King James Version · Under the Greeks
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 5
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1Set thy upon thy goods; and say not, I have enough for my life. 2Follow not thine own and thy strength, to walk in the ways of thy : 3And say not, Who shall controul me for my works? for will surely thy pride. 4Say not, I have , and what harm hath happened unto me? for is , he will in no let thee go. 5Concerning propitiation, be not without fear to add unto : 6And say not His mercy is great; he will be pacified for of my : for mercy and come from him, and his resteth upon . 7Make no tarrying to turn to , and put not off from day to day: for suddenly shall the of come forth, and in thy security thou shalt be destroyed, and in the day of . 8Set not thine upon goods unjustly gotten, for they shall not profit thee in the day of calamity. 9Winnow not with every wind, and go not into every way: for so doth the that hath a double . 10Be stedfast in thy understanding; and let thy word be the same. 11Be swift to hear; and let thy life be sincere; and with give answer. 12If thou hast understanding, answer thy neighbour; if not, lay thy hand upon thy . 13 and is in talk: and of man is his fall. 14Be not called a whisperer, and lie not in wait with thy : for a foul is upon the thief, and an evil condemnation upon the double . 15Be not ignorant of any thing in a great matter or a small.
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)