Ben Sira 45:4-6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
4 Because of his trustworthiness and meekness
God selected him from all flesh;(A)
5 He let him hear his voice,
and led him into the cloud,
Where he handed over the commandments,
the law of life and understanding,[a]
That he might teach his precepts to Jacob,
his judgments and decrees to Israel.
Footnotes
- 45:5 On God’s intimacy with Moses, see Ex 33:11; Nm 12:8; Dt 34:10.
- 45:6–25 Ben Sira here expresses his reverence and esteem for the priesthood of the old covenant. He recalls God’s choice of Aaron and his sons for this sublime office (vv. 6–7), and describes in detail the beauty of the high priest’s vestments (vv. 8–13). He relates the ordination of Aaron at the hands of Moses (v. 15), and describes the priestly functions, namely, offering sacrifice to God (v. 16), and blessing (v. 15), teaching, governing, and judging the people (v. 17); the inheritance of the high priest (vv. 20–22); the punishment of those who were jealous of Aaron (vv. 18–19); and the confirmation of the covenant of the priesthood with Aaron’s descendants through Phinehas (vv. 23–25).
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