Sirach_45, 46

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 45

Praise of Moses, Aaron, and Phinehas

1. From him came the man

who would win the favor of all the living:

Dear to God and human beings,

MOSES, whose memory is a blessing.

2. God made him like the angels in honor,

and strengthened him with fearful powers.

3. At his words God performed signs

and sustained him in the king's presence.

He gave him the commandments for his people,

and revealed to him his glory.

4. Because of his trustworthiness and meekness

God selected him from all flesh;

5. He let him hear his voice,

and led him into the cloud,

Where he handed over the commandments,

the law of life and understanding,

That he might teach his precepts to Jacob,

his judgments and decrees to Israel.

6. He also raised up, like Moses in holiness,

his brother AARON, of the tribe of Levi.

7. He made his office perpetual

and bestowed on him priesthood for his people;

He established him in honor

and crowned him with lofty majesty.

8. He clothed him in splendid garments,

and adorned him with glorious vestments:

Breeches, tunic, and robe

9. with pomegranates at the hem

And a rustle of bells round about,

whose pleasing sound at each step

Would make him heard within the sanctuary,

a reminder for the people;

10. The sacred vestments of gold, violet,

and crimson, worked with embroidery;

The breastpiece for decision, the ephod and cincture

11. with scarlet yarn, the work of the weaver;

Precious stones with seal engravings

in golden settings, the work of the jeweler,

To commemorate in incised letters

each of the tribes of Israel;

12. On his turban a diadem of gold,

its plate engraved with the sacred inscription ──

Majestic, glorious, renowned for splendor,

a delight to the eyes, supremely beautiful.

13. Before him, no one had been adorned with these,

nor may they ever be worn by any other

Except his sons and them alone,

generation after generation, for all time.

14. His grain offering is wholly burnt

as an established offering twice each day;

15. For Moses ordained him

and anointed him with the holy oil,

In a lasting covenant with him and his family,

as permanent as the heavens,

That he should serve God in the priesthood

and bless the people in his name.

16. He chose him from all the living

to sacrifice burnt offerings and choice portions,

To burn incense, sweet odor as a memorial,

and to atone for the people of Israel.

17. He gave to him the laws,

and authority to prescribe and to judge:

To teach precepts to the people,

and judgments to the Israelites.

18. Strangers rose in anger against him,

grew jealous of him in the desert ──

The followers of Dathan and Abiram,

and the band of Korah in their defiance.

19. When the LORD saw this he became angry,

and destroyed them in his burning wrath.

He brought against them a marvel,

and consumed them in flaming fire.

20. Then he increased the glory of Aaron

and bestowed upon him his inheritance:

The sacred offerings he allotted to him,

with the showbread as his portion;

21. The oblations of the LORD are his food,

a gift to him and his desendants.

22. But he holds no land among the people

nor shares with them their heritage;

For the LORD himself is his portion and inheritance

among the Israelites.

23. PHINEHAS too, the son of Eleazar,

was the courageous third of his line

When, zealous for the God of all,

he met the crisis of his people

And, at the prompting of his noble heart,

atoned for the children of Israel.

24. Therefore, on him also God conferred the right,

in a covenant of friendship, to provide for the sanctuary,

So that he and his descendants

should possess the high priesthood forever.

25. For even his covenant with David,

the son of Jesse of the tribe of Judah,

Was an individual heritage through one son alone;

but the heritage of Aaron is for all his descendants.

So now bless the LORD

who has crowned you with glory!

26. May he grant you wisdom of heart

to govern his people in justice,

Lest the benefits you confer should be forgotten,

or your authority, throughout all time.

 46

Joshua, Caleb, the Judges, and Samuel

1. Valiant warrior was JOSHUA, son of Nun,

aide to Moses in the prophetic office,

Formed to be, as his name implies,

the great savior of God's chosen ones,

To punish the enemy

and to give to Israel their heritage.

2. What glory was his when he raised his hand,

to brandish his sword against the city!

3. Who could withstand him

when he fought the battles of the LORD?

4. Was it not by that same hand the sun stopped,

so that one day became two?

5. He called upon the Most High God

when his enemies beset him on all sides,

And God Most High answered him

with hailstones of tremendous power,

6. That rained down upon the hostile army

till on the slope he destroyed the foe;

That all the doomed nations might know

the LORD was watching over his people's battles.

He was indeed a devoted follower of God

7. and showed himself loyal in Moses' lifetime.

He and CALEB, son of Jephunneh,

when they opposed the rebel assembly,

Averted God's anger from the people

and suppressed the wicked complaint.

8. Because of this, these two alone were spared

from the six hundred thousand infantry,

To lead the people into their heritage,

the land flowing with milk and honey.

9. The strength God gave to Caleb

remained with him even in old age

Till he won his way onto the summits of the land;

his family too received a heritage,

10. That all the offspring of Jacob might know

how good it is to be a devoted follower of the LORD.

11. The JUDGES, each one of them,

whose hearts were not deceived,

Who did not abandon God ──

may their memory be ever blessed!

12. May their bones flourish with new life where they lie,

and their names receive fresh luster in their children!

13. Beloved of his people, dear to his Maker,

pledged in a vow from his mother's womb,

As one consecrated to the LORD in the prophetic office,

was SAMUEL, the judge who offered sacrifice.

At God's word he established the kingdom

and anointed princes to rule the people.

14. By the law of the LORD he judged the congregation,

and visited the encampments of Jacob.

15. As a trustworthy prophet he was sought out

and his words proved him to be a true seer.

16. He, too, called upon the mighty Lord

when his enemies pressed him on every side,

and offered up a suckling lamb.

17. Then the LORD thundered from heaven,

and the tremendous roar of his voice was heard.

18. He brought low the rulers of the enemy

and destroyed all the lords of the Philistines.

19. When Samuel neared the end of life,

he testified before the LORD and his anointed prince,

"No bribe or secret gift have I taken from anyone!"

and no one could accuse him.

20. Even after death his guidance was sought;

he made known to the king his fate.

From the grave he spoke in prophecy

to put an end to wickedness.