Sirach 24:1-22

Praise of Wisdom

1 Wisdom will praise herself, and she will boast in the midst of her people.
2 In the assembly of the Most High, she will open her mouth, and in the presence of his heavenly forces, she will boast:
3 “I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and I covered the earth like a mist.
4 I lived in the heights, and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.
5 I alone encircled the vault of heaven and walked in the depths of abysses.
6 In the waves of the sea and in every land, and among every people and nation, I led the way.
7 I sought a resting place among all of these. In whose allotted territory should I make my home?
8 “Then the creator of all things gave me a command; the one who created me pitched my tent and said, ‘Make your dwelling in Jacob, and let Israel receive your inheritance.'
9 Before the ages, from the beginning, he created me, and till eternity I will never fail.
10 I ministered before him in the holy tent, and so I was established in Zion.
11 In the same way, he made the dearly loved city my resting place and established my authority in Jerusalem.
12 I took root in a glorified people; among the people the Lord chose for his inheritance.
13 ‘I rose high like a cedar in Lebanon, like a cypress on Mount Hermon.
14 I rose high like a palm in En-geddi, and like rosebushes in Jericho, like a fair olive tree in a field. I rose high like a plane tree.
15 Like cinnamon and camel's thorn used for spices, I gave off a fine aroma. Like choice myrrh, I spread forth my fragrance, like galbanum, onycha, and stacte, and like the smell of frankincense in the tent.
16 Like a terebinth oak I spread out my branches, and my branches were glorious and graceful.
17 Gracious favor was the leaf that I put forth like a vine, and honor and wealth were the fruit that my blossoms bore.
19 "Come to me, you who desire me, and take your fill of my produce.
20 Calling me to mind is sweeter than honey, and possessing me is better than a dripping honeycomb.
21 Those who eat of me will hunger for more, and those who drink of me will thirst for more.
22 Whoever obeys me won't be ashamed, and those who work with me won't sin."

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. The title appears in Gk manuscripts.
  • [b]. LXXb adds 24:18 I am the mother of beautiful love, of awe, of knowledge, and of devout hope, and I grant them, together with all things, to my children eternally generated gifts, to those whom God chooses.
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