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.