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NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

From: Sirach 51:12cd-20

Thanksgiving Hymn (Continuation)
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[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
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[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.

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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.