Sirach 44:1–49:15a

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 them to inherit ‘from sea to sea,

And from the River to the ends of the earth’.

HB 22 And to Isaac also rHe promised itr slikewises,

For his father Abraham’s sake;

tAnd the blessing of all predecessors

23 Rested upon the head of Israelt;

uAnd He titled him with the dignity of firstbornu,

And gave him vhis inheritancev;

wAnd He set him in tribes,

So as to be divided into twelvew.

(d) 44:23–45:5. Moses

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

xAnd He caused to issuex yfrom himy za manz

aWho found favoura in the sight bof all livingb.

45 1 cBeloved of God and menc

Was Moses dof happy memoryd.

HB 2 eAnd 〈He made him glorious as〉 Gode,

And mighty fin awe-inspiring deedsf.

3 gBy his wordsg hhe broughti 〈signs〉i swiftly to passh,

jAnd He emboldened himj in the presence kof the kingk.

And He gave him a charge l〈unto his people〉l,

And showed him m〈His glory〉m.

4 For his faithfulness and meeknessn

He chose him out of all o〈flesh〉o.

5 pAndp qHe caused him to hear His voiceq,

And let him draw nigh rinto the dark cloudr.

sAnd He placeds tin his handt uthe commandmentu,

Even the Law of life vand discernmentv;

That he might teach wHis statutesw xunto Jacobx,

yAnd His testimonies and judgementsy zunto Israelz.

(e) 45:6–22. Aaron (3 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 2 distichs).

6 And He exalted a holy one a〈like unto him〉a,

Even Aaron of the tribe of Levi.

7 bAnd He made him an eternal ordinanceb,

And bestowed cupon him His majestyc:

HB dAnd He blessed himd ewith His glorye,

And girded him fwith beauteous magnificencef g:

8 And He clothed him hwith the perfection of adornmenth,

iAnd adorned himi jwith splendid vestmentsj k—

lThe breechesl, mthe tunic and robem n—

9 And encompassed him owith pomegranates,

And with resounding bellso round about,

pThat he might make musicp with his steps,

So as to cause, the sound of him to be audible qin the inmost shrineq,

For a memorial for the children of his people:

10 r(With) the holy garments of gold and violet

And purpler, the work of the designer;

(With) the breastplate of judgement, s(with) the ephod and waistcloths,

11 tAnd (with) scarlett, the work of the weaver;

(With) precious stones useal-engravenu

vIn settingsv, w〈the work of the stone-engraver〉w x;

HB For a memorial in graven writing,

According to the number of the tribes of Israel.

12 (With) the crown of pure gold y〈(resting) upon〉 the mitrey,

zThe diadem engraven, ‘Holy to Jahveh’ z—

aMajesty most glorious, praise most puissanta,

bThe desire of the eyes, and the perfection of beautyb!

13 cBefore him there was nothing like themc,

dAnd no stranger shall He clothe therewith for everd:

eSo 〈He trusted him and〉 his sonse,

fAnd 〈his sons’ sons〉f gthroughout their generationsg.

14 His (Aaron’s) meal-offering is wholly consumed

hTwice every day as a continual sacrificeh.

15 iMoses consecrated himi,

And anointed him with the holy oil;

And it became for him jan eternal covenantj,

kAnd for his seedk, las long as the heavens endurel;

mTo minister (to God) and for Him to execute the priest’s officem,

And to bless His people nin His namen.

16 He chose him out of all living,

To bring near othe burnt-offering and fat pieceso,

HB pAnd to burn a sweet savour and a memorialp,

And make atonement qfor the children of Israelq.

17 rAnd He gave him His commandmentsr,

sAnd invested him with authority over statute and judgements,

tThat he might teach His people statutes,

And judgements unto the children of Israelt.

18 uBut strangers were incensed against himu,

And became jealous of him in the wilderness;

The men of Dathan and Abiram,

And the congregation of Korah vin their violent angerv.

19 And Jahveh saw it wand was angeredw,

x yAnd consumed themy in His fierce wrathx:

zAnd He brought a sign to passz upon them

x aAnd devoured thema bwith His fiery flameb x.

