Sirach 24:1–12

* Wisdom shall praise herself,

And shall aglory in the midst of her people.

2  In the congregation of the most High shall she open her mouth,

And atriumph before his power.

3  I came out of the mouth of the most High,

And covered the earth as * a cloud.

4  I dwelt in high places,

And bmy throne is in a cloudy pillar.

5  cI alone compassed the circuit of heaven,

And walked in the bottom of the deep.

6  In the waves of the sea, and in all the earth,

And in every people and nation, I got a possession.

7  With all these I sought rest:

And in whose inheritance shall I abide?

8  So the Creator of all things gave me a commandment,

And he that made me caused my dtabernacle to rest,

And said, Let thy dwelling be in Jacob,

And thine inheritance in Israel.

9  eHe created me from the beginning before the world,

And I shall never fail.

10  fIn the holy tabernacle I served before him;

And so gwas I established in Sion.

11  Likewise hin the * beloved city he gave me rest,

And in Jerusalem was my power.

12  And I took root in an honourable people,

Even in the portion of the Lord’s inheritance.