Ecclesiasticus 41-44

Chapter 41

O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that lives at rest in his possessions, unto the man that has nothing to vex him, and that has prosperity in all things: yea, unto him that is yet able to receive meat! 2 O death, acceptable is thy sentence unto the needy, and unto him whose strength fails, that is now in the last age, and is vexed with all things, and to him that despairs, and has lost patience! 3 Fear not the sentence of death, remember them that have been before thee, and that come after; for this is the sentence of the Lord over all flesh. 4 And why are thou against the pleasure of the Most High? there is no inquisition in the grave, whether thou have lived ten, or a hundred, or a thousand years.

5 The children of sinners are abominable children, and they that are conversant in the dwelling of the ungodly. 6 The inheritance of sinners’ children shall perish, and their posterity shall have a perpetual reproach. 7 The children will complain of an ungodly father, because they shall be reproached for his sake.

8 Woe be unto you, ungodly men, which have forsaken the law of the Most High God! for if ye increase, it shall be to your destruction: 9 And if ye be born, ye shall be born to a curse: and if ye die, a curse shall be your portion. 10 All that are of the earth shall turn to earth again: so the ungodly shall go from a curse to destruction. 11 The mourning of men is about their bodies: but an ill name of sinners shall be blotted out. 12 Have regard to thy name; for that shall continue with thee above a thousand great treasures of gold. 13 A good life has but few days: but a good name endures forever.

14 My children, keep discipline in peace: for wisdom that is hid, and a treasure that is not seen, what profit is in them both? 15 A man that hides his foolishness is better than a man that hides his wisdom. 16 Therefore be shame-faced according to my word: for it is not good to retain all shamefacedness; neither is it altogether approved in everything. 17 Be ashamed of whoredom before father and mother: and of a lie before a prince and a mighty man; 18 Of an offense before a judge and ruler; of iniquity before a congregation and people; of unjust dealing before thy partner and friend; 19 And of theft in regard of the place where thou sojourn, and in regard of the truth of God and His covenant; and to lean with thine elbow upon the meat; and of scorning to give and take; 20 And of silence before them that salute thee; and to look upon a harlot; 21 And to turn away thy face from thy kinsman; or to take away a portion or a gift; or to gaze upon another man’s wife. 22 Or to be overbusy with his maid, and come not near her bed; or of upbraiding speeches before friends; and after thou has given, upbraid not; 23 Or of iterating and speaking again that which thou has heard; and of revealing of secrets. 24 So shall thou be truly shame-faced and find favor before all men.

Chapter 42

Of these things be not thou ashamed, and accept no person to sin thereby: 2 Of the law of the Most High, and His covenant; and of judgment to justify the ungodly; 3 Of reckoning with thy partners and travelers; or of the gift of the heritage of friends; 4 Of exactness of balance and weights; or of getting much or little; 5 And of merchants’ indifferent selling; of much correction of children; and to make the side of an evil servant to bleed. 6 Sure keeping is good, where an evil wife is; and shut up, where many hands are. 7 Deliver all things in number and weight; and put all in writing that thou give out, or receive in. 8 Be not ashamed to inform the unwise and foolish, and the extreme aged that contends with those that are young: thus shall thou be truly learned, and approved of all men living.

9 The father wakes for the daughter, when no man knows; and the care for her takes away sleep: when she is young, lest she pass away the flower of her age; and being married, lest she should be hated: 10 In her virginity, lest she should be defiled and gotten with child in her father’s house; and having a husband, lest she should misbehave herself; and when she is married, lest she should be barren. 11 Keep a sure watch over a shameless daughter, lest she make thee a laughingstock to thine enemies, and a byword in the city, and a reproach among the people, and make thee ashamed before the multitude.

12 Behold not everybody’s beauty, and sit not in the midst of women. 13 For from garments comes a moth, and from women wickedness. 14 Better is the churlishness of a man than a courteous woman, a woman, I say, which brings shame and reproach.

15 I will now remember the works of the Lord, and declare the things that I have seen: In the words of the Lord are His works. 16 The sun that gives light looks upon all things, and the work thereof is full of the glory of the Lord. 17 The Lord has not given power to the saints to declare all His marvelous works, which the Almighty Lord firmly settled, that whatsoever is might be established for His glory. 18 He seeks out the deep, and the heart, and considers their crafty devices: for the Lord knows all that may be known, and He beholds the signs of the world. 19 He declares the things that are past, and for to come, and reveals the steps of hidden things. 20 No thought escapes Him, neither any word is hidden from Him. 21 He has garnished the excellent works of His wisdom, and He is from everlasting to everlasting: unto Him may nothing be added, neither can He be diminished, and He has no need of any counselor. 22 Oh how desirable are all His works! and that a man may see even to a spark. 23 All these things live and remain forever for all uses, and they are all obedient. 24 All things are double one against another: and He has made nothing imperfect. 25 One thing establishes the good or another: and who shall be filled with beholding his glory?

Chapter 43

The pride of the height, the clear firmament, the beauty of heaven, with his glorious show; 2 The sun when it appears, declaring at his rising a marvelous instrument, the work of the Most High: 3 At noon it parches the country, and who can abide the burning heat thereof? 4 A man blowing a furnace is in works of heat, but the sun burns the mountains three times more; breathing out fiery vapors, and sending forth bright beams, it dims the eyes. 5 Great is the Lord that made it; and at His commandment runs hastily.

