SIRACH 43

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¹The pride of the height is the firmament in its clearness, The appearance of heaven, in the spectacle of its glory.

²The sun when he appeareth, bringing tidings as he goeth forth, Is a marvellous instrument, the work of the Most High:

³At his noon he drieth up the country, And who shall stand against his burning heat?

⁴A man blowing a furnace is in works of heat, But the sun three times more, burning up the mountains: Breathing out fiery vapours, And sending forth bright beams, he dimmeth the eyes.

⁵Great is the Lord that made him; And at his word he hasteneth his course.

⁶The moon also is in all things for her season, For a declaration of times, and a sign of the world.

⁷From the moon is the sign of the feast day; A light that waneth when she is come to the full.

⁸The month is called after her name, Increasing wonderfully in her changing; An instrument of the hosts on high, Shining forth in the firmament of heaven;

⁹The beauty of heaven, the glory of the stars, An ornament giving light in the highest places of the Lord.

¹⁰At the word of the Holy One they will stand in due order, And they will not faint in their watches.

¹¹Look upon the rainbow, and praise him that made it; Exceeding beautiful in the brightness thereof.

¹²It compasseth the heaven round about with a circle of glory; The hands of the Most High have stretched it.

¹³By his commandment he maketh the snow to fall apace, And sendeth swiftly the lightnings of his judgement.

¹⁴By reason thereof the treasure-houses are opened; And clouds fly forth as fowls.

¹⁵By his mighty power he maketh strong the clouds, And the hailstones are broken small:

¹⁶And at his appearing the mountains will be shaken, And at his will the south wind will blow.

¹⁷The voice of his thunder maketh the earth to travail; So doth the northern storm and the whirlwind: As birds flying down he sprinkleth the snow; And as the lighting of the locust is the falling down thereof:

¹⁸The eye will marvel at the beauty of its whiteness, And the heart will be astonished at the raining of it.

¹⁹The hoar frost also he poureth on the earth as salt; And when it is congealed, it is as points of thorns.

²⁰The cold north wind shall blow, And the ice shall be congealed on the water: It shall lodge upon every gathering together of water, And the water shall put on as it were a breastplate.

²¹It shall devour the mountains, and burn up the wilderness, And consume the green herb as fire.

²²A mist coming speedily is the healing of all things; A dew coming after heat shall bring cheerfulness.

²³By his counsel he hath stilled the deep, And planted islands therein.

²⁴They that sail on the sea tell of the danger thereof; And when we hear it with our ears, we marvel.

²⁵Therein be also those strange and wondrous works, Variety of all that hath life, the race of sea-monsters.

²⁶By reason of him his end hath success, And by his word all things consist.

²⁷We may say many things, yet shall we not attain; And the sum of our words is, He is all.

²⁸How shall we have strength to glorify him? For he is himself the great one above all his works.

²⁹The Lord is terrible and exceeding great; And marvellous is his power.

³⁰When ye glorify the Lord, exalt him as much as ye can; For even yet will he exceed: And when ye exalt him, put forth your full strength: Be not weary; for ye will never attain.

³¹Who hath seen him, that he may declare him? And who shall magnify him as he is?

³²Many things are hidden greater than these; For we have seen but a few of his works.

³³For the Lord made all things; And to the godly gave he wisdom.