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Sirach

Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus

About this book
Chapter 36

1 Have mercy upon us, O Lord the God of all, and look at us with favor;⁠ 2 and send your fear upon all the nations.⁠ 3 Lift up your hand against the foreign nations and let them see your mighty power.⁠ 4 As you showed your holiness in us before them, so be magnified in them before us.⁠ 5 Let them know you, as we also have known you, that there is no God but only you, O God. 6 Show new signs, and work various wonders. 7 Glorify your hand and your right arm. 8 Raise up indignation and pour out wrath. 9 Take away the adversary and destroy the enemy. 10 Hasten the time and remember your oath. Let them declare your mighty works. 11 Let him who escapes be devoured by raging fire. May those who harm your people find destruction. 12 Crush the heads of the rulers of the enemies who say, “There is no one but ourselves.” 13 Gather all the tribes of Jacob together, 16 and take them for your inheritance, as from the beginning. 17 O Lord, have mercy upon the people that is called by your name, and upon Israel, whom you likened to a firstborn. 18 Have compassion upon the city of your sanctuary, Jerusalem, the place of your rest. 19 Fill Zion. Exalt your oracles and fill your people with your glory. 20 Give testimony to those who were your creatures in the beginning, and fulfill the prophecies that have been spoken in your name. 21 Reward those who wait for you, and men will put their trust in your prophets. 22 Listen, O Lord, to the prayer of your servants, according to the blessing of Aaron concerning your people; and all those who are on the earth will know that you are the Lord, the eternal God.⁠

The Choice of Companions and Counselors

23 The belly will eat any food, but one food is better than another. 24 The mouth tastes game taken in hunting, so does an understanding heart detect false speech. 25 A contrary heart will cause heaviness. A man of experience will pay him back. 26 A woman will receive any man, but one daughter is better than another. 27 The beauty of a woman cheers the face. A man desires nothing more. 28 If kindness and humility are on her tongue, her husband is not like other sons of men. 29 He who gets a wife gets his richest treasure, a helper fit for him and a pillar of support. 30 Where no hedge is, the property will be plundered. He who has no wife will mourn as he wanders. 31 For who would trust a nimble robber who skips from city to city? Even so, who would trust a man who has no nest, and lodges wherever he finds himself at nightfall?⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 9:4 and Sirach 36:22

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Deuterocanon

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Summary

1 Enoch 9 and Sirach 36 both address God with a title that calls him eternal and stresses that he rules forever. The title reflects a common Jewish tradition that describes God with an authority lasting through every age.

Passages

1 Enoch 9:4

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
3 'And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men plead, saying, "Present our case before the Most High."' 4 They said to the Lord of the ages: 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, and God of the ages, the throne of Your glory stands through all generations, and Your name is holy and glorious and blessed through all ages! 5 You have created all things, and over all things You have power. All things are open and visible in Your sight, and You see everything, and nothing can hide from You.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Sirach 36:22

Deuterocanon · Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
20 Give testimony to those who were your creatures in the beginning, and fulfill the prophecies that have been spoken in your name. 21 Reward those who wait for you, and men will put their trust in your prophets. 22 Listen, O Lord, to the prayer of your servants, according to the blessing of Aaron concerning your people; and all those who are on the earth will know that you are the Lord, the eternal God. 23 The belly will eat any food, but one food is better than another. 24 The mouth tastes game taken in hunting, so does an understanding heart detect false speech.
195–180 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Sirach

References

"... The final title, “God of the ages” (θεὸς τῶν αἰώνων), occurs also in Sirach 36:22 in a prayer and is paralleled by the title “the God of eternity” (see 1 Enoch 1:4) and the formula “the God who lives forever” (1 Enoch 5:2). It forms a transition to the second and third lines of the strophe, which emphasize God’s eternity. The superlative “generation of the generations” and the double occurrence of “all/every” stress the totality of the conception ..."
George W. E. Nickelsburg, A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001), 212.

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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1 Enoch 9:4 and Sirach 36:22

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