6 He made the moon also to serve in her season for a declaration of times, and a sign of the world. 7 From the moon is the sign of feasts, a light that decreases in her perfection. 8 The month is called after her name, increasing wonderfully in her changing, being an instrument of the armies above, shining in the firmament of heaven; 9 The beauty of heaven, the glory of the stars, an ornament giving light in the highest places of the Lord. 10 At the commandment of the Holy One they will stand in their order, and never faint in their watches.

11 Look upon the rainbow, and praise Him that made it; very beautiful it is in the brightness thereof. 12 It compasses the heaven about with a glorious circle, and the hands of the Most High have bent it.

13 By His commandment He makes the snow to fall apace, and sends swiftly the lightnings of His judgment. 14 Through this the treasures are opened: and clouds fly forth as fowls. 15 By His great power He makes the clouds firm, and the hailstones are broken small. 16 At His sight the mountains are shaken, and at His will the south wind blows. 17 The noise of the thunder makes the earth to tremble: so does the northern storm and the whirlwind: as birds flying He scatters the snow, and the falling down thereof is as the lighting of grasshoppers: 18 The eye marvels at the beauty of the whiteness thereof, and the heart is astonished at the raining of it. 19 The hoarfrost also as salt he pours on the earth, and being congealed, it lies on the top of sharp stakes. 20 When the cold north wind blows, and the water is congealed into ice, it abides upon every gathering together of water, and clothes the water as with a breastplate. 21 It devours the mountains, and burns the wilderness, and consumes the grass as fire. 22 A present remedy of all is a mist coming speedily, a dew coming after heat refreshes.

23 By His counsel He appeases the deep, and plants islands therein. 24 They that sail on the sea tell of the danger thereof; and when we hear it with our ears, we marvel thereat. 25 For therein be strange and wondrous works, variety of all kinds of beasts and whales created. 26 By Him the end of them has prosperous success, and by His word all things consist.

27 We may speak much, and yet come short: wherefore in sum, He is all. 28 How shall we be able to magnify Him? for He is great above all His works. 29 The Lord is terrible and very great, and marvelous is His power. 30 When ye glorify the Lord, exalt Him as much as ye can; for even yet will He far exceed: and when ye exalt Him, put forth all your strength, and be not weary; for ye can never go far enough. 31 Who has seen Him, that he might tell us? and who can magnify Him as he is? 32 There are yet hid greater things than these be, for we have seen but a few of His works. 33 For the Lord has made all things; and to the godly has He given wisdom.

Chapter 44

Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begot us. 2 The Lord has wrought great glory by them through His great power from the beginning. 3 Such as did bear rule in their kingdoms, men renowned for their power, giving counsel by their understanding, and declaring prophecies: 4 Leaders of the people by their counsels, and by their knowledge of learning meet for the people, wise and eloquent are their instructions: 5 Such as found out musical tunes, and recited verses in writing: 6 Rich men furnished with ability, living peaceably in their habitations: 7 All these were honored in their generations, and were the glory of their times. 8 There be of them, that have left a name behind them, that their praises might be reported. 9 And some there be, which have no memorial; who are perished, as though they had never been; and are become as though they had never been born; and their children after them. 10 But these were merciful men, whose righteousness has not been forgotten. 11 With their seed shall continually remain a good inheritance, and their children are within the covenant. 12 Their seed stands fast, and their children for their sakes. 13 Their seed shall remain forever, and their glory shall not be blotted out. 14 Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name lives forevermore. 15 The people will tell of their wisdom, and the congregation will show forth their praise.

16 Enoch pleased the Lord, and was translated, being an example of repentance to all generations.

17 Noah was found perfect and righteous; in the time of wrath he was taken in exchange for the world; therefore was he left as a remnant unto the earth, when the flood came. 18 An everlasting covenant was made with him, that all flesh should perish no more by the flood.

19 Abraham was a great father of many people: in glory was there none like unto him; 20 Who kept the law of the Most High, and was in covenant with him: he established the covenant in his flesh; and when he was proved, he was found faithful. 21 Therefore he assured him by an oath, that he would bless the nations in his seed, and that he would multiply him as the dust of the earth, and exalt his seed as the stars, and cause them to inherit from sea to sea, and from the river unto the utmost part of the land.

22 With Isaac did he establish likewise for Abraham his father’s sake the blessing of all men, and the covenant, 23 And made it rest upon the head of Jacob. He acknowledged him in his blessing, and gave him a heritage, and divided his portions; among the twelve tribes did he part them.

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King James Version Bible. It was authorized by King James I. It was translated by the Church of England and was first published in 1611.

God’s words are in red letters, old and new testament, as it should be. It is in paragraph form for easy reading. With all verses numbers labeled in blue for quick reference.

The Apocrypha was in the original King James version of the Bible. It should never have been removed. At the time Jesus was on earth the old testament and the Apocrypha scriptures were studied.

All scripture is Jewish scripture, Judaism is a religion not an ethnicity. Jesus is the Savior of the Jews. He is the Head of the Church.

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

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