Sirach 2
Study resource: not ScriptureKing James Version Apocrypha (1769 standardized text) · public domain
1My son, if thou come to serve the Lord, prepare thy soul for temptation.
2Set thy heart aright, and constantly endure, and make not haste in time of trouble.
3Cleave unto him, and depart not away, that thou mayest be increased at thy last end.
4Whatsoever is brought upon thee take cheerfully, and be patient when thou art changed to a low estate.
5For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity.
6Believe in him, and he will help thee; order thy way aright, and trust in him.
7Ye that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; and go not aside, lest ye fall.
8Ye that fear the Lord, believe him; and your reward shall not fail.
9Ye that fear the Lord, hope for good, and for everlasting joy and mercy.
10Look at the generations of old, and see; did ever any trust in the Lord, and was confounded? or did any abide in his fear, and was forsaken? or whom did he ever despise, that called upon him?
11For the Lord is full of compassion and mercy, longsuffering, and very pitiful, and forgiveth sins, and saveth in time of affliction.
12Woe be to fearful hearts, and faint hands, and the sinner that goeth two ways!
13Woe unto him that is fainthearted! for he believeth not; therefore shall he not be defended.
14Woe unto you that have lost patience! and what will ye do when the Lord shall visit you?
15They that fear the Lord will not disobey his Word; and they that love him will keep his ways.
16They that fear the Lord will seek that which is well, pleasing unto him; and they that love him shall be filled with the law.
17They that fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and humble their souls in his sight,
18Saying, We will fall into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of men: for as his majesty is, so is his mercy.
The study layer for this book is being written chapter by chapter. 1 Enoch carries it first, and this shelf follows. The text itself, and the book page’s full history, stand ready meanwhile.
1My son, if thou come to serve the Lord, prepare thy soul for temptation.
2Set thy heart aright, and constantly endure, and make not haste in time of trouble.
3Cleave unto him, and depart not away, that thou mayest be increased at thy last end.
4Whatsoever is brought upon thee take cheerfully, and be patient when thou art changed to a low estate.
5For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity.
6Believe in him, and he will help thee; order thy way aright, and trust in him.
7Ye that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; and go not aside, lest ye fall.
8Ye that fear the Lord, believe him; and your reward shall not fail.
9Ye that fear the Lord, hope for good, and for everlasting joy and mercy.
10Look at the generations of old, and see; did ever any trust in the Lord, and was confounded? or did any abide in his fear, and was forsaken? or whom did he ever despise, that called upon him?
11For the Lord is full of compassion and mercy, longsuffering, and very pitiful, and forgiveth sins, and saveth in time of affliction.
12Woe be to fearful hearts, and faint hands, and the sinner that goeth two ways!
13Woe unto him that is fainthearted! for he believeth not; therefore shall he not be defended.
14Woe unto you that have lost patience! and what will ye do when the Lord shall visit you?
15They that fear the Lord will not disobey his Word; and they that love him will keep his ways.
16They that fear the Lord will seek that which is well, pleasing unto him; and they that love him shall be filled with the law.
17They that fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and humble their souls in his sight,
18Saying, We will fall into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of men: for as his majesty is, so is his mercy.
The language it was written in
Hebrew, by Yeshua ben Sira (c. 180 BC, hedged); translated into Greek by his grandson (after 132 BC, per the prologue).
What survives, and where
Hebrew: recovered
About two-thirds of the Hebrew came back to light: Cairo Genizah manuscripts (1896), Masada scroll (1964), Qumran fragments.
Greek: complete
The grandson's translation in the Septuagint tradition, the base of the church's text.
What you are reading here
The KJV Apocrypha (1611), translated from the Greek — public domain.
No tagged word floor; the Hebrew recovery story is told on the book page.