Sirach 35:22

Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon

21 The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds, and it will not rest until it reaches its goal; it will not desist until the Most High responds 22 and does justice for the righteous, and executes judgment. Indeed, the Lord will not delay, and like a warrior will not be patient until he crushes the loins of the unmerciful 23 and repays vengeance on the nations; until he destroys the multitude of the insolent, and breaks the scepters of the unrighteous; 24 until he repays mortals according to their deeds, and the works of all according to their thoughts; 25 until he judges the case of his people and makes them rejoice in his mercy. 26 His mercy is as welcome in time of distress as clouds of rain in time of drought.

Matthew 16:27

New Testament

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. 26 For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28 I tell you the truth, there are some standing here who will not experience death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

 Notes and References

"... There are some intriguing features about Matthew’s use of Sirach: Most of these parallels are unique to Matthew among the gospels. Included here are the structuring of the beatitudes (5:3–12), the makarism concerning those who mourn (5:4), the antithesis against adultery (5:27–28), the warning against prayers that use empty phrases (6:7), warnings against laying up treasure on earth (6:19–24), advice about judging good from bad fruit (7:16), the allusions to Elijah (11:14) and (17:11), Jesus’ teaching concerning the heavy yoke (11:28–30), the parable of the treasure hidden in the field (13:44), the warning that the son of man will repay grievances (16:27), and the separation of the sheep and goats (25:34–40). In other words, these texts and themes are singular to the Matthean mindset and thus are not typical of the remaining evangelists. (2) The vast majority of these usages are related to the topic of wisdom and instruction, a theme naturally derived from Sirach that clearly adds to Matthew’s standing as a gospel focused on teachings and contemplative sayings. But these lessons are not simply sapiential in orientation. In many cases they are associated with eschatological concerns, as with those parallels that appear (6:14), (6:20), (11:14), (16:27), (17:11), and (25:34–40). Thus, regardless of whether Jesus of Nazareth was actually concerned for a futuristic eschatology, Matthew finds within the materials of Sirach a working source by which to portray his teachings as such ..."

Jefford, Clayton N. "The Wisdom of Sirach and the Glue of the Matthew–Didache Tradition" in Bingham, D. Jeffrey, editor. Intertextuality in the Second Century (pp. 8-23) Brill, 2016

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.