King James Version · Under the Greeks
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 32
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1If thou be made the master of a feast, lift not thyself up, but be among them as one of the rest; take diligent care for them, and so sit down. 2And when thou hast done all thy office, take thy place, that thou mayest be merry with them, and receive a for thy well ordering of the feast. 3Speak, thou that art the elder, for it becometh thee, but with sound ; and hinder not musick. 4Pour not out words where there is a musician, and shew not forth out of time. 5A concert of musick in a banquet of is as a signet of carbuncle set in gold. 6As a signet of an emerald set in a work of gold, so is the melody of musick with pleasant . 7Speak, young man, if there be need of thee: and yet scarcely when thou art twice asked. 8Let thy speech be short, comprehending much in few words; be as one that knoweth and yet holdeth his . 9If thou be among great men, make not thyself equal with them; and when ancient men are in place, use not many words. 10Before the thunder goeth lightning; and before a shamefaced man shall go . 11Rise up betimes, and be not the last; but get thee home without delay. 12There take thy pastime, and do what thou wilt: but not by proud speech. 13And for these things him that made thee, and hath replenished thee with his good things. 14Whoso feareth will receive his ; and they that seek him early shall find . 15He that seeketh shall be filled therewith: but the will be offended thereat. 16They that shall find , and shall kindle justice as a . 17A man will not be reproved, but findeth an excuse according to his will. 18A man of will be considerate; but a strange and proud man is not daunted with fear, even when of himself he hath done without . 19Do nothing without ; and when thou hast once done, not. 20Go not in a way wherein thou mayest fall, and stumble not among the stones. 21Be not confident in a plain way. 22And beware of thine own children. 23In every good work thy own ; for this is the keeping of . 24He that believeth in taketh heed to the ; and he that trusteth in him shall fare never the worse.
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)