Ben Sira 43:2-12

2 The sun, when it appears, proclaims as it rises how marvelous a thing it is, made by the Most High.
3 At noon it dries up the land; no one can stand its blazing heat.
4 The setting sun sets fire to the hilltops, like a metal furnace glowing from the heat. It sends out fiery rays, blinding the eyes with its brightness.
5 The Lord, who made it, is great; it speeds on its way at his command.
6 There is also the moon, marking the passage of time, an eternal sign of the changing seasons.
7 The moon determines the holy days. Its light grows full and then grows dim.
8 The "month" is named after the moon, marvelous to watch as it grows fuller each night, a signal light for the heavenly armies, shining out in the dome of the sky.
9 The shining stars make the night sky lovely, brilliant ornaments in the Lord's high heavens.
10 They stay in the places assigned to them by the Holy One and never relax their dutiful watch.
11 Look at the rainbow and praise its Creator! How magnificent, how radiant, its beauty!
12 Like a bow bent by the hands of the Most High, it spans the horizon in a circle of glory.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. [Hebrew] The setting . . . heat; [Greek] A man at a furnace works with scorching heat, but the sun burns the hills three times as much.
  • [b]. [Hebrew] marking . . . time; [Greek unclear.]
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.