Sirach 42:1–45:26

42 1 nTo repeat othe word thou hast heardo,

And to lay bare any secret counsel:

So shalt thou be truly pshamefastp,

And find favour in the sight of all living.

qBut of these things be not ashamed,

And accept not persons runto sinr:

2 Of the Law of the Most High, and the statute;

And of justice, to do right by the wicked;

HB 3 Of reckoning with a comrade sand (fellow) travellers,

And of the division of an inheritance tand a propertyt;

4 uOf the small dustu of the scales and balance,

vAnd wof testingw measure and weighty;

4(b) Of buying whether little or much,

5 wwAnd of profit from traffick with the merchantww;

G xOf frequent correction of children,

And of smiting the side of an evil-disposed servantx.

HB 6 For an evil wife ya sealy,

And where zmanyz hands are, aa keya!

7 bUpon what is deposited make a markb,

And let giving and receiving all be in writing.—

8 Of the correction of the simple and foolish (be not ashamed),

cOr of the tottering grey-head occupied with whoredomc:

So shalt thou be truly well-advised,

And a man (truly) modest before all living.

(b) 42:9–14. The care of daughters

(= 4 + 2 + 2 + 2 distichs).

HB 9 dA daughter is to a father ea treasure of sleeplessnesse,

fAnd the care of her banisheth slumberf:

In her youth, lest gshe pass the flower of her ageg,

And hwhen she is marriedh, ilest she be hatedi;

10 d iiIn her virginityii, lest she be seduced,

j kAnd in the house of her husbandk, kklest she prove unfaithfulkk;

In her father’s house, lest lshe become pregnantl j,

mAnd in her husband’s housem, lest she be barren.

11 nOver thy daughter keep a strict watchn,

oLest she make thee a name of evil odouro—

HB A byword in the city pand accursed of the peoplep—

qAnd shame theeq rin the assembly of the gater.

sIn the place where she lodgeth tlet there be no latticet,

uOr spot overlooking the entrance round aboutu s.

12 vLet her not show her beauty to any malev,

wand amongw wives let her not converse.

13 For from the garment issueth the moth,

And from a woman a woman’s wickedness.

14 x yBetter is the wickedness of a man than the goodness of a womany;

zAnd a disgraceful daughter poureth forth disgracez x.

In praise of God as Nature’s Lord.

(a) 42:15–25. Exordium

(= 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 distichs).

15 aI would fain remembera God’s works,

And what I have seen I would recount.

bBy the word of God His works were formedb,

cAnd what was wrought by His good pleasure according to His decreec.

H 17 The rising sun dis revealedd over all things,

And the glory of Jahveh eis over all His workse.

16 fGod’s holy ones have not the powerf

To recount gHis wondrous works of mightg;

(Though) God hath given strength hto His hostsh

iTo endure in the presence of His gloryi.

18 He searcheth out the deep and (man’s) heart,

jAnd all their secretsj kHe surveyethk:

G lFor Jahveh possesseth all knowledge,

And seeth what cometh unto eternityl.

HB 19 He declareth mwhat is past and what is futurem,

And revealeth nthe profoundest secretsn.

20 oNo knowledge is lacking to Himo,

pAnd no matter escapeth Himp.

21 qThe might of His wisdomq ris establishedr,

From everlasting sHe is the sames:

tNothing hath been added and nothing taken away (therefrom)t,

And He needeth none to give counsel.

G(S) 22 uAll His works are truly lovely,

And are [like blossoms] to beholdu.

HB(G) 23 vEverything liveth and abideth for everv,

wAnd to every need all things respondw.

24 xThey are all different, one from the otherx,

But He hath not made any one of them ysuperfluousy.

25 zThe one exchangeth what is good (in it) with the otherz,

And who can be satiated with beholding athe beautya?

(b) 43:1–26. Recital of the manifestations in Nature of God’s might

(= 1 + 4 + 1 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 1 distichs).

43 HB 1 bThe beauty of the (heavenly) height is the pure firmamentb,

cAnd the firm heavenc dpoureth out lightd.

HB 2 eThe sun when he goeth forth maketh heat to shinee—

fHow awe-inspiring is the work of Jahvehf!

3 gAt noontideg he bringeth the world to boiling heat,

And before hhis scorching (ray)h who can maintain himself?

4 i(Like) a glowing furnace which keepeth the casting hot,

(So) the sun’s dart setteth the mountains ablazei:

jA tongue of flame consumeth the inhabited (world)j,

kAnd with its fire the eye is scorchedk.

5 lForl great is Jahveh that made him,

mAnd His word maketh His mighty (servant) brilliantm.

6 nMoreover, the moon He made for its due seasonn,

oTo rule over periodso and for an everlasting sign:

HB 7 pBy her (are determined) the feasts and times prescribedp,

qA light-giver waning with her courseq:

8 rMonth by month she reneweth herselfr—

How wonderful is she in her changing!

sThe army-signal of the cloud-vessels on highs,

tShe paveth the firmament with her shiningt.

9 uThe beauty of heaven, and the glory, are the starsu,

vAnd a gleaming ornamentv win the heightsw of God.

10 xAt the word of the Holy Onex ythey take their prescribed placey,

zAnd they sleep notz at their watches.

11 Behold the rainbow and bless its Maker,

aFora bit is majestic exceedingly in majestyb:

12 cIt encompasseth the (heavenly) vault with its gloryc,

And the hand of God hath spread it out din prided.

13 eHis mighte fmarketh out the lightningf,

gAnd maketh brilliantg hthe flashes of His judgementh.

