Chapter 49
Josiah, Last of the Good Kings[a]
1 The memory of Josiah is like blended incense
made lasting by the skill of a perfumer.
It is as sweet as honey to every mouth
or like music at a banquet.
2 He followed the right course by reforming the people
and eliminating loathsome and abominable practices.
3 He kept his heart fixed on God,
and in lawless times he made godliness prevail.
The Fate of Judah and the Word of the Prophets
4 [b]Except for David, Hezekiah, and Josiah,
they were all great sinners,
for they abandoned the law of the Most High;
so the kings of Judah came to an end.
5 They handed over their power to others
and their glory to a foreign nation.
6 The chosen city, the city of the sanctuary, was set on fire,
and its streets were left desolate,
7 as Jeremiah had predicted.
For they had mistreated him,
even though while still in the womb he had been consecrated a prophet
to uproot, pull down, and destroy,
but also to build and plant.
In the Exile and the Restoration
8 Ezekiel was privileged to behold a vision of glory,
which God showed to him above the chariot of the cherubim.
9 He also referred to Job,
who always persevered in the path of justice.
10 May the bones of the Twelve Prophets
send forth new life from where they lie,
for they gave new strength to the people of Jacob
and saved them with confident hope.
The Pioneers of the Jewish Restoration[c]
11 How can we find suitable words to praise Zerubbabel,
who was like a signet ring on the right hand?
12 So too was Jeshua, the son of Jozadak;
in their days they rebuilt the house
and raised a temple holy to the Lord,
destined for everlasting glory.
13 Great too is the memory of Nehemiah,
who reconstructed our fallen walls,
restored our defensive structures,
and rebuilt our ruined houses.
Above Every Other Living Creature Was Adam[d]
14 No one has been[e] created on earth equal to Enoch,
for he was taken up from the earth in bodily form.
15 Nor has anyone ever been born who was like Joseph,
the ruler of his brothers and the foundation of his people;[f]
even his bones were cared for.
16 Shem and Seth[g] were the recipients of great honor,
but above every other living creature was Adam.
Footnotes
- Wisdom of Ben Sira 49:1 Josiah became famous for the religious reform that he undertook when the Book of Deuteronomy was found in the temple (2 Ki 22f).
- Wisdom of Ben Sira 49:4 The author casts a severe judgment on the heads of Judah and excepts only three of the more remarkable kings. They were unable to maintain their faith above everything. But from the collapse to the restoration, the Prophets make the word of God resound, condemning sin and offering consolation in trials. Indeed, this word is relevant to the author’s contemporaries.
- Wisdom of Ben Sira 49:11 We are at the morrow of the Exile; the restoration was long and difficult. In these times when Judaism was born, a few names emerge.
- Wisdom of Ben Sira 49:14 The praise of the ancients concludes with a brief return to the age of the patriarchs and the origins; in a word, one glorifies the father of human beings. Luke will also trace Jesus’ lineage back to Adam, the father of humanity (Lk 3:28).
- Wisdom of Ben Sira 49:14 No one has been: Hebrew reads: “Few have been.”
- Wisdom of Ben Sira 49:15 The ruler . . . people: lacking in Greek.
- Wisdom of Ben Sira 49:16 Shem and Seth: Hebrew adds: “and Enosh.”