From: Sirach 51:12cd-20
Thanksgiving Hymn (Continuation)
[12cd] Therefore I will give thanks to thee and praise thee, and I will
bless the name of the Lord.
Poem in the Quest for Wisdom
[13] While I was still young before I went on my travels, I sought wisdom
openly in my prayer. [14] Before the temple I asked for her, and I will
search for her to the last. [15] From blossom to ripening grape my heart
delighted in her; my foot entered upon the straight path; from my youth I
followed her steps. [16] I inclined my ear a little and received her, and I
found for myself much instruction. [17] I made progress therein; to him who
gives wisdom I will give glory. [18] For I resolved to live according to
wisdom, and I was zealous for the good; and I shall never be put to shame.
[19] My soul grappled with wisdom, and in my conduct I was strict; I spread
out my hands to the heavens, and lamented my ignorance of her. [20] I
directed my soul to her, and through purification I found her. I gained
understanding with her from the first, therefore I will not be forsaken.
Commentary:
51:13-30. In Qumran's cave no. 11 a substantial part of the Hebrew text of
this poem was discovered. It shows the epilogue poem originally to have been
acrostic, that is, each of the verses begins with a letter of the Hebrew
alphabet, from beginning to end, in order. The same happens at the very end
of the book of Proverbs, perhaps the most typical of the wisdom books: there
we find the poem about the "perfect wife" (Prov 31:10-31), which is also
acrostic. The poem in Sirach is a call to young men to set out without delay
on the quest for wisdom.
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.
