Sirach · Revised Version with Apocrypha
Sirach 43 Revised Version with Apocrypha
Sirach is not in RV1909.
1 The pride of the height is the firmament in its clearness, The appearance of heaven, in the spectacle of its glory.
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2 The sun when he appeareth, bringing tidings as he goeth forth, Is a marvellous instrument, the work of the Most High:
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3 At his noon he drieth up the country, And who shall stand against his burning heat?
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4 A man blowing a furnace is in works of heat, [But ] the sun three times more, burning up the mountains: Breathing out fiery vapours, And sending forth bright beams, he dimmeth the eyes.
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5 Great is the Lord that made him; And at his word he hasteneth his course.
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6 The moon also is in all things for her season, For a declaration of times, and a sign of the world.
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7 From the moon is the sign of the feast day; A light that waneth when she is come to the full.
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8 The month is called after her name, Increasing wonderfully in her changing; An instrument of the hosts on high, Shining forth in the firmament of heaven;
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9 The beauty of heaven, the glory of the stars, An ornament giving light in the highest places of the Lord.
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10 At the word of the Holy One they will stand in due order, And they will not faint in their watches.
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11 Look upon the rainbow, and praise him that made it; Exceeding beautiful in the brightness thereof.
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12 It compasseth the heaven round about with a circle of glory; The hands of the Most High have stretched it.
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13 By his commandment he maketh the snow to fall apace, And sendeth swiftly the lightnings of his judgement.
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14 By reason thereof the treasure-houses are opened; And clouds fly forth as fowls.
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15 By his mighty power he maketh strong the clouds, And the hailstones are broken small:
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16 And at his appearing the mountains will be shaken, And at his will the south wind will blow.
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17 The voice of his thunder maketh the earth to travail; So doth the northern storm and the whirlwind: As birds flying down he sprinkleth the snow; And as the lighting of the locust is the falling down thereof:
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18 The eye will marvel at the beauty of its whiteness, And the heart will be astonished at the raining of it.
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19 The hoar frost also he poureth on the earth as salt; And when it is congealed, it is [as ] points of thorns.
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20 The cold north wind shall blow, And the ice shall be congealed on the water: It shall lodge upon every gathering together of water, And the water shall put on as it were a breastplate.
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21 It shall devour the mountains, and burn up the wilderness, And consume the green herb as fire.
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22 A mist coming speedily is the healing of all things; A dew coming after heat shall bring cheerfulness.
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23 By his counsel he hath stilled the deep, And planted islands therein.
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24 They that sail on the sea tell of the danger thereof; And when we hear it with our ears, we marvel.
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25 Therein be also those strange and wondrous works, Variety of all that hath life, the race of sea-monsters.
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26 By reason of him his end hath success, And by his word all things consist.
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27 We may say many things, yet shall we not attain; And the sum of our words is, He is all.
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28 How shall we have strength to glorify him? For he is himself the great one above all his works.
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29 The Lord is terrible and exceeding great; And marvellous is his power.
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30 When ye glorify the Lord, exalt him as much as ye can; For even yet will he exceed: And when ye exalt him, put forth your full strength: Be not weary; for ye will never attain.
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31 Who hath seen him, that he may declare him? And who shall magnify him as he is?
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32 Many things are hidden greater than these; For we have seen but a few of his works.
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33 For the Lord made all things; And to the godly gave he wisdom.
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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).
… powerless to express in words our gratitude for the benefits which we are actually receiving; for He "passes all understanding," and convicts speech of its natural inability even to approach His dignity in the least degree; as it is written in the Book of Wisdom, "Exalt Him as much as you can, for even yet will He far exceed; and …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 8 (1895)