Sirach
As found in the Greek Septuagint
GNB
Chapter 46
The Glory of God in History (continued from chapter 44)
Sirach 46:1 Joshua son of Nun was a great soldier and the next of the prophets after Moses. He lived up to the meaning of his name as the great deliverer of the Lord's chosen people. He defeated the enemies that attacked them, so that Israel could claim its land.
Sirach 46:2 How magnificent it was when he raised his arm and then led the attacks on the cities!
Sirach 46:3 No one could stand up to him; he was fighting a holy war for the Lord.
Sirach 46:4 Remember how he held back the sun and made one day as long as two?
Sirach 46:5 When his enemies were threatening him from every side, he prayed to the mighty Lord Most High, and his prayer was answered with a hailstorm of devastating force.
Sirach 46:6 The Lord hurled the hail down on the enemy and destroyed them at the pass at Beth Horon, so that the nations would realize how strong Joshua was, since he was fighting as a devoted follower of the Lord.
Sirach 46:7 Joshua was loyal as long as Moses lived, both he and Caleb son of Jephunneh. They stood up to the whole community, made them stop their ungrateful complaining, and kept them from sinning.
Sirach 46:8 Out of the 600,000 Israelites who marched through the wilderness, these two were the only ones spared and allowed to enter the rich and fertile land that was to be theirs.
Sirach 46:9 The Lord made Caleb strong, and when he was an old man, he was still strong enough to go up into the hill country and capture it for himself and his descendants.
Sirach 46:10 Then all of Israel could see how good it is to follow the Lord.
Sirach 46:11 Then there were the judges, each of them famous in their own right, who never fell into idolatry and never abandoned the Lord.
Sirach 46:12 May their memory be honored! May these whom we honor spring from the grave to new life in their descendants!
Sirach 46:13 Samuel was loved by the Lord. As the Lord's prophet he established the kingdom and appointed rulers for the people.
Sirach 46:14 He judged the nation in accordance with the Law of the Lord, and the Lord protected Israel.
Sirach 46:15 Because Samuel was faithful, he was accepted as a true prophet. People trusted him as a seer because of his words.
Sirach 46:16 When his enemies were threatening him from every side, he called upon the mighty Lord and offered him a young lamb as a sacrifice.
Sirach 46:17 Then the Lord thundered from heaven with a mighty roar
Sirach 46:18 and destroyed all the enemy rulers of Philistia.
Sirach 46:19 When Samuel was about to die, he gave assurance before the Lord and the anointed king that he had never taken anyone's property, not even so much as a pair of shoes, and no one contradicted him.
Sirach 46:20 Even after he died, he prophesied to King Saul how he would die. Out of the grave he spoke as a prophet, to blot out his people's wickedness.