Sirach 46:1–48:25

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 commanded the congregationo,

pAnd he mustered the tents of Jacobp.

15 q rBecause of his truthfulness they sought the prophetr,

sAnd the seert was also found reliable in his wordss q.

16 u vAnd, moreover, he called upon Godv

wWhen his enemies surrounded him on every sideu w,

In that he offered up a sucking lamb,

x[And cried unto the Lord]x.

17 yAnd Jahveh thundered from heaveny,

zWith a mighty crash His voice was heardz,

18 aAnd He subdued the garrisons of the enemya,

band destroyedb all the princesc of the Philistines.

19 dAnd at the time when he rested upon his bedd,

He called eJahveh and His anointed to witnesse:

f‘From whom have I taken a bribe, geven a pair of shoes?’g f

And no man accused him.

h[And also to the time of his end he was found upright

In the eyes of Jahveh and in the eyes of all livingh.]

20 iMoreover after he died he was enquired ofi,

He declared unto the king his wayk;

HB And he lifted his voice from the earth,

lTo blot out iniquity by prophecyl.

(j) 47:1–11. David

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

47 1 aAnd moreover after hima stood up Nathan,

To serveb cin the presence ofc David.

2 dFor asd the fat is separatede ffrom the offeringf,

So was David (separated)ff fromg Israel.

3 He playedh with lions as with kidsi,

And with bears as jwith calves of Bashanj.

HB 4 In his youthk he slew the giantk,

lAnd took awayll the reproach from them peoplel,

nWhen he swung his hand witho the slingn,

And brokep the prideq of Goliath.

5 For rhe called unto Gods Most Highr,

And He gave strength toss his rightt hand,

So that he struck downu vthe hero versed in warv,

wAndww exaltedw the horn of his peoplex.

6 y zTherefore the daughters sang of him,

And honoured him with: ‘[Slayer] of ten thousand’z.

When he had put on the diademzz he fought,

7 And subdued the enemies on all sides,

aAnd plundereda the Philistine citiesb y,

And broke their horn unto this dayc.

HB 8 d eIn all that he dide fhe gave thanksf

gUnto God Most Highg hwith words of gloryh d.

iWith his whole heart he lovedj his Makeri,

kAnd sang praise every day continuallyk.

9 lMusic of stringed instruments he ordainedm before the altar,

And set nthe singingo of psalms to harpsn l.

G 10 pHe gave comeliness to the feasts,

And set in order the seasons throughout the year

HB pp qFor that he gave praiseq Holy Name;

rBefore morningr the sanctuarys resoundedt (therewith)pp.

11 Jahveh alsou put away his sinv,

And lifted up his horn for ever.

HB Also He gave to him wthe decree of the kingdomw,

xAnd established his thronex over Israely.

(k) 47:12–22. Solomon

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

12 zAnd afor his sakea there stood up after himz

bA wise son who dwelt in safetyb.

13 Solomon reigned in days of peacec,

dAnddd God gave hime rest round aboutd,

fWho preparedf a house for ffHis nameg,

hAnd set uphh a sanctuary for everh.

14 How wise wast thou in thy youthi,

jAnd didst overflow like the Nile with instructionk j!

15 l mThou didst cover the earth with thy soull,

nAnd didst gather parables like the sean m.

G 16 o pThy name reached unto the isles afar offp,

S qAnd they listenedr for the report of theeq o.

HB 17 sBy thy songs, parables, dark speechess,

tAnd satiresu thou didst cause astonishment to the peoplest.

18 vThou wast called by the glorious name

Which is called over Israelv.

Thou didst heap up gold like tinw,

And xabundance ofx silver like leady.

19 zBut thou gavestz thy loinsa unto women,

bAnd didst give them to rule over thy bodyb.

20 Yeac, thou broughtest a blemish upon thine honour,

And didst defile dthy bedd,

So as to bring wrath upon thy progenye,

fAnd sighing concerning thy bedf;

21 gSo the people becamegg two sceptresh g,

And out of Ephraim i(arose) a sinfulj kingdomi.

22 Neverthelessk Godl did not forsake Hism mercy,

nNor did He suffer any of His words to fall to the groundn.

oHe will not cut off pthe posterity of His chosenp o,

Nor will He destroy qthe offspringr of them that love Himq;

HB sAnd He will give to Jacob a remnants,

tAnd to the house of David ua root from himu t.

(l) 47:23–24. The wickedness of the people under the kings who succeeded Solomon

(= 2 + 3 distichs).

23 And Solomon sleptv win Jerusalemw,

And left after him xone that was overbearingx.

yGreat in follyy and lacking in understanding

z(Was) he whoz by his counsel made the people revolt.

aAnd (then) he arose—of him let there be no memoriala—

bWho sinned and made Israel to sinb,

cAnd put da stumbling-block (in the way)d of Ephraime c,

24 fTo drive them from their land;

gAnd their sin became very greatg f,

hAnd they sold themselves to (do) all manner of evilh.

(m) 48:1–11. Elijah

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

48 1 Untila there aroseb a prophet like fire,

Whosec wordd was elike a burning furnacee.

HB 2 fAnd he broke for them the staff of breadf,

gAnd by his zealh imade them few in numberi g.

3 By the word of Godk lhe shut up the heavensl;

Firem alson descended thriceo.

4 pHow terrible wast thou, Elijahp!

And he who is like thee shall be glorifiedq.

5 Who didst raise up a dead man rfrom deathr,

Ands from Sheolt, uaccording to the good pleasureu of Jahvehv;

6 Who broughtest down wkings to the Pitx,

Andw them that were honoured from their bedsy [of sickness];

7 zWho heardesta rebukesb in Sinai,

cAnd judgements of vengeance in Horebc.

8 Who anointedst kingsd efor retributione,

fAnd a prophet as successor in thy placef.

9 Who wast taken upwards gin a whirlwindg,

hAnd by fiery troops to the heavensh.

10 iWho art ready for the time, as it is writteni,

kTo still wrath before the fierce anger of Godl k,

HB To mturn the heart ofm the nfathers unto the childrenn,

And oto restore theo tribes of Israelp.

11 qBlessed is he that seeth thee, and diethq,

r…r

(n) 48:12–16. Elisha. The sinfulness of the people and their punishment

(= 2 + 3 + 4 distichs).

S G 12 sElijah was hidden in the [heavenly] chamberss,

G tThen was Elisha filled with his spiritt u.

HB vIn double measure did he multiply signs,

And marvellous was all that went forth out of his mouthv.

All his days he moved wbefore no manw,

xAnd no fleshx exercised authority over his spirity;

HB 13 Nothing was ztoo wonderful for himz,

zzAnd afrom his gravea his fleshaa prophesiedb zz.

14 Inc his life he did wonderful acts,

And in hisd death marvellous works.

15 For all this the people turnede not,

And ceasedf not from theirg sinsgg;

Until they were pluckedh from their land,

And were scattered in all the earth.

iAnd there were left kunto Judah but a fewk i;

lBut still a prince was left unto the house of Davidl.

16 Some among them did mthat which was rightm,

And some namong themn ocommitted fearful sino.

(o) 48:17–25. Hezekiah and Isaiah

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

17 Hezekiah fortifiedp hisq city,

rIn that he broughtr waters into the midst thereof,

tAnd hewed through the rocks with iront,

uAnd dammed up the pool with mountainsu.

18 In his days Sennacherib came upv,

And sent Rabshakehw,

xAnd stretched forthx his handy against Zion,

And blasphemedz God ina his arrogancy.

HB 19 bThenc were they shaken din the pride of their heartd,

And they writhed as ea woman in travaile b;

20 fAnd they called unto gGod Most Highg f,

hAnd spread out their hands unto Himh;

iAnd He heard kthe voice of their prayerk i,

And savedl them by the hand of Isaiahm;

21 And He smoten the army of Assyria,

oAnd discomfited them by the plagueo.

22 pFor Hezekiah didp qthat which was goodq,

—And was strongr in the ways of Davids—

G tWhich Isaiah the prophetu commanded himv,

Who was great and faithful in his vision.

23 wIn his days the sun went backwardw,

And he added life unto the king.

HB 24 By a spirit of might he saw the futurex,

And comforted ythe mourners of Ziony.

25 zUnto eternity he declared the things that shall be,

And hidden things before they came to passz.

(p) 49:1–3. Josiah (2 + 2 distichs).