prosperity may not vanish, and that their glory may endure through all their generations.
Chapter 46
1: Joshua, son of Nun was mighty in war, and was the successor of Moses in the prophetic office. He became, as his name implies, a great saviour of God’s 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 brandished his sword against the cities!
3: Who before him ever stood so firm? For he waged the wars of the Lord.
4: Was it not through him that the sun stood still and one day became as long as two?
5: He called upon the Most High, the Mighty One, when enemies pressed him on every side, and the great Lord answered him with hailstones of mighty power.
6: He overwhelmed that nation in battle, and on the slope he destroyed his opponents, so that the nations might know his armament, that he was fighting in the sight of the Lord; for he was a devoted follower of the Mighty One.
7: And in the days of Moses he proved his loyalty, he and Caleb, son of Jephunneh:
they opposed the congregation, restrained the people from sin, and stilled their wicked grumbling.
8: And these two alone were spared out of six hundred thousand infantry, to lead the people into their inheritance, the land flowing with milk and honey.
9: The Lord gave Caleb strength, which remained with him in his old age, so that he went up to the hill country, and his children obtained it for an inheritance,
10: so that all the Israelites might see how good it is to follow the Lord.
11: The judges also, with their respective names, 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 send forth new life from where they lie, and may the names of those who have been honoured live again in their children!
13: Samuel was beloved by his Lord; a prophet of the Lord, he established the kingdom
and anointed rulers over his people.
14: By the law of the Lord he judged the congregation, and the Lord watched over Jacob.
15: By his faithfulness he was proved to be a prophet, and by his words he became known as a trustworthy seer.
16: He called upon the Lord, the Mighty One, when his enemies pressed him on every side, and he offered in sacrifice a sucking-lamb.
17: Then the Lord thundered from heaven, and made his voice heard with a mighty sound;
18: he subdued the leaders of the enemy and all the rulers of the Philistines.
19: Before the time of his eternal sleep, Samuel bore witness before the Lord and his anointed: ‘No property, not so much as a pair of shoes, have I taken from anyone!’ And no one accused him.
20: Even after he had fallen asleep, he prophesied and made known to the king his death,
and lifted up his voice from the ground in prophecy, to blot out the wickedness of the people.
Chapter 47
1: 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 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 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.
10: He gave beauty to the festivals, and arranged their times throughout the year, while they praised God’s holy name, and the sanctuary resounded from early morning.
11: The Lord took away his sins, and exalted his power for ever; 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:
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 for ever.
14: How wise you were when you were young! You overflowed like the Nile 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 honour and defiled your family line, so that you brought wrath upon your children, and they were grieved 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 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.
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