HOLY BIBLE: Sirach 49 (original) (raw)

1 μνημόσυνον Ιωσιου εἰς σύνθεσιν θυμιάματος ἐσκευασμένον ἔργῳ μυρεψοῦ 2 ἐν παντὶ στόματι ὡς μέλι γλυκανθήσεται καὶ ὡς μουσικὰ ἐν συμποσίῳ οἴνου 3 αὐτὸς κατευθύνθη ἐν ἐπιστροφῇ λαοῦ καὶ ἐξῆρεν βδελύγματα ἀνομίας 4 κατεύθυνεν πρὸς κύριον τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ ἐν ἡμέραις ἀνόμων κατίσχυσεν τὴν εὐσέβειαν 5 πάρεξ Δαυιδ καὶ Εζεκιου καὶ Ιωσιου πάντες πλημμέλειαν ἐπλημμέλησαν 6 κατέλιπον γὰρ τὸν νόμον τοῦ ὑψίστου οἱ βασιλεῖς Ιουδα ἐξέλιπον 7 ἔδωκαν γὰρ τὸ κέρας αὐτῶν ἑτέροις καὶ τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν ἔθνει ἀλλοτρίῳ 8 ἐνεπύρισαν ἐκλεκτὴν πόλιν ἁγιάσματος καὶ ἠρήμωσαν τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτῆς ἐν χειρὶ Ιερεμιου 9 ἐκάκωσαν γὰρ αὐτόν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν μήτρᾳ ἡγιάσθη προφήτης ἐκριζοῦν καὶ κακοῦν καὶ ἀπολλύειν ὡσαύτως οἰκοδομεῖν καὶ καταφυτεύειν 10 Ιεζεκιηλ ὃς εἶδεν ὅρασιν δόξης ἣν ὑπέδειξεν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ ἅρματος χερουβιν

1 Josias, too, is still remembered; a memory grateful as some mingled scent, pride of the perfumer’s art, 2 or the honey that tastes sweet in all men’s mouths, or music over the wine. 3 A king divinely ordained to make a nation’s amends, how he swept away all the foul idols of the law-breakers; 4 how true he kept his heart to the Lord’s bidding, what comfort he gave to piety, when wickedness abounded! 5 David, Ezechias, Josias, these three only were exempt from the guilt of their line; 6 the other kings of Juda forsook the law of the most High, and counted the fear of God a light matter. 7 What wonder if they were doomed to bequeath all the glories of their kingdom to strangers, to princes of an alien race, 8 who set fire to the city that was God’s chosen sanctuary, and left the ways unfrequented?

… By means of Jeremias;[1] 9 so ill they used him, that was set apart to be a prophet when he was yet in his mother’s womb, empowered to overthrow, to uproot, to destroy, then to rebuild and to plant anew. 10 And next Ezechiel, to whose eyes God shewed the vision of glory, by wheeling cherubs borne aloft …

1

Memoria Josiæ in compositionem odoris facta
opus pigmentarii.

2
In omni ore quasi mel indulcabitur ejus memoria,
et ut musica in convivio vini. 3
Ipse est directus divinitus in pœnitentiam gentis,
et tulit abominationes impietatis. 4
Et gubernavit ad Dominum cor ipsius,
et in diebus peccatorum corroboravit pietatem. 5

Præter David et Ezechiam et Josiam,
omnes peccatum commiserunt:

6
nam reliquerunt legem Altissimi reges Juda,
et contempserunt timorem Dei. 7
Dederunt enim regnum suum aliis,
et gloriam suam alienigenæ genti. 8
Incenderunt electam sanctitatis civitatem,
et desertas fecerunt vias ipsius in manu Jeremiæ. 9
Nam male tractaverunt illum
qui a ventre matris consecratus est propheta,
evertere, et eruere, et perdere,
et iterum ædificare, et renovare: 10
Ezechiel, qui vidit conspectum gloriæ
quam ostendit illi in curru cherubim.

[1] It is very doubtful whether the words ‘in the hand of Jeremias’ can be construed so as to form a single sentence with verse 8; a gap in the text seems more probable.

[2] A further gap should perhaps be indicated here; Ez. 13.13 hardly justifies us in making Ezechiel the subject of verse 11. The Hebrew and the Syriac have ‘he remembered (or, made mention of) Job’, which again would not naturally apply to Ezechiel, in spite of Ez. 14.14.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd