Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 45

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

¹And he kept to him men of mercy, finding grace in the sight of each man or all flesh. Moses was loved of God and of men; whose mind is in blessing.

²He made him like in the glory of saints, and he magnified him in the dread of enemies;

³and in his words he made peace-able the wonders against kind. He glorified him in the sight of kings, and he commanded to him before his people, and showed his glory to him or he showed to him his glory.

⁴In the faith and mildness of him God made him holy; and chose him of all men.

⁵For he heard him, and his voice; and led him in to a cloud. And gave to him an heart to commandments, and to the law of life, and to teaching; to teach Jacob a testament or his testament, and Israel his dooms.

⁶He made high Aaron, his brother, and like him of the lineage of Levi.

⁷He ordained to him an ever-lasting testament, or covenant, and gave to him the priesthood of the folk. And he made him blessful in glory, and girt him with a girdle of rightfulness or he girded him about with the girdle of rightwiseness; and he clothed him with a stole of glory, and crowned him in the ornaments or adornments of virtue.

⁸He setted on him sandals, and breeches, and a cloth on the shoulders, Shoes, and breeches, and cape he put to him,

⁹and girt him about with full many small or little golden bells in com-pass; to give sound in his going, and to make sound heard in the temple, into mind to the sons of his folk.

¹⁰God gave to him an holy stole, a woven work, with gold and jacinth, and purple, or blue violet silk, and sanguine silk, the work of a wise man, made rich with doom and truth or Urim and Thummim;

¹¹the work of a craftsman, in writhed red thread or with fire-red silk folded again, with precious gems engraved or figured in the binding of gold, and engraved by the work of a craftsman of stones or the lapidary, into mind, by or after the number of the lineages of Israel.

¹²A golden or gold crown on his mitre, set forth with the sign of holiness, the glory of honour, and the work of virtue, adorned to the desire of eyes.

¹³Such things so fair were not before him, unto the east. None alien was clothed therein or There is not clothed with it any alien, but only his sons, and his sons’ sons alone, by all time.

¹⁴His sacrifices were ended each day by fire.

¹⁵Moses filled his hands, that is, made sacred, and anointed him with holy oil. It was made to him into everlasting testament, and to his seed as the days of heaven, to use the office of priesthood, and to have praising, that is, to have the office to praise God, and to glorify his people in his name.

¹⁶God chose him of each living man, to offer sacrifice to God, incense, and good odour, into mind, for to please or to make peace for his people.

¹⁷And he gave to him power in his commandments, and in the testa-ments of dooms, to teach Jacob witnessings, and in his law to give light to Israel.

¹⁸For aliens stood against him, and men that were with Dathan and Abiram, and the congregation of Korah, in wrathfulness or full wrath encompassed him for envy, in desert.

¹⁹The Lord saw, and it pleased not him; and they were wasted in the fierceness of wrathfulness. He made to them wonders against kind, and in the flame of fire he wasted them, for the earth swallowed them, and they went down quick into hell.

²⁰And he increased glory to Aaron, and gave heritage to him; and he parted or divided to Aaron the first things of fruits of the earth. He made ready or prepared his bread in the first things, into fullness;

²¹for why and they shall eat the sacrifices of the Lord, which he gave to him, and to his seed.

²²But in the land of his folk he shall not have heritage, and no part is to him among the folk; for why God is the part and heritage of him.

²³Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, was the third in glory, in pursuing or following him in the dread of God, and to stand in the reverence of the folk; in the goodness and gladness of his soul he pleased God of Israel.

²⁴Therefore God ordained to him the testament of peace, and made him prince of holy men, and of his folk; that the dignity of priesthood be to him and to his seed, without end.

²⁵And the testament of David, the son of Jesse, of the lineage of Judah, was heritage to him, and to his seed;

²⁶that he should give wisdom into our hearts, to deem his folk in rightfulness or rightwiseness, lest their goods shall be done away; and he made the glory of them to be ever-lasting, in the folk of them.