Ecclesiasticus / Sirach - The Old Testament

¹ Mighty in war was Joshua son of Nun, successor to Moses in the prophetic office, who well deserved his name, and was a great saviour of the chosen people, wreaking vengeance on the enemies who opposed him, and so bringing Israel into its inheritance.

² How splendid he was when, arms uplifted, he brandished his sword against cities!

³ Who had ever shown such determination as his? He himself led the battles of the Lord.

⁴ Was not the sun held back by his hand, and one day drawn out into two?

⁵ He called on the Most High, the Mighty One, while pressing the enemies from all directions, and the great Lord answered him with hard and violent hailstones.

⁶ He fell on that enemy nation, and at the Descent destroyed all resistance to make the nations acknowledge his warlike prowess and that he was waging war on behalf of the Lord.

⁷ For he was a follower of the Mighty One, in the time of Moses showing his devotion, he and Caleb son of Jephunneh, by opposing the whole community, by preventing the people from sinning, and by silencing the mutters of rebellion.

⁸ Hence these two alone were preserved out of six hundred thousand men on the march, and brought into their inheritance, into a land where milk and honey flow.

⁹ And the Lord conferred strength on Caleb too, which stayed by him into old age, so that he could invest the highlands of the country which his descendants kept as their inheritance,

¹⁰ so that every Israelite might see that it is good to follow the Lord.

¹¹ The Judges too, each when he was called, all men whose hearts were never disloyal, who never turned their backs on the Lord -- may their memory be blessed!

¹² May their bones flourish again from the tomb, and may the names of those illustrious men be worthily borne by their sons!

¹³ Samuel was the beloved of his Lord; prophet of the Lord, he instituted the kingdom, and anointed rulers over his people.

¹⁴ By the Law of the Lord he judged the assembly, and the Lord watched over Jacob.

¹⁵ By his loyalty he was recognised as a prophet, by his words he was known to be a trustworthy seer.

¹⁶ He called on the Lord, the Mighty One, when his enemies pressed in from all directions, by offering a sucking lamb.

¹⁷ And the Lord thundered from heaven, and made his voice heard in a rolling peal;

¹⁸ he massacred the leaders of the enemy, and all the rulers of the Philistines.

¹⁹ Before the time of his everlasting rest he bore witness to the Lord and his anointed, 'Of no property, not even a pair of sandals, have I ever deprived a soul.' Nor did anyone accuse him.

²⁰ And, having fallen asleep, he prophesied again, warning the king of his end; he spoke from the depths of the earth in prophecy, to blot out the wickedness of the people.