HB 14 iOn that accounti jHe hath created a treasure-housej,

kAnd He maketh the clouds fly like birdsk.

G 15 lBy His mighty power He maketh strong the clouds,

And the hailstones are brokenl.

HB 17 a mHis thunder’s voice maketh His earth to be in anguishm,

16a nAnd by His strengthn oHe shaketh mountainso.

16b pThe terror of Him stirreth up the south windp,

17b qThe whirlwind of the northq, rhurricane, and tempestr;

sLike flocks of birdss He sheddeth abroad tHis snowt,

uAnd like settling locustsu vis the fall thereofv.

HB 18 wThe beauty of the whitenessw x[dazzleth] the eyesx,

And the heart y[marvelleth]y at the raining thereof.

19 The hoar-frost also zHe poureth outz like salt,

a[And maketh the crystals sparkle] like sapphirea.

20 bThe icy blast of the north wind He causeth to blowb,

cAnd hardeneth the pond like a bottlec.

Over every basin of water dHe spreadeth a crustd,

And the pond putteth on as it were a breastplate.

21 eIt burneth up the produce of the mountains as a droughte,

fAnd the sprouting pasturef as a flame.

22 gA healing for all such is the distillation of the cloudsg.

hEven the dew, alighting to bring refreshment after heath.

23 iBy His counseli jHe hath stilled the deepj,

kAnd hath plantedk lthe islandsl in the ocean.

HB 24 They that go down to the sea tell of mits extentm,

nAndn when our ears hear it we are astonished.

25 Therein are marvels, the most wondrous of His works,

oAll kinds of living thingso, pand the monsters of Rahabp.

26 By reason of Him q[business] prosperethq,

And at His word rwhat He wills is doner.

(c) 43:27–33. Conclusion

(= 3 + 2 + 2 + 1 distichs).

27 sMore like this we will not adds,

And tthe conclusion of the mattert is: He is all.

28 uWe will sing praises, because we cannot fathomu;

vFor greater is Hev than all His works.

29 Terrible is Jahveh wexceedinglyw,

xAnd wonderful are His mighty actsx.

30 yYe that magnify Jahveh, zlift up your voicez,

As much as ye cana, bfor there is still moreb!

cYe that exalt Himc, drenew your strengthd,

And weary not, efor ye cannot fathom (Him)e!

G 31 Who hath seen Him, that he may tell thereof?

And who shall magnify Him as he is?

HB 32 fThe number of things mysterious is greater (even) than thesef,

gAnd I have seen (but) fewg of His works.

33 hEverythingh hath Jahveh made,

iAnd to the pious hath He given wisdomi.

jPraise of the fathers of oldj.

(a) 44:1–15. General introduction

(= 2 + 7 + 3 + 3 + 3 distichs).

44 1 kLet me now hymn the praisesk lof men of pietyl,

mOf our fathersm in their generations.

2 nNo little gloryn did the Most High oalloto them,

pAnd they were greatp qfrom the days of oldq:

HB 3 r(Men) who wielded dominionr over the earth sin their royaltys,

And men of renown in ttheirt might;

uCounsellorsu in their discernment,

vAnd all-seeing in their prophetic (power)v;

4 wPrinces of nationsw xin their statesmanshipx,

yAnd (trusted) leaders in their penetrationy;

zClever of speechz ain their (scribal) instructiona,

band speakers of wise sayings in their traditionb;

HB 5 cDevisers of psalms according to rulec,

dAnd authors of proverbs in booksd;

6 eMen of resourcee fand supported with strengthf,

gAnd living at ease in their dwelling-placesg:

7 All these hwere honouredh iin their generationi,

jAnd in their daysj khad gloryk.

8 Some of them there are who have left a name,

lThat men might tell of their praisel:

9 And some of them there are who have no memorial,

mSo that there was an end of them when they came to their endm;

nThey were as though they had not been,

And their children after themn.

10 oNeverthelesso these were men of piety,

pAnd their good fortune shall not come to an endp;

11 With their seed qtheir prosperityq remaineth sure,

rAnd their inheritance to their children’s childrenr.

G 12 sIn their covenant their seed abideth,

And their children’s children for their sakess;

HB 13 tTheir memoryt abideth for ever,

uAnd their righteousness shall not be forgottenu;

14 vTheir bodies were buried in peacev,

wBut their name liveth unto all generationsw.

15 xThe assembly recounteth their wisdom,

And the congregation declareth their praisex.

(b) 44:16–18. Enoch and Noah.

16 y zEnoch walked with Jahveh [and was taken]z,

aA miracle of knowledge to all generationsa.

HB 17 Noah the righteous was found blameless;

bIn the season of destructionb he became cthe continuatorc;

dFor his sake there was a remnantd,

cAnd by reason of the covenant with him the Flood ceasede.

18 fBy an eternal signf g(God) concluded itg with him,

Not to destroy (again) all fleshh.

(c) 44:19–23. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (3 + 3 + 1 + 3 distichs).

19 Abraham, ‘the fatheri of a multitude of nations’,

jTarnished not his gloryj;

20 Who kept the commandment of the Most High,

And entered into a covenant with Him:

kIn his fleshk He engraved him an ordinance,

And in trial he was found faithful.

21 Therefore with an oath lHe promised himl

m‘To blessm nthe nationsn in his seed’,

G(S) oTo multiply him ‘pas the dust of the earthp’o,

And to exalt his seed ‘as the stars’;

HB qTo cause…