Sirach 44–45

Let us now praise famous men,

And our fathers that begat us.

²The Lord hath wrought great glory by them

Through his great power from the beginning.

³Such as did bear rule in their kingdoms,

Men renowned for their power,

Giving counsel by their understanding,

And ^adeclaring prophecies:

⁴Leaders of the people by their counsels,

And by their knowledge of learning meet for the people,

Wise and eloquent in their instructions:

^5bSuch as found out musical tunes,

And recited verses in writing:

⁶Rich men furnished with ^cability,

Living peaceably in their habitations:

⁷All these were honoured in their generations,

And were the glory of their times.

⁸There be of them, that have left a name behind them,

That their praises might be reported.

⁹And some there be, which have no memorial;

^dWho are perished, ^eas though they had never been;

And are become as though they had never been born;

And their children after them.

¹⁰But ^fthese were merciful men,

Whose righteousness hath not been forgotten.

^11gWith their seed shall continually remain a good inheritance,

And their children are ^hwithin the covenant.

¹²ⁱTheir seed standeth fast, and their children for their sakes.

¹³Their seed shall remain for ever,

And ^jtheir glory shall not be blotted out.

¹⁴Their bodies are buried in peace;

But their name liveth for evermore.

^15kThe people will tell of their wisdom,

And ^kthe congregation will shew forth their praise.

^16lEnoch pleased the Lord, and was translated,

Being an example of repentance to all generations.

^17mNoah was found perfect and righteous;

In the time of wrath he was taken in exchange for the world;

Therefore was he left as a remnant unto the earth,

When the flood came.

¹⁸ⁿAn everlasting covenant was made with him,

That all flesh should perish no more by the flood.

^19oAbraham was a great father of many people:

In glory was there none like unto him;

²⁰Who kept the law of the most High,

And was ^hin covenant with him:

^pHe established the covenant in his flesh;

And ^qwhen he was proved, he was found faithful.

²¹Therefore ^rhe assured him by an oath,

That he would bless the nations in his seed,

And that he would multiply him as the dust of the earth,

And exalt his seed as the stars,

And ^scause them to inherit from sea to sea,

And ^tfrom the river unto the utmost part of the land.

^22uWith Isaac did he establish likewise (for Abraham his father’s sake)

The blessing of all men and the covenant,

²³And ^xmade it rest upon the head of Jacob.

He acknowledged him in his blessing,

And ^ygave him an heritage,

And ^zdivided his portions;

Among the twelve tribes did he part them.

XLV.And he brought ^aout of him a merciful man,

Which ^aafound favour in the sight of all flesh,

Even Moses, ^bbeloved of God and men,

^bbWhose memorial is blessed.

²He made him like to the glorious saints,

And magnified him, so that his enemies stood in fear of him.

³By his words ^che caused the wonders to cease,

And ^dhe made him glorious in the sight of kings,

And ^egave him a commandment for his people,

And ^fshewed him part of his glory.

⁴He sanctified him in his ^fffaithfulness and ^gmeekness,

And chose him out of all men.

⁵He made him to hear his voice,

And ^hbrought him into the dark cloud,

And ^egave him commandments before his face,

Even the law of life and knowledge,

That he might teach Jacob his covenants,

And Israel his judgments.

⁶He exalted ⁱAaron, a holy man like unto him,

Even his brother, ^jof the tribe of Levi.

⁷An everlasting covenant he made with him,

And ^kgave him the priesthood among the people;

He beautified him with comely ornaments,

And clothed him with a robe of glory.

⁸He put upon him perfect glory;

And strengthened him with ^lrich garments,

With ^mbreeches, with ⁿa long robe, and ⁿthe ephod.

⁹And he compassed him with ^opomegranates,

And with many golden bells round about,

^pThat as he went there might be a sound,

And ^ppa noise made that might be heard in the temple,

For a memorial to the children of his people;

^10qWith a holy garment, with gold, and ^rblue silk,

And ^rspurple, the work of the embroiderer,

^sWith a breastplate of judgment, and ^twith Urim and Thummim;

¹¹With ^stwisted scarlet, the work of the cunning workman,

^uWith precious stones graven like seals,

And set in gold, the work of the jeweller,

With a writing engraved for a memorial,

After the number of the tribes of Israel.

^12qHe set ^xa crown of gold upon the ^ymitre,

Wherein was engraved Holiness,

An ornament of honour, a ^lcostly work,

The desires of the eyes, goodly and beautiful.

¹³Before him there were none such,

Neither did ever any stranger put them on,

^zBut only his children

And his children’s children perpetually.

^14aTheir sacrifices shall be wholly consumed every day twice continually.

^15bMoses ^cconsecrated him, and anointed him with holy oil:

This was appointed unto him by an everlasting covenant,

And to his seed, ^dso long as the heavens should remain,

That they should minister unto him, and execute the office of the priesthood,

And ^ebless the people in his name.

^16fHe chose him out of all men living

To offer ^gsacrifices to the Lord,

Incense, and a ^hsweet savour, for a memorial,

To make reconciliation for his people.

¹⁷ⁱHe gave unto him his commandments,

And authority in the statutes of judgments,

That he should teach Jacob the testimonies,

And inform Israel in his laws.

^18kStrangers conspired together against him,

And ^lmaligned him in the wilderness,

Even the men that were of Dathan’s and Abiron’s side,

And the congregation of Core, with fury and wrath.

^19mThis the Lord saw, and it displeased him,

And in his wrathful indignation were they consumed:

He did wonders upon them, to consume them with the fiery flame.

²⁰ⁿBut he made Aaron more honourable,

And gave him an heritage,

And ^odivided unto him the firstfruits of the increase;

Especially he prepared bread in abundance:

^21pFor they eat of the sacrifices of the Lord,

Which he gave unto him and his seed.

^22qHowbeit in the land of the people ^qqhe had no inheritance,

Neither had he any portion among the people:

^qFor the Lord himself is his portion and inheritance.

^23rThe third in glory is Phinees the son of Eleazar,

Because he had zeal in the fear of the Lord,

And stood up with good courage of heart ^swhen the people were turned back,

And made reconciliation for Israel.

²⁴Therefore was there ^ra covenant of peace made with him,

That he should be the chief of the sanctuary and of his people,

And that he and his posterity ^rshould have the dignity of the priesthood for ever:

^25tAccording to the covenant made with David son of Jesse, of the tribe of Juda,

That the inheritance of the king should be to his posterity alone:

So the inheritance of Aaron should also be unto his seed.

²⁶God give you wisdom in your heart

ⁱTo judge his people in righteousness,

That their good things be not abolished,

And that their glory may endure for ever.

XLVI.