Sirach
As found in the Greek Septuagint
GNB
Chapter 44
Sirach 44:1 So let us
now give praise to godly men,
our ancestors of generations past,
Sirach 44:2 those
whom the Lord honored with great glory,
in whom his greatness has been seen
from the beginning of time.
Sirach 44:3 There were
some who ruled kingdoms,
and some who were known for their strength.
Some were wise advisers,
and some spoke prophecies.
Sirach 44:4 There were
statesmen whose policies governed the people,
rulers who issued decrees,
scholars who spoke wise words,
and those who used pointed proverbs,
Sirach 44:5 poets, and composers of music,
Sirach 44:6 rich and powerful men living peacefully at home.
Sirach 44:7 All of these
were famous in their own times,
honored by the people of their day.
Sirach 44:8 Some of them
left a reputation,
and people still praise them today.
Sirach 44:9 There are
others who are not remembered,
as if they had never lived,
who died and were forgotten,
they, and their children after them.
Sirach 44:10 But we will
praise these godly men,
whose righteous deeds have never been forgotten.
Sirach 44:11 Their
reputations will be passed on to their descendents,
and this will be their inheritance.
Sirach 44:12 Their
descendants continue to keep the covenant
and always will, because of what their ancestors did.
Sirach 44:13 Their
family line will go on forever,
and their fame will never fade.
Sirach 44:14 Their
bodies were laid to rest,
but their reputations will live forever.
Sirach 44:15 Nations
will tell about their wisdom,
and God's people will praise them.
Sirach 44:16 Enoch pleased the Lord and was taken up into heaven. He became an inspiration for repentance for all time to come.
Sirach 44:17 Noah was a perfectly righteous man. After destruction came, he gave the human race a new start. Because of him there were people left on earth when the flood was over.
Sirach 44:18 The Lord made an eternal covenant with him, promising that life would never again be destroyed by a flood.
Sirach 44:19 Abraham was the great ancestor of many nations; his reputation was faultless.
Sirach 44:20 He kept the Law of the Most High and made a covenant with him, a covenant marked on his body. When he was put to the test, he was found faithful.
Sirach 44:21 And so the Lord made him a solemn promise that his descendants would be a blessing to the world; that their number would be countless, like the dust of the earth; that they would be honored more than any other people on earth; and that their land would extend from sea to sea, from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
Sirach 44:22-23 The Lord renewed that covenant with Isaac, and then again with Jacob, repeating the promise that Abraham's descendants would be a blessing to the whole human race. The Lord assured Jacob that he would bless him; he gave him the land that would be his, dividing it into twelve parts, one for each of the tribes.