Sirach 15–16

¹⁵Whoever fears the Lord will do this,

and whoever holds to the law will obtain wisdom.^k

²She will come to meet him like a mother,

and like a young bride she will welcome him.^*

³She will feed him with the bread of understanding

and give him the water of wisdom to drink.^*

⁴He will lean on her and not fall,

and he will rely on her and not be put to shame.

⁵She will exalt him above his neighbors

and will open his mouth in the midst of the assembly.^*

⁶Gladness^l and a crown of rejoicing

and an everlasting name he will inherit.^*

⁷The foolish will not obtain her,

and sinners will not see her.^*

⁸She is far from arrogance,

and liars will never think of her.

⁹Praise is unseemly on the lips of a sinner,

for it has not been sent from the Lord.^*

¹⁰For in wisdom must praise be uttered,

and the Lord will make it prosper.

Freedom of Choice

¹¹Do not say, “It was the Lord’s doing that I fell away,”

for he does not do^m what he hates.^*

¹²Do not say, “It was he who led me astray,”

for he has no need of the sinful.^*

¹³The Lord hates all abominations;

such things are not loved by those who fear him.

¹⁴It was he who created humans in the beginning,

and he left them in the power of their own inclinations.^n*

¹⁵If you choose, you can keep the commandments,

and to act faithfully is a matter of your choice.

¹⁶He has placed before you fire and water;

stretch out your hand for whichever you choose.

¹⁷Before each person are life and death,

and whichever one chooses will be given.^*

¹⁸For great is the wisdom of the Lord;

he is mighty in power and sees everything;^*

¹⁹his eyes are on those who fear him,

and he knows every human action.^*

²⁰He has not commanded anyone to be ungodly,

and he has not given anyone permission to sin.^*

God’s Punishment of Sinners

¹⁶Do not desire a multitude of worthless^o children,

and do not rejoice in ungodly offspring.

²If they multiply, do not rejoice in them,

unless the fear of the Lord is in them.

³Do not trust in their survival

or rely on their numbers,^p

for one can be better than a thousand,

and to die childless is better than to have ungodly children.^*

⁴For through one intelligent person a city can be filled with people,

but through a clan of outlaws it becomes desolate.

⁵Many such things my eye has seen,

and my ear has heard things more striking than these.

⁶In an assembly of sinners a fire is kindled,

and in a disobedient nation wrath has blazed up.^*

⁷He did not forgive the ancient giants^q

who revolted in their might.^*

⁸He did not spare the neighbors of Lot,

whom he loathed on account of their arrogance.^*

⁹He showed no pity on the doomed nation,

on those dispossessed because of their sins,^r

¹⁰or on the six hundred thousand foot soldiers

who assembled in their stubbornness.^s*

¹¹Even if there were only one stiff-necked person,

it would be a wonder if he remained unpunished.

For mercy and wrath are with the Lord;^t

he acquits and forgives,^u but he also pours out wrath.^*

¹²Great as is his mercy, so also is his chastisement;

he judges people according to their deeds.^*

¹³The sinner will not escape with plunder,

and the patience of the godly will not be frustrated.

¹⁴He makes room for every act of almsgiving;

everyone receives in accordance with his or her deeds.^v*

¹⁷Do not say, “I am hidden from the Lord,

and who from on high has me in mind?

Among so many people I am unknown,

for what am I in a boundless creation?^*

¹⁸Look, heaven and the highest heaven,

the abyss and the earth tremble at his visitation!^w*

¹⁹Together the mountains and the foundations of the earth

shake and tremble when he looks upon them.^*

²⁰But no human mind can grasp this,

and who can comprehend his ways?^*

²¹Like a tempest that no one can see,

so most of his works are concealed.^x*

²²Who is to announce his acts of justice?

Or who can await them? For his decree^y is far off.”^z

²³Such are the thoughts of one devoid of understanding;

a senseless and misguided person thinks foolishly.

God’s Wisdom Seen in Creation

²⁴Listen to me, my child, and acquire knowledge,

and pay close attention to my words.^*

²⁵I will impart discipline precisely^a

and declare knowledge accurately.^*

²⁶When the Lord created^b his works from the beginning

and, in making them, determined their boundaries,

²⁷he arranged their works in an eternal order

and their dominion^c for all generations.

They neither hunger nor grow weary,

and they do not abandon their tasks.^*

²⁸They do not crowd one another,

and they never disobey his word.

²⁹Then the Lord looked upon the earth

and filled it with his good things.^*

³⁰With all kinds of living beings he covered its surface,

and into it they must return.^*