Sirach 39

But he that giveth his mind to the law of the most High,

And is occupied in the meditation thereof,

Will seek out the wisdom of all the ancient,

And ^abe occupied in prophecies.

²He will keep the sayings of the renowned men:

And ^aawhere subtil parables are, he will be there also.

³He will seek out the secrets of ^bgrave sentences,

And be conversant in ^cdark parables.

⁴He shall serve among great men,

And ^dappear before princes:

He will travel through strange countries;

For he hath tried the good and the evil among men.

⁵He will give his heart ^eto resort early to the Lord that made him,

And will pray before the most High,

And will open his mouth in prayer,

And make supplication for his sins.

^6fWhen the great Lord will,

^eHe shall be filled with the spirit of understanding:

He shall ^gpour out wise sentences,

And give thanks unto the Lord in his prayer.

⁷He shall direct his counsel and knowledge,

And in his secrets shall he meditate.

⁸He shall shew forth that which he hath learned,

And shall glory in the law of the covenant of the Lord.

^9hMany shall commend his understanding;

And so long as the world endureth, ⁱit shall not be blotted out;

ⁱHis memorial shall not depart away,

And his name shall live from generation to generation.

^10jNations shall shew forth his wisdom,

^jAnd the congregation shall declare his praise.

¹¹If he die, he shall leave a greater name than a thousand:

And if he live, he shall increase it.

¹²Yet have I more to say, which ^kI have thought upon;

For I am filled as the moon at the full.

¹³Hearken unto me, ye holy children,

And bud forth ^las a rose growing by the brook of the field:

¹⁴And ^mgive ye a sweet savour as ⁿfrankincense,

And flourish as a ^olily,

Send forth a smell, and sing a song of praise,

Bless the Lord in all his works.

¹⁵Magnify his name,

And shew forth his praise

With the songs of your lips, and with ^pharps,

And in praising him you shall say after this manner:

^16qAll the works of the Lord are exceeding good,

And ^rwhatsoever he commandeth shall be accomplished in due season.

^17sAnd none may say, What is this? wherefore is that?

For at time convenient they shall all be sought out:

^tAt his commandment the waters stood as a heap,

And at the words of his mouth the receptacles of waters.

^18uAt his commandment is done whatsoever pleaseth him;

And ^xnone can hinder, when he will save.

^19yThe works of all flesh are before him,

And nothing can be hid from his eyes.

²⁰He seeth from everlasting to everlasting;

And there is nothing ^zwonderful before him.

²¹A man need not to say, What is this? wherefore is that?

For he hath made all things for their uses.

²²His blessing covered the dry land as a river,

And ^awatered it as a flood.

²³As he hath turned the waters into saltness:

So shall the heathen inherit his wrath.

²⁴As ^bhis ways are plain unto the holy;

So are they stumblingblocks unto the wicked.

²⁵For the good are good things created from the beginning:

^cSo evil things for sinners.

^26dThe principal things for the whole use of man’s life

Are ^dwater, fire, iron, and salt,

^dFlour of wheat, honey, milk,

And ^ethe blood of the grape, and oil, and ^dclothing.

^27fAll these things are for good to the godly:

So to the sinners they are turned into evil.

²⁸There be spirits that are created for vengeance,

Which in their fury lay on sore strokes;

In the time of destruction they pour out their force,

And appease the wrath of him that made them.

^29kFire, and ^khail, and ^gfamine, and ^gdeath,

All these were created for vengeance;

^30hTeeth of ⁱwild beasts, and ⁱscorpions, ⁱserpents,

And ^gthe sword, punishing the wicked to destruction.

^31kThey shall rejoice in his commandment,

And they shall be ready upon earth, when need is;

And when their time is come, they shall not transgress his word.

³²Therefore from the beginning I was resolved,

And ^lthought upon these things, and have left them in writing.

^33mAll the works of the Lord are good:

And he will give every needful thing in due season.

³⁴So that a man cannot say, This is worse than that:

For in time they shall all be well approved.

³⁵And therefore praise ye the Lord with the whole heart and mouth,

And bless the name of the Lord.

XL.