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About this book

Sirach

Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus

About this book

The Origin of Wisdom

Chapter 1

1 All wisdom comes from the Lord, and is with him forever.⁠ 2 Who can count the sand of the seas, the drops of rain, and the days of eternity?⁠ 3 Who will search out the height of the sky, the breadth of the earth, the deep, and wisdom? 4 Wisdom has been created before all things,⁠ and the understanding of prudence from everlasting. 6 To whom has the root of wisdom been revealed? Who has known her shrewd counsels? 8 There is one wise, greatly to be feared, sitting upon his throne: the Lord. 9 He created her. He saw and measured her. He poured her out upon all his works.⁠ 10 She is with all flesh according to his gift. He gave her freely to those who love him.

Reverence for God and Wisdom

11 The fear of the Lord is glory, exultation, gladness, and a crown of rejoicing. 12 The fear of the Lord will delight the heart, and will give gladness, joy, and length of days. 13 Whoever fears the Lord, it will go well with him at the last. He will be blessed in the day of his death. 14 To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It was created together with the faithful in the womb. 15 She laid an eternal foundation with men. She will be trusted among their offspring. 16 To fear the Lord is the fullness of wisdom. She inebriates men with her fruits. 17 She will fill all her house with desirable things, and her storehouses with her produce. 18 The fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom,⁠ making peace and perfect health to flourish. 19 He both saw and measured her. He rained down skill and knowledge of understanding, and exalted the honor of those who hold her fast. 20 To fear the Lord is the root of wisdom. Her branches are length of days. 21 [The fear of the Lord drives away sins.⁠ Where it resides, it will turn away all anger.] 22 Unjust wrath can never be justified, for his wrath tips the scale to his downfall.⁠ 23 A man that is patient will resist for a season, and afterward gladness will spring up to him. 24 He will hide his words until the right moment, and the lips of many will tell of his understanding. 25 A wise saying is in the treasures of wisdom; but godliness is an abomination to a sinner. 26 If you desire wisdom, keep the commandments and the Lord will give her to you freely; 27 for the fear of the Lord is wisdom and instruction. Faith and humility are his good pleasure.⁠ 28 Don’t disobey the fear of the Lord. Don’t come to him with a double heart. 29 Don’t be a hypocrite in men’s sight. Keep watch over your lips. 30 Don’t exalt yourself, lest you fall and bring dishonor upon your soul. The Lord will reveal your secrets and will cast you down in the midst of the congregation, because you didn’t come to the fear of the Lord and your heart was full of deceit.

Texts in conversation

Compare Sirach 1:4 and Augustine, Confessions 12.15

Deuterocanon · Early Christian

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Summary

Sirach describes wisdom existing before all things, a theme the Christian theologian Augustine echoes in the Confessions. His quotation often matches the Greek more than the Latin, showing a careful and authoritative reading of the text.

Passages

Sirach 1:4

Deuterocanon · Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
2 Who can count the sand of the seas, the drops of rain, and the days of eternity? 3 Who will search out the height of the sky, the breadth of the earth, the deep, and wisdom? 4 Wisdom has been created before all things, and the understanding of prudence from everlasting. 6 To whom has the root of wisdom been revealed? Who has known her shrewd counsels? 8 There is one wise, greatly to be feared, sitting upon his throne: the Lord.
195–180 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Sirach

Augustine, Confessions 12.15

Early Christian
For, although we can find no time before it (for wisdom was created before all things), this is certainly not that Wisdom which is absolutely coeternal and equal with you, our God, its Father, the Wisdom through whom all things were created and in whom, in the beginning, you created the heaven and earth. This is truly the created Wisdom, namely, the intelligible nature which, in its contemplation of light, is light. For this is also called wisdom, even if it is a created wisdom. But the difference between the Light that gives light and that which is enlightened is as great as is the difference between the Wisdom that creates and that which is created. So also is the difference between the Righteousness that justifies and the righteousness that is made by justification. For we also are called your righteousness, for a certain servant of yours says, "That we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Therefore, there is a certain created wisdom that was created before all things: the rational and intelligible mind of that chaste city of yours. It is our mother which is above and is free and "eternal in the heavens"—but in what heavens except those which praise you, the "heaven of heavens"? This also is the "heaven of heavens" which is the Lord's—although we find no time before it, since what has been created before all things also precedes the creation of time. Still, the eternity of the Creator himself is before it, from whom it took its beginning as created, though not in time (since time did not yet exist), even though time belongs to its created nature.
397–400 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Augustine, Confessions 12

References

"... As to Augustine’s use of the Book of Ecclesiasticus, it is striking that more than once he quotes a text that is somewhat different from the Vetus Latina, which for the Book of Ben Sira, serves as the traditional Latin text. Since Augustine’s quotations from the Book of Ben Sira have more than once been brought in line with the Greek translation, a thorough investigation into this phenomenon is needed in order to find out whether he had (some) knowledge of the Greek text of the Book of Ecclesiasticus. Apart from Speculum in which Augustine for his quotations from the Book of Ben Sira usually follows the Latin, in his other works he rather frequently appears to correct the Latin Ben Sira quotations according to the Greek. An investigation into this intriguing question would be very useful. Such an in depth inquiry should also take into full consideration whether, and to what extent, St. Augustine has been influenced by a text type of Ecclesiasticus that was already used by St. Cyprian and has even been given its own siglum (K) by Thiele ..."
Pancratius C. Beentjes, “Saint Augustine's Sermons 38-41 on the Book of Ben Sira,” in The Scriptures of Israel in Jewish and Christian Tradition: Essays in Honour of Maarten J. J. Menken, ed. Bart Koet, Steven Moyise, and Joseph Verheyden, NovTSup 148 (Leiden: Brill, 2013), 81–94.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Sirach 1:4 and Augustine, Confessions 12.15

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