Catholic Evangelization Training Center
Training in the NEW Evangelization
Sirach Chapter 45-48
1 From his descendants the Lord brought forth a man of mercy, who found favor in the sight of all flesh and was beloved by God and man, Moses, whose memory is blessed.
2 He made him equal in glory to the holy ones, and made him great in the fears of his enemies.
3 By his words he caused signs to cease; the Lord glorified him in the presence of kings. He gave him commands for his people, and showed him part of his glory.
4 He sanctified him through faithfulness and meekness; he chose him out of all mankind.
5 He made him hear his voice, and led him into the thick darkness, and gave him the commandments face to face, the law of life and knowledge, to teach Jacob the covenant, and Israel his judgments.
6 He exalted Aaron, the brother of Moses, a holy man like him, of the tribe of Levi.
7 He made an everlasting covenant with him, and gave him the priesthood of the people. He blessed him with splendid vestments, and put a glorious robe upon him.
8 He clothed him with superb perfection, and strengthened him with the symbols of authority, the linen breeches, the long robe, and the ephod.
9 And he encircled him with pomegranates, with very many golden bells round about, to send forth a sound as he walked, to make their ringing heard in the temple as a reminder to the sons of his people;
10 with a holy garment, of gold and blue and purple, the work of an embroiderer; with the oracle of judgment, Urim and Thummim;
11 with twisted scarlet, the work of a craftsman; with precious stones engraved like signets, in a setting of gold, the work of a jeweler, for a reminder, in engraved letters, according to the number of the tribes of Israel;
12 with a gold crown upon his turban, inscribed like a signet with "Holiness," a distinction to be prized, the work of an expert, the delight of the eyes, richly adorned.
13 Before his time there never were such beautiful things. No outsider ever put them on, but only his sons and his descendants perpetually.
14 His sacrifices shall be wholly burned twice every day continually.
15 Moses ordained him, and anointed him with holy oil; it was an everlasting covenant for him and for his descendants all the days of heaven, to minister to the Lord and serve as priest and bless his people in his name.
16 He chose him out of all the living to offer sacrifice to the Lord, incense and a pleasing odor as a memorial portion, to make atonement for the people.
17 In his commandments he gave him authority and statutes and judgments, to teach Jacob the testimonies, and to enlighten Israel with his law.
18 Outsiders conspired against him, and envied him in the wilderness, Dathan and Abiram and their men and the company of Korah, in wrath and anger.
19 The Lord saw it and was not pleased, and in the wrath of his anger they were destroyed; he wrought wonders against them to consume them in flaming fire.
20 He added glory to Aaron and gave him a heritage; he allotted to him the first of the first fruits, he prepared bread of first fruits in abundance;
21 for they eat the sacrifices to the Lord, which he gave to him and his descendants.
22 But in the land of the people he has no inheritance, and he has no portion among the people; for the Lord himself is his portion and inheritance.
23 Phinehas the son of Eleazar is the third in glory, for he was zealous in the fear of the Lord, and stood fast, when the people turned away, in the ready goodness of his soul, and made atonement for Israel.
24 Therefore a covenant of peace was established with him, that he should be leader of the sanctuary and of his people, that he and his descendants should have the dignity of the priesthood for ever.
25 A covenant was also established with David, the son of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah: the heritage of the king is from son to son only; so the heritage of Aaron is for his descendants.
26 May the Lord grant you wisdom in your heart to judge his people in righteousness, so that their prosperity may not vanish, and that their glory may endure throughout their generations.
1 Joshua the son of Nun was mighty in war, and was the successor of Moses in prophesying. He became, in accordance with his name, a great savior of God's elect, to take vengeance on the enemies that rose against them, so that he might give Israel its inheritance.
2 How glorious he was when he lifted his hands and stretched out his sword against the cities!
3 Who before him ever stood so firm? For he waged the wars of the Lord.
4 Was not the sun held back by his hand? And did not one day become as long as two?
5 He called upon the Most High, the Mighty One, when enemies pressed him on every side,
6 and the great Lord answered him with hailstones of mighty power. He hurled down war upon that nation, and at the descent of Beth-horon he destroyed those who resisted, so that the nations might know his armament, that he was fighting in the sight of the Lord; for he wholly followed the Mighty One.
7 And in the days of Moses he did a loyal deed, he and Caleb the son of Jephunneh: they withstood the congregation, restrained the people from sin, and stilled their wicked murmuring.
8 And these two alone were preserved out of six hundred thousand people on foot, to bring them into their inheritance, into a land flowing with milk and honey.
9 And the Lord gave Caleb strength, which remained with him to old age, so that he went up to the hill country, and his children obtained it for an inheritance;
10 so that all the sons of Israel might see that it is good to follow the Lord.
11 The judges also, with their respective names, those whose hearts did not fall into idolatry and who did not turn away from the Lord -- may their memory be blessed!
12 May their bones revive from where they lie, and may the name of those who have been honored live again in their sons!
13 Samuel, beloved by his Lord, a prophet of the Lord, established the kingdom and anointed rulers over his people.
14 By the law of the Lord he judged the congregation, and the Lord watched over Jacob.
15 By his faithfulness he was proved to be a prophet, and by his words he became known as a trustworthy seer.
16 He called upon the Lord, the Mighty One, when his enemies pressed him on every side, and he offered in sacrifice a sucking lamb.