20 cAnd 〈He increased〉c Aaron’s glory,

And gave him dhis inheritanced:

g(20c)e〈The holy contributions〉e fHe gave himf for sustenance,

g(21a)hAndh the fire-offerings of Jahveh they might eat:

g(20d)i〈The presence-bread〉i is his portion,

g(21b)jAnd the gift-sacrificej for him and for his seed.

HB 22 Only k〈in the land of the people〉k might he have no heritage,

lAnd in their midst divide no inheritancel;

mWhose portion and inheritance is Jahvehm

nIn the midst of the children of Israeln.

(f) 45:23–26. Phinehas (3 + 4 + 3 distichs).

23 Moreover Phinehas the son of Eleazar

o〈Was glorious〉 in might 〈as a third〉o,

In that he was jealous pfor the God of allp,

And stood qin the breach for his peopleq;

rWhile his heart prompted himr,

sAnd he made atonements tfor the children of Israelt.

24 Therefore for him, too, uHe established an ordinanceu,

vA covenant of peace to maintain the sanctuaryv:

That to him and to his seed should appẹrtain

The High-Priesthood for ever.

25 wAlso His covenant wasw with David,

xThe son of Jessex, of the tribe of Judah;

y〈The inheritance of the king is his son’s alone〉y,

While the inheritance of Aaron (belongs) zto himz and to his seed.

HB aAnd now bless ye Jahvehb,

Who has crowned you with honoura;

26 cMay He grantc you wisdom of heart,

d〈To judge His people in righteousness〉d;

That eyour prosperitye fmay never ceasef,

gNor your powerg hfor perpetual generationsh.

(g) 46:1–10. Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh

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

46 1 aA mighty man of valoura was Joshua bthe son of Nunb,

c dA minister of Moses in the prophetical officed,

eWho was formed to bee according tof his nameg

hA great salvation for his chosenh c,

iTo take vengeance upon jthe enemyj i

kAnd to give an inheritancek to Israell.

2 mHow glorious was he when he stretched forth nhis hand n m,

oAnd brandished the javelin against the cityo!

3 pWho was he that could stand before him?p

qFor he fought the wars of Jahvehq.

HB 4 Was it not through him that the sun stood stillr,

(And) one day sbecame as two?s

5 tFor he called upon the Most High Godu t,

vWhen he was in sore straits (and) his enemies around himv;

And wthe Most High Godw answered himx

yWith hailstones and boltsz y;

[HB] 6 aHe cast them down upon the hostile peoplea,

And bin the going downb he destroyed cthem that rose upc,

HB In order that alld the nations e(devoted to) destructione might know

fThat Jahveh was watching their fightingf:

gAnd also becauseg he fully followed after Godh,

7 And idid an act of pietyi in the days of Moses,

He and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh,

kIn that they stood firm when the congregation broke loosek.

lTo turn away wrath from the assemblyl,

mAnd to cause the evil report to ceasem—

8 nWherefore also they twon were set aparto

From among the six hundred thousand footmenp,

To bring them into theirq inheritance,

(Into) a land flowing with milk and honeyr.

HB 9 And Hes gave strength unto Caleb,

And unto old age it remained with him,

tTo cause him to treadt uupon the high placesu of the land;

And also his seed obtainedv a heritage,

10 In order that wall xthe seed of Jacobw might know

yThat it is good zto follow fullyz after Jahveh.y

(h) 46:11, 12. The Judges

(= 3 distichs).

11 Also the Judges, each with his name,

aAll whose hearts were not beguileda,

Nor turned back bfrom (following) after Godb.

May their memory be cfor a blessingc.

G 12 dMay their bones flourish again out of their placed,

HB eAnd may their name sprout afresh for their childrene.

(i) 46:13–20. Samuel

(= 2 + 3 + 4 + 4 distichs [+ 1 later add.]).

13 fHonoured by his people and loved by his Makerf

gWas h‘he that was asked for’h from his mother’s womb;

Sanctified iof Jahvehi in the prophetical office,—

Samuel, who acted as judge and priest.

By the word of God khe established the kingdomk,

And anointed princesl overm the peopleg.

HB 14 nBy means of the commandmentn ohe…