Sirach
As found in the Greek Septuagint
GNB
Chapter 43
The Glory of God in Nature (continued from chapter 42)
Sirach 43:1 How
beautiful is the bright, clear sky above us!
What a glorious sight it is!
Sirach 43:2 The
sun, when it appears, proclaims as it rises
how marvelous a thing it is, made by the Most High.
Sirach 43:3 At noon it
dries up the land;
no one can stand its blazing heat.
Sirach 43:4
The setting
sun sets fire to the hilltops,
like a metal furnace glowing from the heat,
it sends out fiery rays,
blinding the eyes with its brightness.
Sirach 43:5 The Lord,
who made it, is great;
it speeds on its way at his command.
Sirach 43:6 There is
also the moon, marking the passage of time,
an eternal sign of the changing seasons.
Sirach 43:7 The moon
determines the holy days.
Its light grows full and then grows dim.
Sirach 43:8 The "month"
is named after the moon,
marvelous to watch as it grows fuller each night,
a signal light for the heavenly armies,
shining out in the dome of the sky.
Sirach 43:9 The shining
stars make the night sky lovely,
brilliant ornaments in the Lord's high heavens.
Sirach 43:10 They stay
in the places assigned to them by the Holy One
and never relax their dutiful watch.
Sirach 43:11 Look at the
rainbow and praise its Creator!
How magnificent, how radiant, its beauty!
Sirach 43:12 Like a bow
bent by the hands of the Most High,
it spans the horizon in a circle of glory.
Sirach 43:13 He
commands, and snow begins to fall;
lightning strikes to carry out his judgments.
Sirach 43:14 The
storerooms of the sky are thrown open,
and the clouds roll out like flying birds.
Sirach 43:15 With his
power he forms great masses of clouds
and shatters the ice into hailstones.
Sirach 43:16-17 He
speaks, and thunder twists the earth in pain;
the mountains are shaken by his strength.
Whenever he wishes, the south wind blows,
whirlwinds come, and windstorms from the north.
He sends the snow fluttering down like birds,
like locusts lighting on the ground.
Sirach 43:18 We marvel
at its beautiful whiteness,
and in fascination we watch it fall.
Sirach 43:19 He
sprinkles frost over the ground like salt,
and it freezes into thorny flowers of ice.
Sirach 43:20 He
sends the cold north wind blowing
and the water hardens into ice;
every lake and pond freezes over,
putting on a coat of icy armor.
Sirach 43:21 He scorches
the wilderness hills with drought,
and the grass turns brown from its heat;
Sirach 43:22 but a
cloudy mist restores it all to life
as the weather cools and dew appears.
Sirach 43:23 By
his wisdom he calmed the great oceans
and placed the islands there.
Sirach 43:24 Sailors
tell about the dangers of the sea,
and we listen to their tales in amazement.
Sirach 43:25 In the sea
are strange and marvelous creatures:
huge monsters and all kinds of living things.
Sirach 43:26 Each of the
Lord's messengers succeeds at its task.
Everything is held together by his word.
Sirach 43:27 We could
say much more and never finish,
but it all means this: the Lord is everything.
Sirach 43:28 How can we
find the power to praise him?
He is greater than all his creation.
Sirach 43:29 The Lord is
awesome in his greatness;
his power is overwhelming.
Sirach 43:30 Though you
do your best to praise him,
he is greater than you can ever express.
Though you honor him tirelessly and with all your strength,
you still cannot praise him enough.
Sirach 43:31 No one has
seen him, no one can describe him;
no one can praise him as he deserves.
Sirach 43:32 Mysteries
greater than these are still unknown;
we know only a fraction of his works.
Sirach 43:33 The Lord
made the universe
and then gave wisdom to devout people.