1 ΠΟΛΛΩΝ καὶ μεγάλων ἡμῖν διὰ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν κατʼ αὐτοὺς ἠκολουθηκότων δεδομένων. ὑπὲρ ὧν δέον ἐστὶν ἐπαινεῖν τὸν Ἰσραὴλ παιδείας καὶ σοφίας, καὶ ὡς οὐ μόνον αὐτοὺς τοὺς ἀναγινώσκοντας δέον ἐστὶν ἐπιστήμονας γίνεσθαι, 1a ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἐκτὸς δύνασθαι τοὺς φιλομαθοῦντας χρησίμους εἶναι καὶ λέγοντας καὶ γράφοντας· ὁ πάππος μου Ἰησοῦς ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἑαυτὸν δοὺς εἴς τε τὴν τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν 1b καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πατρίων βιβλίων ἀνάγνωσιν, καὶ ἐν τούτοις ἱκανὴν ἕξιν περιποιησάμενος, προήχθη καὶ αὐτὸς συγγράψαι τι τῶν εἰς παιδείαν καὶ σοφίαν ἀνηκόντων, ὅπως οἱ φιλομαθεῖς, καὶ τούτων ἔνοχοι γενόμενοι, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐπιπροσθῶσι διὰ τῆς ἐννόμου βιώσεως. 1c Παρακέκλησθε οὖν μετʼ εὐνοίας καὶ προσοχῆς τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν ποιεῖσθαι, καὶ συγγνώμην ἔχειν ἐφʼ οἷς ἂν δοκῶμεν 1d τῶν κατὰ τὴν ἑρμηνείαν πεφιλοπονημένων τισὶ τῶν λέξεων ἀδυναμεῖν· οὐ γὰρ ἰσοδυναμεῖ αὐτὰ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς Ἑβραϊστὶ λεγόμενα, καὶ ὅταν μεταχθῇ εἰς ἑτέραν γλῶσσαν. Οὐ μόνον δὲ ταῦτα, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ νόμος, καὶ αἱ προφητεῖαι, 1e καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν βιβλίων οὐ μικρὰν ἔχει τὴν διαφορὰν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς λεγόμενα. Ἐν γὰρ τῷ ὀγδόῳ καὶ τριακοστῷ ἔτει ἐπὶ τοῦ Εὐεργέτου βασιλέως παραγενηθεὶς εἰς Αἴγυπτον καὶ συγχρονίσας, εὗρον οὐ μικρᾶς παιδείας ἀφόμοιον· 1f ἀναγκαιότατον ἐθέμην αὐτὸς προσενέγκασθαί τινα σπουδὴν καὶ φιλοπονίαν τοῦ μεθερμηνεῦσαι τήνδε τὴν βίβλον· πολλὴν γὰρ ἀγρυπνίαν καὶ ἐπιστήμην προσενεγκάμενος ἐν τῷ διαστήματι τοῦ χρόνου, πρὸς τὸ ἐπὶ πέρας ἄγοντα τὸ βιβλίον ἐκδόσθαι, καὶ τοῖς ἐν τῇ παροικίᾳ βουλομένοις φιλομαθεῖν, 1g προκατασκευαζομένοις τὰ ἤθη ἐν νόμῳ βιοτεύειν. 1h ΠΑΣΑ σοφία παρὰ Κυρίου, καὶ μετʼ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. 2 Ἄμμον θαλασσῶν καὶ σταγόνας ὑετοῦ καὶ ἡμέρας αἰῶνος τίς ἐξαριθμήσει; 3 Ὕψος οὐρανοῦ καὶ πλάτος γῆς καὶ ἄβυσσον καὶ σοφίαν τίς ἐξιχνιάσει; 4 Προτέρα πάντων ἔκτισται σοφία, καὶ σύνεσις φρονήσεως ἐξ αἰῶνος. 6 Ῥίζα σοφίας τίνι ἀπεκαλύφθη; καὶ τὰ πανουργεύματα αὐτῆς τίς ἔγνω; 8 Εἷς ἐστι σοφὸς φοβερὸς σφόδρα καθήμενος ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου αὐτοῦ· 9 Κύριος αὐτὸς ἔκτισεν αὐτὴν, καὶ εἶδε καὶ ἐξηρίθμησεν αὐτὴν, καὶ ἐξέχεεν αὐτὴν ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ. 10 Μετὰ πάσης σαρκὸς κατὰ τὴν δόσιν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐχορήγησεν αὐτὴν τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν· 11 Φόβος Κυρίου δόξα καὶ καύχημα καὶ εὐφροσύνη καὶ στέφανος ἀγαλλιάματος. 12 Φόβος Κυρίου τέρψει καρδίαν, καὶ δώσει εὐφροσύνην καὶ χαρὰν καὶ μακροημέρευσιν. 13 Τῷ φοβουμένῳ τὸν Κύριον εὖ ἔσται ἐπʼ ἐσχάτων, καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τελευτῆς αὐτοῦ εὑρήσει χάριν. 14 Αρχὴ σοφίας φοβεῖσθαι τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ μετὰ πιστῶν ἐν μήτρᾳ συνεκτίσθη αὐτοῖς. 