Sirach · King James Version (with Apocrypha)
Sirach 36 King James Version (with Apocrypha)
1 Have mercy upon us, O Lord God of all, and behold us:
1 Have mercy upon us, O Lord the God of all, and look at us with favor;
2 And send thy fear upon all the nations that seek not after thee.
2 and send your fear upon all the nations.
3 Lift up thy hand against the strange nations, and let them see thy power.
3 Lift up your hand against the foreign nations and let them see your mighty power.
4 As thou wast sanctified in us before them: so be thou magnified among them before us.
4 As you showed your holiness in us before them, so be magnified in them before us.
5 And let them know thee, as we have known thee, that there is no God but only thou, O God.
5 Let them know you, as we also have known you, that there is no God but only you, O God.
6 Shew new signs, and make other strange wonders: glorify thy hand and thy right arm, that they may set forth thy wondrous works.
6 Show new signs, and work various wonders. Glorify your hand and your right arm.
7 Raise up indignation, and pour out wrath: take away the adversary, and destroy the enemy.
7 Raise up indignation and pour out wrath. Take away the adversary and destroy the enemy.
8 Make the time short, remember the covenant, and let them declare thy wonderful works.
8 Hasten the time and remember your oath. Let them declare your mighty works.
9 Let him that escapeth be consumed by the rage of the fire; and let them perish that oppress the people.
9 Let him who escapes be devoured by raging fire. May those who harm your people find destruction.
10 Smite in sunder the heads of the rulers of the heathen, that say, There is none other but we.
10 Crush the heads of the rulers of the enemies who say, “There is no one but ourselves.”
11 Gather all the tribes of Jacob together, and inherit thou them, as from the beginning.
11 Gather all the tribes of Jacob together, and take them for your inheritance, as from the beginning.
12 O Lord, have mercy upon the people that is called by thy name, and upon Israel, whom thou hast named thy firstborn.
12 O Lord, have mercy upon the people that is called by your name, and upon Israel, whom you likened to a firstborn.
13 O be merciful unto Jerusalem, thy holy city, the place of thy rest.
13 Have compassion upon the city of your sanctuary, Jerusalem, the place of your rest.
14 Fill Sion with thine unspeakable oracles, and thy people with thy glory:
14 Fill Zion. Exalt your oracles and fill your people with your glory.
15 Give testimony unto those that thou hast possessed from the beginning, and raise up prophets that have been in thy name.
15 Give testimony to those who were your creatures in the beginning, and fulfill the prophecies that have been spoken in your name.
16 Reward them that wait for thee, and let thy prophets be found faithful.
16 Reward those who wait for you, and men will put their trust in your prophets.
17 O Lord, hear the prayer of thy servants, according to the blessing of Aaron over thy people, that all they which dwell upon the earth may know that thou art the Lord, the eternal God.
17 Listen, O Lord, to the prayer of your servants, according to the blessing of Aaron concerning your people; and all those who are on the earth will know that you are the Lord, the eternal God.
18 The belly devoureth all meats, yet is one meat better than another.
18 The belly will eat any food, but one food is better than another.
19 As the palate tasteth divers kinds of venison: so doth an heart of understanding false speeches.
19 The mouth tastes meats taken in hunting, so does an understanding heart detect false speech.
20 A froward heart causeth heaviness: but a man of experience will recompense him.
20 A contrary heart will cause heaviness. A man of experience will pay him back.
21 A woman will receive every man, yet is one daughter better than another.
21 A woman will receive any man, but one daughter is better than another.
22 The beauty of a woman cheereth the countenance, and a man loveth nothing better.
22 The beauty of a woman cheers the countenance. A man desires nothing more.
23 If there be kindness, meekness, and comfort, in her tongue, then is not her husband like other men.
23 If kindness and humility are on her tongue, her husband is not like other sons of men.
24 He that getteth a wife beginneth a possession, a help like unto himself, and a pillar of rest.
24 He who gets a wife gets his richest treasure, a help meet for him and a pillar of support.
25 Where no hedge is, there the possession is spoiled: and he that hath no wife will wander up and down mourning.
25 Where no hedge is, the property will be plundered. He who has no wife will mourn as he wanders.
26 Who will trust a thief well appointed, that skippeth from city to city? so [who will believe] a man that hath no house, and lodgeth wheresoever the night taketh him?
26 For who would trust a nimble robber who skips from city to city? Even so, who would trust a man who has no nest, and lodges wherever he finds himself at nightfall?
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
As Thou wast sanctified in us before them, so be Thou sanctified in them before us, and let them acknowledge Thee, according as we also have acknowledged Thee; for there is not a God beside Thee, O Lord." We see this prophecy in the form of a wish and prayer fulfilled through Jesus Christ.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)