Sirach 44–45

Chapter 44

¹Let us now praise famous men,

and our fathers in their generations.

²The Lord apportioned to them^c great glory,

his majesty from the beginning.

³There were those who ruled in their kingdoms,

and were men renowned for their power,

giving counsel by their understanding,

and proclaiming prophecies;

⁴leaders of the people in their deliberations

and in understanding of learning for the people,

wise in their words of instruction;

⁵those who composed musical tunes,

and set forth verses in writing;

⁶rich men furnished with resources,

living peaceably in their habitations—

⁷all these were honored in their generations,

and were the glory of their times.

⁸There are some of them who have left a name,

so that men declare their praise.

⁹And there are some who have no memorial,

who have perished as though they had not lived;

they have become as though they had not been born,

and so have their children after them.

¹⁰But these were men of mercy,

whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten;

¹¹their prosperity will remain with their descendants,

and their inheritance to their children’s children.^d

¹²Their descendants stand by the covenants;

their children also, for their sake.

¹³Their posterity will continue for ever,

and their glory will not be blotted out.

¹⁴Their bodies were buried in peace,

and their name lives to all generations.

¹⁵Peoples will declare their wisdom,

and the congregation proclaims their praise.

¹⁶Enoch pleased the Lord, and was taken up;

he was an example of repentance to all generations.

¹⁷Noah was found perfect and righteous;

in the time of wrath he was taken in exchange;

therefore a remnant was left to the earth

when the flood came.

¹⁸Everlasting covenants were made with him

that all flesh should not be blotted out by a flood.

¹⁹Abraham was the great father of a multitude of nations,

and no one has been found like him in glory;

²⁰he kept the law of the Most High,

and was taken into covenant with him;

he established the covenant in his flesh,

and when he was tested he was found faithful.

²¹Therefore the Lord^e assured him by an oath

that the nations would be blessed through his posterity;

that he would multiply him like the dust of the earth,

and exalt his posterity like the stars,

and cause them to inherit from sea to sea

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

²²To Isaac also he gave the same assurance

for the sake of Abraham his father.

²³The blessing of all men and the covenant

he made to rest upon the head of Jacob;

he acknowledged him with his blessings,

and gave him his inheritance;^f

he determined his portions,

and distributed them among twelve tribes.

Chapter 45

¹From his descendants the Lord^g brought forth a man of mercy,

who found favor in the sight of all flesh

and was beloved by God and man,

Moses, whose memory is blessed.

²He made him equal in glory to the holy ones,

and made him great in the fears of his enemies.

³By his words he caused signs to cease;

the Lord^g glorified him in the presence of kings.

He gave him commands for his people,

and showed him part of his glory.

⁴He sanctified him through faithfulness and meekness;

he chose him out of all mankind.

⁵He made him hear his voice,

and led him into the thick darkness,

and gave him the commandments face to face,

the law of life and knowledge,

to teach Jacob the covenant,

and Israel his judgments.

⁶He exalted Aaron, the brother of Moses,^h

a holy man like him, of the tribe of Levi.

⁷He made an everlasting covenant with him,

and gave him the priesthood of the people.

He blessed him with splendid vestments,

and put a glorious robe upon him.

⁸He clothed him with superb perfection,

and strengthened him with the symbols of authority,

the linen breeches, the long robe, and the ephod.

⁹And he encircled him with pomegranates,

with very many golden bells round about,

to send forth a sound as he walked,

to make their ringing heard in the temple

as a reminder to the sons of his people;

¹⁰with a holy garment, of gold and blue

and purple, the work of an embroiderer;

with the oracle of judgment, Urim and Thummim;

¹¹with twisted scarlet, the work of a craftsman;

with precious stones engraved like signets,

in a setting of gold, the work of a jeweler,

for a reminder, in engraved letters,

according to the number of the tribes of Israel;

¹²with a gold crown upon his turban,

inscribed like a signet with “Holiness,”

a distinction to be prized, the work of an expert,

the delight of the eyes, richly adorned.

¹³Before his time there never were such beautiful things.

No outsider ever put them on,

but only his sons

and his descendants perpetually.

¹⁴His sacrifices shall be wholly burned

twice every day continually.

¹⁵Moses ordained him,

and anointed him with holy oil;

it was an everlasting covenant for him

and for his descendants all the days of heaven,

to minister to the Lordⁱ and serve as priest

and bless his people in his name.

¹⁶He chose him out of all the living

to offer sacrifice to the Lord,

incense and a pleasing odor as a memorial portion,

to make atonement for the people.^j

¹⁷In his commandments he gave him

authority and statutes and^k judgments,

to teach Jacob the testimonies,

and to enlighten Israel with his law.

¹⁸Outsiders conspired against him,

and envied him in the wilderness,

Dathan and Abiram and their men

and the company of Korah, in wrath and anger.

¹⁹The Lord saw it and was not pleased,

and in the wrath of his anger they were destroyed;

he wrought wonders against them

to consume them in flaming fire.

²⁰He added glory to Aaron

and gave him a heritage;

he allotted to him the first of the first fruits,

he prepared bread of first fruits in abundance;

²¹for they eat the sacrifices to the Lord,

which he gave to him and his descendants.

²²But in the land of the people he has no inheritance,

and he has no portion among the people;

for the Lord^l himself is his^m portion and inheritance.

²³Phinehas the son of Eleazar is the third in glory,

for he was zealous in the fear of the Lord,

and stood fast, when the people turned away,

in the ready goodness of his soul,

and made atonement for Israel.

²⁴Therefore a covenant of peace was established with him,

that he should be leader of the sanctuary and of his people,

that he and his descendants should have

the dignity of the priesthood for ever.

²⁵A covenant was also established with David,

the son of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah:

the heritage of the king is from son to son only;

so the heritage of Aaron is for his descendants.

²⁶May the Lordⁿ grant you wisdom in your heart

to judge his people in righteousness,

so that their prosperity may not vanish,

and that their glory may endure throughout their generations.^o