King James Version · Under the Greeks
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 28
Touch any underlined name to see who or where it is.
1He that revengeth shall find from , and he will surely keep his in remembrance. 2Forgive thy neighbour the hurt that he hath done unto thee, so shall thy also be forgiven when thou prayest. 3One man beareth hatred against another, and doth he seek pardon from ? 4He sheweth no mercy to a man, which is like himself: and doth he ask forgiveness of his own ? 5If he that is but nourish hatred, who will intreat for pardon of his ? 6Remember thy end, and let enmity cease; remember corruption and , and in . 7Remember , and bear no malice to thy neighbour: remember of the Highest, and wink at ignorance. 8Abstain from strife, and thou shalt diminish thy : for a furious man will kindle strife, 9A man disquieteth friends, and maketh debate among them that be at peace. 10As the matter of the is, so it burneth: and as a man’s strength is, so is his ; and according to his riches his riseth; and the stronger they are which contend, the more they will be inflamed. 11An hasty contention kindleth a : and an hasty fighting sheddeth . 12If thou blow the spark, it shall burn: if thou spit upon it, it shall be quenched: and both these come out of thy . 13 the whisperer and doubletongued: for such have destroyed many that were at peace. 14A backbiting hath disquieted many, and driven them from nation to nation: strong cities hath it pulled down, and overthrown the houses of great men. 15A backbiting hath cast out virtuous women, and deprived them of their labours. 16Whoso hearkeneth unto it shall never find rest, and never quietly. 17The stroke of the whip maketh marks in : but the stroke of breaketh the bones. 18Many have fallen by the edge of : but not so many as have fallen by . 19Well is he that is defended through the venom thereof; who hath not drawn the thereof, nor hath been bound in her bands. 20For the thereof is a of iron, and the bands thereof are bands of brass. 21The thereof is an evil , the were better than it. 22It shall not have them that , neither shall they be burned with the flame thereof. 23Such as forsake shall fall into it; and it shall burn in them, and not be quenched; it shall be sent upon them as a lion, and devour them as a leopard. 24Look that thou hedge thy possession about with , and bind up thy silver and gold, 25And weigh thy words in a balance, and make a door and bar for thy . 26Beware thou slide not by it, lest thou fall before him that lieth in wait.
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)