In praise of ancestors
1 Let us now glorify illustrious men, the ancestors of our peo ple.
2 The Lord gave them great glory according to his own greatness from the beginning.
3 Some ruled kingdoms and were renowned for their achievements, others were wise and able to counsel, or spoke as prophets.
4 They led the people with their warnings or with their knowledge of the popular writings.
5 Some cultivated music and poetry,
6 others were rich and powerful men living peacefully in their homes.
7 All were highly respected in their days and honored by the people they lived with.
8 The names of some lived on and people still praise them today;
9 others are not remembered and have disappeared as if they never existed. It is the same for their children.
10 But now consider the godly men whose good deeds have not been forgotten.
11 Those who came after them benefited from the rich legacy they left;
12 their race remained faithful to the Covenant, their children followed their ex ample.
13 Their family will endure forever and never will its glory be tarnished.
14 Their bodies were buried in peace but their memory lives through generations.
15 Peo ple will speak of their wisdom and the assembly will celebrate their praise.
16 Enoch pleased the Lord and was taken up, calling future generations to repentance.
17 Noah was found to be perfectly just; at the time of divine anger he was the ransom; through him a remnant was left on earth after the flood.
18 Eternal cove nants were made with him to ensure that never again would life be destroyed by flood.
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
19 No one has been found to equal Abraham in glory, the great ancestor of many nations.
20 He was faithful to the Law of the Most High who made a cove nant with him, a covenant that was marked on his flesh, and on the day he was tested he was found faithful.
21 That is why God promised by oath to bless all the nations through his descendants, that he would make them as numerous as the dust of the earth and exalt his posterity like the stars. He promised that their land would stretch from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.
22 The Lord renewed his Covenant with Isaac for the sake of his father, Abraham.
23 This Cov enant and the blessing of humanity he made to rest on the head of Jacob.
He assured Jacob of his blessing, giving him the land that would be his and determining the portions to be shared among the twelve tribes.
------------------------------------------------------------
Comments Sirach, Chapter 44
• 44.1 After the hymn to God whose glory is revealed through his creation, the author will present to us God’s work in his chosen people, Israel.
In his poem of praise of the ancestors, we have a glimpse of all the famous people of Israel: kings, liberators, prophets, sages, poets. The author notes that there are many courageous and just people who died and whose deeds and virtues will not be recorded after them. He knows that even if all the descendants of a famous man disappear, as in the case of Moses, the people of Israel hold on to the promises of eternity. In this book there is still no sign of faith in a resurrection of persons (except possibly in 48:11 and all hope is fixed on the future of the chosen people).
• 44.19 In what follows, Ben Sira remembers the most prominent people of sacred history. He at tributes to them according to the ideas of his days. He was living in an age when priests had the most important role and the entire life of the Jews revolved around the Temple. So, he gives the priority to the priests, to Aaron, Phine has and Simon II, whom he had known personally.
In 48:11, as in Malachi 3:23, we find the Jewish belief that Elijah would return in the days of the Messiah. For the Jews, Elijah was the man who raised the dead and who had been preserved from death by God. Ben Sira hopes to regain life to see the happy days of salvation.