Sirach

¹ Not so he that hath applied his soul, And meditateth in the law of the Most High; He will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients, And will be occupied in prophecies.

² He will keep the discourse of the men of renown, And will enter in amidst the subtilties of parables.

³ He will seek out the hidden meaning of proverbs, And be conversant in the dark sayings of parables.

⁴ He will serve among great men, And appear before him that ruleth: He will travel through the land of strange nations; For he hath tried good things and evil among men.

⁵ He will apply his heart to resort early to the Lord that made him, And will make supplication before the Most High, And will open his mouth in prayer, And will make supplication for his sins.

⁶ If the great Lord will, He shall be filled with the spirit of understanding: He shall pour forth the words of his wisdom, And in prayer give thanks unto the Lord.

⁷ He shall direct his counsel and knowledge, And in his secrets shall he meditate.

⁸ He shall shew forth the instruction which he hath been taught, And shall glory in the law of the covenant of the Lord.

⁹ Many shall commend his understanding; And so long as the world endureth, it shall not be blotted out: His memorial shall not depart, And his name shall live from generation to generation.

¹⁰ Nations shall declare his wisdom, And the congregation shall tell out his praise.

¹¹ If he continue, he shall leave a greater name than a thousand: And if he die, he addeth thereto.

¹² Yet more will I utter, which I have thought upon; And I am filled as the moon at the full.

¹³ Hearken unto me, ye holy children, And bud forth as a rose growing by a brook of water:

¹⁴ And give ye a sweet savour as frankencense, And put forth flowers as a lily, Spread abroad a sweet smell, and sing a song of praise; Bless ye the Lord for all his works.

¹⁵ Magnify his name, And give utterance to his praise With the songs of your lips, and with harps; And thus shall ye say when ye utter his praise:

¹⁶ All the works of the Lord are exceeding good, And every command shall be accomplished in his season.

¹⁷ None can say, What is this? wherefore is that? For in his season they shall all be sought out. At his word the waters stood as a heap, And the receptacles of waters at the word of his mouth.

¹⁸ At his command is all his good pleasure done; And there is none that shall hinder his salvation.

¹⁹ The works of all flesh are before him; And it is not possible to be hid from his eyes.

²⁰ He beholdeth from everlasting to everlasting; And there is nothing wonderful before him.

²¹ None can say, What is this? wherefore is that? For all things are created for their uses.

²² His blessing covered the dry land as a river, And saturated it as a flood.

²³ As he hath turned the waters into saltness; So shall the heathen inherit his wrath.

²⁴ His ways are plain unto the holy; So are they stumblingblocks unto the wicked.

²⁵ Good things are created from the beginning for the good; So are evil things for sinners.

²⁶ The chief of all things necessary for the life of man Are water, and fire, and iron, and salt, And flour of wheat, and honey, and milk, The blood of the grape, and oil, and clothing.

²⁷ All these things are for good to the godly; So to the sinners they shall be turned into evil.

²⁸ There be winds that are created for vengeance, And in their fury lay on their scourges heavily; In the time of consummation they pour out their strength, And shall appease the wrath of him that made them.

²⁹ Fire, and hail, and famine, and death, All these are created for vengeance;

³⁰ Teeth of wild beasts, and scorpions and adders, And a sword punishing the ungodly unto destruction.

³¹ They shall rejoice in his commandment, And shall be made ready upon earth, when need is; And in their seasons they shall not transgress his word.

³² Therefore from the beginning I was resolved, And I thought this, and left it in writing;

³³ All the works of the Lord are good: And he will supply every need in its season.

³⁴ And none can say, This is worse than that: For they shall all be well approved in their season.

³⁵ And now with all your heart and mouth sing ye praises, And bless the name of the Lord.