King James Version · Under the Greeks
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 35
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1He that keepeth bringeth enough: he that taketh heed to the offereth a peace offering. 2He that requiteth a good turn offereth ; and he that giveth alms sacrificeth . 3To depart from wickedness is a thing pleasing to ; and to forsake unrighteousness is a propitiation. 4Thou shalt not appear empty before . 5For all these things are to be done because of the . 6The of maketh the fat, and the sweet savour thereof is before . 7The of a man is acceptable. and the memorial thereof shall never be forgotten. 8Give his with a good eye, and diminish not the of thine hands. 9In all thy gifts shew a cheerful countenance, and dedicate thy with gladness. 10Give unto according as he hath enriched thee; and as thou hast gotten, give with a cheerful eye. 11For recompenseth, and will give thee seven times as much. 12Do not think to corrupt with gifts; for such he will not receive: and not to unrighteous ; for is judge, and with him is no respect of persons. 13He will not accept any person against a man, but will hear the of the oppressed. 14He will not despise the of ; nor the , when she poureth out her complaint. 15Do not the tears run down the ’s cheeks? and is not her cry against him that causeth them to fall? 16He that serveth shall be accepted with , and his shall reach unto the clouds. 17The of the humble pierceth the clouds: and till it come nigh, he will not be comforted; and will not depart, till shall behold to judge righteously, and execute . 18For will not be slack, neither will the Mighty be toward them, till he have smitten in sunder the loins of the unmerciful, and repayed to the heathen; till he have taken away of the proud, and broken the sceptre of the unrighteous; 19Till he have rendered to every man according to his deeds, and to the works of men according to their devices; till he have judged the cause of his people, and made them to rejoice in his mercy. 20Mercy is seasonable in the time of affliction, as clouds of in the time of .
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)