17 Then the Lord thundered from heaven, and made his voice heard with a mighty sound;
18 and he wiped out the leaders of the people of Tyre and all the rulers of the Philistines.
19 Before the time of his eternal sleep, Samuel called men to witness before the Lord and his anointed: "I have not taken any one's property, not so much as a pair of shoes." And no man accused him.
20 Even after he had fallen asleep he prophesied and revealed to the king his death, and lifted up his voice out of the earth in prophecy, to blot out the wickedness of the people.
1 And after him Nathan rose up to prophesy in the days of David.
2 As the fat is selected from the peace offering, so David was selected from the sons of Israel.
3 He played with lions as with young goats, and with bears as with lambs of the flock.
4 In his youth did he not kill a giant, and take away reproach from the people, when he lifted his hand with a stone in the sling and struck down the boasting of Goliath?
5 For he appealed to the Lord, the Most High, and he gave him strength in his right hand to slay a man mighty in war, to exalt the power of his people.
6 So they glorified him for his ten thousands, and praised him for the blessings of the Lord, when the glorious diadem was bestowed upon him.
7 For he wiped out his enemies on every side, and annihilated his adversaries the Philistines; he crushed their power even to this day.
8 In all that he did he gave thanks to the Holy One, the Most High, with ascriptions of glory; he sang praise with all his heart, and he loved his Maker.
9 He placed singers before the altar, to make sweet melody with their voices.
10 He gave beauty to the feasts, and arranged their times throughout the year, while they praised God's holy name, and the sanctuary resounded from early morning.
11 The Lord took away his sins, and exalted his power for ever; he gave him the covenant of kings and a throne of glory in Israel.
12 After him rose up a wise son who fared amply because of him;
13 Solomon reigned in days of peace, and God gave him rest on every side, that he might build a house for his name and prepare a sanctuary to stand for ever.
14 How wise you became in your youth! You overflowed like a river with understanding.
15 Your soul covered the earth, and you filled it with parables and riddles.
16 Your name reached to far-off islands, and you were loved for your peace.
17 For your songs and proverbs and parables, and for your interpretations, the countries marveled at you.
18 In the name of the Lord God, who is called the God of Israel, you gathered gold like tin and amassed silver like lead.
19 But you laid your loins beside women, and through your body you were brought into subjection.
20 You put stain upon your honor, and defiled your posterity, so that you brought wrath upon your children and they were grieved at your folly,
21 so that the sovereignty was divided and a disobedient kingdom arose out of Ephraim.
22 But the Lord will never give up his mercy, nor cause any of his works to perish; he will never blot out the descendants of his chosen one, nor destroy the posterity of him who loved him; so he gave a remnant to Jacob, and to David a root of his stock.
23 Solomon rested with his fathers, and left behind him one of his sons, ample in folly and lacking in understanding, Rehoboam, whose policy caused the people to revolt. Also Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin and gave to Ephraim a sinful way.
24 Their sins became exceedingly many, so as to remove them from their land.
25 For they sought out every sort of wickedness, till vengeance came upon them.
1 Then the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, and his word burned like a torch.
2 He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal he made them few in number.
3 By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, and also three times brought down fire.
4 How glorious you were, O Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! And who has the right to boast which you have?
5 You who raised a corpse from death and from Hades, by the word of the Most High;
6 who brought kings down to destruction, and famous men from their beds;
7 who heard rebuke at Sinai and judgments of vengeance at Horeb;
8 who anointed kings to inflict retribution, and prophets to succeed you.
9 You who were taken up by a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with horses of fire;
10 you who are ready at the appointed time, it is written, to calm the wrath of God before it breaks out in fury, to turn the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.
11 Blessed are those who saw you, and those who have been adorned in love; for we also shall surely live.
12 It was Elijah who was covered by the whirlwind, and Elisha was filled with his spirit; in all his days he did not tremble before any ruler, and no one brought him into subjection.
13 Nothing was too hard for him, and when he was dead his body prophesied.
14 As in his life he did wonders, so in death his deeds were marvelous.
15 For all this the people did not repent, and they did not forsake their sins, till they were carried away captive from their land and were scattered over all the earth; the people were left very few in number, but with rulers from the house of David.
16 Some of them did what was pleasing to God, but others multiplied sins.
17 Hezekiah fortified his city, and brought water into the midst of it; he tunneled the sheer rock with iron and built pools for water.
18 In his days Sennacherib came up, and sent the Rabshakeh; he lifted up his hand against Zion and made great boasts in his arrogance.
19 Then their hearts were shaken and their hands trembled, and they were in anguish, like women in travail.
20 But they called upon the Lord who is merciful, spreading forth their hands toward him; and the Holy One quickly heard them from heaven, and delivered them by the hand of Isaiah.
21 The Lord smote the camp of the Assyrians, and his angel wiped them out.
22 For Hezekiah did what was pleasing to the Lord, and he held strongly to the ways of David his father, which Isaiah the prophet commanded, who was great and faithful in his vision.
23 In his days the sun went backward, and he lengthened the life of the king.
24 By the spirit of might he saw the last things, and comforted those who mourned in Zion.
25 He revealed what was to occur to the end of time, and the hidden things before they came to pass.