Ben Sira 24:4-14

4 I made my home in highest heaven, 1 my throne on a pillar of cloud.
5 Alone I walked around the circle of the sky and walked through the ocean beneath the earth.
6 I ruled over all the earth and the ocean waves, over every nation, over every people.
7 I looked everywhere for a place to settle, some part of the world to make my home.
8 Then my Creator, who created the universe, told me where I was to live. "Make your home in Israel,' he said. "The descendants of Jacob will be your people.'
9 He created me in eternity, before time began, and I will exist for all eternity to come.
10 I served him in the Sacred Tent and then made my home on Mount Zion.
11 He settled me in the Beloved City and gave me authority over Jerusalem.
12 I put down roots among an honored people whom the Lord had chosen as his own.
13 I grew tall, like the cedars in Lebanon, like the cypresses on Mount Hermon,
14 like the palm trees of Engedi, like the roses of Jericho, like beautiful olive trees in the fields, like plane trees growing by the water.

Cross References 1

  • 1. 24.4Exodus 33.9, 10.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. ruled over; [some manuscripts have] gained possession of.
  • [b]. of Engedi; [some manuscripts have] on the seashore.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.