King James Version · Under the Greeks
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 25
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1In three things I was beautified, and stood up beautiful both before and men: the unity of brethren, the love of neighbours, a man and a wife that agree together. 2Three sorts of men hateth, and I am greatly offended at their life: a man that is proud, a rich man that is a liar, and an old that doateth. 3If thou hast gathered nothing in thy youth, how canst thou find any thing in thine age? 4O how comely a thing is for gray hairs, and for ancient men to know ! 5O how comely is the of old men, and understanding and to men of . 6Much experience is the of old men, and is their . 7There be nine things which I have judged in mine to be happy, and the tenth I will utter with my : A man that hath joy of his children; and he that liveth to see the fall of his enemy: 8Well is him that dwelleth with a wife of understanding, and that hath not slipped with his , and that hath not a man more unworthy than himself: 9Well is him that hath found prudence, and he that speaketh in the ears of them that will hear: 10O how great is he that findeth ! yet is there none above him that feareth . 11But the love of passeth all things for illumination: he that holdeth it, whereto shall he be likened? 12The is the beginning of his love: and is the beginning of cleaving unto him. 13Give me any plague, but the plague of : and any wickedness, but the wickedness of a woman: 14And any affliction, but the affliction from them that hate me: and any , but the of . 15There is no head above the head of a ; and there is no above the of an enemy. 16I had rather with a lion and a dragon, than to keep house with a woman. 17The wickedness of a woman changeth her , and darkeneth her countenance like . 18Her husband shall sit among his neighbours; and when he heareth it shall sigh bitterly. 19All wickedness is but little to the wickedness of a woman: let the of a fall upon her. 20As the climbing up a sandy way is to the feet of the aged, so is a wife full of words to a quiet man. 21Stumble not at the beauty of a woman, and her not for pleasure. 22A woman, if she maintain her husband, is full of , impudence, and much . 23A woman abateth the courage, maketh an heavy countenance and a wounded : a woman that will not comfort her husband in distress maketh weak hands and feeble knees. 24Of the woman came the beginning of , and through her we all . 25Give the water no passage; neither a woman to gad abroad. 26If she go not as thou wouldest have her, cut her off from thy , and give her a bill of , and let her go.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under the Greeks, 332 BC to 63 BC ›
Alexander's conquest and the kingdoms of his successors. Greek language and custom press in everywhere, and the crisis under Antiochus IV provokes the Maccabean revolt.
- The successors
- Alexander dies at thirty-two and his generals carve up the empire. Judea sits on the border between the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria, and is fought over by both for a century and a half, which is the ordinary condition of the corridor.
- Hellenism
- Not just conquest but a culture: the gymnasium, the theatre, Greek names, Greek dress, Greek as the language of anyone with ambitions. Some Jews embraced it, some resisted it, and the argument between them is the real subject of the Maccabean books. In Alexandria the Hebrew scriptures are translated into Greek, producing the Septuagint, which is the Bible most New Testament writers quote.
- The crisis
- Antiochus IV bans the practice of Judaism, plunders the temple, and sets up a pagan altar in it in 167 BC. The revolt under the Maccabees wins, the temple is rededicated in 164 BC, which is the origin of Hanukkah, and Judea has about eighty years of independence under the Hasmoneans before Rome arrives.
- Further afield
- Rome fights Carthage three times and ends up master of the Mediterranean. Euclid writes the Elements and Archimedes does his work at Syracuse. In China the Qin unify the country in 221 BC and the Han follow, opening what becomes the Silk Road.
All of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)