Sirach 51

¹The prayer of Jesus, the son of Sirach: I will confess to you, O Lord and King, and I will give praise to you, O God my Savior.

²I will acknowledge your name. For you have been my Helper and Protector.

³And you have freed my body from perdition, from the snare of the iniquitous tongue, and from the lips of those who forge lies. And you have been my Helper in the sight of those who stood nearby.

⁴And you have freed me according to the multitude of the mercy of your name: from those who roared and prepared to devour,

⁵from the hands of those who sought my life, and from the gates of tribulation that surrounded me,

⁶from the oppression of the flames that surrounded me, and so I was not burned in the midst of the fire,

⁷from the depths of the bowels of hell, and from the defiled tongue, and from lying words, from an iniquitous king, and from an unjust tongue.

⁸My soul shall praise the Lord, even unto death.

⁹For my life was drawing near to hell below.

¹⁰And they surrounded me on every side. And there was no one who would help me. I looked around for the assistance of men, and there was none.

¹¹Then I remembered your mercy, O Lord, and your works, which are from the very beginning.

¹²For you rescue those who persevere for you, O Lord, and you free them from the hands of the Gentiles.

¹³You exalted my habitation upon the earth, and I made supplication that death would pass away.

¹⁴I called upon the Lord, the Father of my Lord, so that he would not abandon me in the day of my tribulation, nor in the time of arrogance without assistance.

¹⁵I will praise your name unceasingly, and I will praise it with thanksgiving, for my prayer was heeded.

¹⁶And you freed me from perdition, and you rescued me from the time of iniquity.

¹⁷Because of this, I will give thanks and praise to you, and I will bless the name of the Lord.

¹⁸When I was still young, before I wandered astray, I sought wisdom openly in my prayer.

¹⁹I asked for her before the temple, and even to the very end, I will inquire after her. And she flourished like a newly-ripened grape.

²⁰My heart rejoiced in her. My feet walked in the right path. From my youth, I pursued her.

²¹I bent my ear a little and accepted her.

²²I found much wisdom within myself, and I benefited greatly by her.

²³I will give glory to him who gives wisdom to me.

²⁴For I have decided that I should act according to wisdom. I have been zealous for what is good, and so I will not be confounded.

²⁵My soul has struggled for wisdom, and in doing so, I have been confirmed.

²⁶I extended my hands on high, and I mourned my ignorance of her.

²⁷I directed my soul toward her, and I found her within knowledge.

²⁸From the beginning, I held my heart to wisdom. Because of this, I will not be forsaken.

²⁹My stomach was stirred up while seeking her. Because of her, I will hold a good possession.

³⁰The Lord has given me a tongue as my reward, and I will praise him with it.

³¹Draw near to me, you who are untaught, and gather yourselves into the house of discipline.

³²Why are you reluctant? And what do you have to say about these things? Your souls are exceedingly thirsty!

³³I have opened my mouth, and I have spoken. Buy wisdom for yourselves without silver,

³⁴and subject your neck to her yoke, and let your soul accept her discipline. For she is close enough to be found.

³⁵See with your own eyes how I have labored only a little, and have found much rest for myself.

³⁶Take up discipline, as if it were a great sum of money, and possess an abundance of gold in her.

³⁷Let your soul rejoice in his mercy. For you will not be confounded by his praise.

³⁸Accomplish your work before the time. And he will give you your reward in his time.

Sirach 51

¹A prayer of Jesus the son of Sirach. I will give glory to thee, O Lord, O King, and I will praise thee, O God my Saviour.

²I will give glory to thy name: for thou hast been a helper and protector to me.

³And hast preserved my body from destruction, from the snare of an unjust tongue, and from the lips of them that forge lies, and in the sight of them that stood by, thou hast been my helper.

⁴And thou hast delivered me, according to the multitude of the mercy of thy name, from them that did roar, prepared to devour.

⁵Out of the hands of them that sought my life, and from the gates of afflictions, which compassed me about:

⁶From the oppression of the flame which surrounded me, and in the midst of the fire I was not burnt.

⁷From the depth of the belly of hell, and from an unclean tongue, and from lying words, from an unjust king, and from a slanderous tongue:

⁸My soul shall praise the Lord even to death.

⁹And my life was drawing near to hell beneath.

¹⁰They compassed me on every side, and there was no one that would help me. I looked for the succour of men, and there was none.

¹¹I remembered thy mercy, O Lord, and thy works, which are from the beginning of the world.

¹²How thou deliverest them that wait for thee, O Lord, and savest them out of the hands of the nations.

¹³Thou hast exalted my dwelling place upon the earth and I have prayed for death to pass away.

¹⁴I called upon the Lord, the father of my Lord, that he would not leave me in the day of my trouble, and in the time of the proud without help.

¹⁵I will praise thy name continually, and will praise it with thanksgiving, and my prayer was heard.

¹⁶And thou hast saved me from destruction, and hast delivered me from the evil time.

¹⁷Therefore I will give thanks, and praise thee, and bless the name of the Lord.

¹⁸When I was yet young, before I wandered about, I sought for wisdom openly in my prayer.

¹⁹I prayed for her before the temple, and unto the very end I will seek after her, and she flourished as a grape soon ripe.

²⁰My heart delighted in her, my foot walked in the right way, from my youth up I sought after her.

²¹I bowed down my ear a little, and received her.

²²I found much wisdom in myself, and profited much therein.

²³To him that giveth me wisdom, will I give glory.

²⁴For I have determined to follow her: I have had a zeal for good, and shall not be confounded.

²⁵My soul hath wrestled for her, and in doing it I have been confirmed.

²⁶I stretched forth my hands on high, and I bewailed my ignorance of her.

²⁷I directed my soul to her, and in knowledge I found her.

²⁸I possessed my heart with her from the beginning: therefore I shall not be forsaken.

²⁹My entrails were troubled in seeking her: therefore shall I possess a good possession.

³⁰The Lord hath given me a tongue for my reward: and with it I will praise him.

³¹Draw near to me, ye unlearned, and gather yourselves together into the hours of discipline.

³²Why are ye slow and what do you say of these things? your souls are exceeding thirsty.

³³I have opened my mouth, and have spoken: buy her for yourselves without silver,

³⁴And submit your neck to the yoke, and let your soul receive discipline: for she is near at hand to be found.

³⁵Behold with your eyes how I have laboured a little, and have found much rest to myself.

³⁶Receive ye discipline as a great sum of money, and possess abundance of gold by her.

³⁷Let your soul rejoice in his mercy and you shall not be confounded in his praise.

³⁸Work your work before the time, and he will give you your reward in his time.