15 Καὶ μετὰ ἀνθρώπων θεμέλιον αἰῶνος ἐνόσσευσε, καὶ μετὰ τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῶν ἐμπιστευθήσεται. 16 Πλησμονὴ σοφίας φοβεῖσθαι τὸν Κύριον, καὶ μεθύσκει αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῆς. 17 Πάντα τὸν οἶκον αὐτῆς ἐμπλήσει ἐπιθυμημάτων, καὶ τὰ ἀποδοχεῖα ἀπὸ τῶν γεννημάτων αὐτῆς. 18 Στέφανος σοφίας φόβος Κυρίου, ἀναθάλλων εἰρήνην καὶ ὑγίειαν ἰάσεως· 19 ἐπιστήμην καὶ γνῶσιν συνέσεως ἐξώμβρησε, καὶ δόξαν κρατούντων αὐτῆς ἀνύψωσε. 20 Ῥίζα σοφίας φοβεῖσθαι τὸν Κύριον, καὶ οἱ κλάδοι αὐτῆς μακροημέρευσις. 22 Οὐ δυνήσεται θυμὸς ἄδικος δικαιωθῆναι· ἡ γὰρ ῥοπὴ τοῦ θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ πτῶσις αὐτῷ. 23 Ἕως καιροῦ ἀνθέξεται μακρόθυμος, καὶ ὕστερον αὐτῷ ἀναδώσει εὐφροσύνη. 24 Ἕως καιροῦ κρύψει τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ, καὶ χείλη πιστῶν ἐκδιηγήσεται σύνεσιν αὐτοῦ. 25 Ἐν θησαυροῖς σοφίας παραβολὴ ἐπιστήμης, βδέλυγμα δὲ ἁμαρτωλῷ θεοσέβεια. 26 Ἐπεθύμησας σοφίαν, διατήρησον ἐντολὰς, καὶ Κύριος χορηγήσει σοι αὐτήν. 27 Σοφία γὰρ καὶ παιδεία φόβος Κυρίου, καὶ ἡ εὐδοκία αὐτοῦ πίστις καὶ πρᾳότης. 28 Μὴ ἀπειθήσῃς φόβῳ Κυρίου, καὶ μὴ προσέλθῃς αὐτῷ ἐν καρδίᾳ δισσῇ. 29 Μὴ ὑποκριθῇς ἐν στόμασιν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ ἐν τοῖς χείλεσί σου πρόσεχε. 30 Μὴ ἐξύψου σεαυτὸν, ἵνα μὴ πέσῃς, καὶ ἐπαγάγῃς τῇ ψυχῇ σου ἀτιμίαν· καὶ ἀποκαλύψει Κύριος τὰ κρυπτά σου, καὶ ἐν μέσῳ συναγωγῆς καταβελεῖ σε· ὅτι οὐ προσῆλθες φόβῳ Κυρίου, καὶ ἡ καρδία σου πλήρης δόλου.
Sirach · Brenton's Greek Septuagint
Sirach 1 Brenton's Greek Septuagint
Notes on this text (1)
- Ezra and Nehemiah form one book (2 Esdras) in this edition; the reader shows them as Ezra 1–10 and Nehemiah 1–13.
There are no verses 5, 7, 21 in this translation; the other verses keep their usual numbers.
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).
For although we find no time before it, for wisdom was created before all things, --not certainly that Wisdom manifestly co-eternal and equal unto Thee, our God, His Father, and by Whom all things were created, and in Whom, as the Beginning, Thou createdst heaven and earth; but truly that wisdom which has been created, namely, the intellectual nature, which, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
Wherefore also one said, "The sway of his fury shall be his fall;" by this most of all showing its tyranny, that in a short time it works great ills, and needs not to continue long with us, so that if in addition to its strength it were apt to last, it would indeed be hard to strive against.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
… things, --not certainly that Wisdom manifestly co-eternal and equal unto Thee, our God, His Father, and by Whom all things were created, and in Whom, as the Beginning, Thou createdst heaven and earth; but truly that wisdom which has been created, namely, the intellectual nature, which, in the contemplation of light, is light.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
Now "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." As then the things above belong to the perfect, so what he is now going to say belongs to beginners.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)