King James Version · Under the Greeks
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 2
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1My son, if thou come to , prepare thy for . 2Set thy aright, and constantly , 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 when thou art changed to a low estate. 5For gold is tried in the , and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity. 6 in him, and he will help thee; order thy way aright, and in him. 7Ye that , wait for his mercy; and go not aside, lest ye fall. 8Ye that , him; and your reward shall not fail. 9Ye that , for good, and for joy and mercy. 10Look at the generations of old, and see; did ever any in , and was confounded? or did any in his fear, and was forsaken? or whom did he ever despise, that called upon him? 11For is full of and mercy, , and very pitiful, and forgiveth , and saveth in time of affliction. 12Woe be to fearful , and faint hands, and the 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 ! and what will ye do when shall visit you? 15They that will not disobey his Word; and they that love him will keep his ways. 16They that will seek that which is well, pleasing unto him; and they that love him shall be filled with . 17They that will prepare their , and humble their in his sight, 18Saying, We will fall into the hands of , and not into the hands of men: for as his majesty is, so is his mercy.
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)