Add parallel Print Page Options

C. Wisdom Contained in the Law

37 [a]He has uncovered the whole way of understanding,
    and has given her to Jacob, his servant,
    to Israel, his beloved.(A)

38 Thus she has appeared on earth,
    is at home with mortals.(B)

Chapter 4

[b]She is the book of the precepts of God,
    the law that endures forever;
All who cling to her will live,
    but those will die who forsake her.(C)
Turn, O Jacob, and receive her:
    walk by her light toward splendor.(D)
Do not give your glory to another,
    your privileges to an alien nation.
Blessed are we, O Israel;
    for what pleases God is known to us!(E)

Footnotes

  1. 3:37–38 As in Sir 24:8, Wisdom is given to Israel but also is said to live with all human beings (Prv 8:31).
  2. 4:1–4 The poem ends with the identification of Wisdom and Torah, as in Sir 24:22–23; cf. also Dt 4:5–8.