1 Wisdom shall praise herself, And shall glory in the midst of her people. 2 In the congregation of the Most High shall she open her mouth, And glory in the presence of his power. 3 I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, And covered the earth as a mist. 4 I dwelt in high places, And my throne is in the pillar of the cloud. 5 Alone I compassed the circuit of heaven, And walked in the depth of the abyss. 6 In the waves of the sea, and in all the earth, And in every people and nation, I got a possession. 7 With all these I sought rest; And in whose inheritance shall I lodge? 8 Then the Creator of all things gave me a commandment; And he that created me made my tabernacle to rest, And said, Let thy tabernacle be in Jacob, And thine inheritance in Israel. 9 He created me from the beginning before the world; And to the end I shall not fail. 10 In the holy tabernacle I ministered before him; And so was I established in Sion. 11 In the beloved city likewise he gave me rest; And in Jerusalem was my authority. 12 And I took root in a people that was glorified, Even in the portion of the Lord’s own inheritance. 13 I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, And as a cypress tree on the mountains of Hermon. 14 I was exalted like a palm tree on the sea shore, And as rose plants in Jericho, And as a fair olive tree in the plain; And I was exalted as a plane tree. 15 As cinnamon and aspalathus, I have given a scent of perfumes; And as choice myrrh, I spread abroad a pleasant odour; As galbanum, and onyx, and stacte, And as the fume of frankincense in the tabernacle. 16 As the terebinth I stretched out my branches; And my branches are branches of glory and grace. 17 As the vine I put forth grace; And my flowers are the fruit of glory and riches. 18 Not in this translation 19 Come unto me, ye that are desirous of me, And be ye filled with my produce. 20 For my memorial is sweeter than honey, And mine inheritance than the honeycomb. 21 They that eat me shall yet be hungry; And they that drink me shall yet be thirsty. 22 He that obeyeth me shall not be ashamed; And they that work in me shall not do amiss. 23 All these things are the book of the covenant of the Most High God, [Even ] the law which Moses commanded us for a heritage unto the assemblies of Jacob. 24 Not in this translation 25 It is he that maketh wisdom abundant, as Pishon, And as Tigris in the days of new [fruits; ] 26 That maketh understanding full as Euphrates, And as Jordan in the days of harvest; 27 That maketh instruction to shine forth as the light, As Gihon in the days of vintage. 28 The first man knew her not perfectly; And in like manner the last hath not traced her out. 29 For her thoughts are filled from the sea, And her counsels from the great deep. 30 And I came out as a stream from a river, And as a conduit into a garden. 31 I said, I will water my garden, And will water abundantly my garden bed; And, lo, my stream became a river, And my river became a sea. 32 I will yet bring instruction to light as the morning, And will make these things to shine forth afar off. 33 I will yet pour out doctrine as prophecy, And leave it unto generations of ages. 34 Behold that I have not laboured for myself only, But for all them that diligently seek her.
Sirach · Revised Version with Apocrypha
Sirach 24 Revised Version with Apocrypha
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).
… to have been emitted from the mouth of God; and if we believe that is the soul, we must consequently acknowledge it to be of the same substance, and equal to that wisdom, which says, "I come out of the mouth of the Most High." Wisdom, indeed, does not say it was breathed out of the mouth of God, but …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
For while He said, "Blessed are the hungry, for they shall be filled;" it is again said of Wisdom, "Those who eat Thee shall hunger again, and those who drink shall thirst again." Nay, but He did not say "again," but he said, "still:" for "shall thirst again" is as if once having been filled he departed and digested, and …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)