The Holy Bible – Knox Translation
The Book of Ecclesiasticus
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Chapter 17
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1
Man, too, God created out of the earth, fashioning him after his own likeness,
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and gave him, too, earth to be his burying-place, for all the divine power that clothed him;
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man, too, should have his allotted toll of years, his season of maturity, and should have power over all else on earth;
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no living thing, beast or bird, that should not live in awe of him and be subject to his rule.
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To him and to that partner of his, created like himself and out of himself, God gave will and speech and sight and hearing; gave them a heart to reason with, and filled them with power of discernment;
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spirit itself should be within their ken, their hearts should be all sagacity. What evil was, what good, he made plain to them;
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gave them his own eyes to see with, so that they should keep his marvellous acts in view,
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praise that holy name of his, boast of his wonders, tell the story of his renowned deeds.
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Warnings, too, he gave them; the law that brings life should be a cherished heirloom;
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and so he made a covenant with them which should last for ever; claim and award of his he would make known to them.
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Their eyes should see him in visible majesty, their ears catch the echo of his majestic voice. Keep your hands clear, he told them, of all wrong-doing,
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and gave each man a duty towards his neighbour.
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Ever before his eyes their doings are; nothing is hidden from his scrutiny.
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To every Gentile people he has given a ruler of its own;
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Israel alone is exempt, marked down as God’s patrimony.
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Clear as the sun their acts shew under his eye; over their lives, untiring his scrutiny.
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Sin they as they will, his covenant is still on record; no misdeed of theirs but he is the witness of it.
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Alms if thou givest, thou hast the sign-manual of his favour; treasured as the apple of his eye is the record of man’s deserving.✻
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… A day will come when he rouses himself and requites them, one by one, for their misdoing, overwhelms them in the depths of earth.
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Yet, to such as repent, he grants the means of acquittal, and makes their fainting hearts strong to endure; for them, too, he has a share in his promised reward.
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Turn back to the Lord, and let thy sins be;
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make thy prayer before him, and rid thyself of the peril in thy path.
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Come back to the Lord, from wrong-doing turn away, and thy foul deeds hate;
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in all his decrees and awards own God just, stand in thy appointed place to make intercession to him, the most High,
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and take thy part with a race of men sanctified, living men that still give thanks to God.✻
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Linger not in the false path of wickedness; give thanks while breath is in thee; the dead breathe no more, give thanks no more.
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Thanks while yet thou livest, thanks while health and strength are still with thee, to praise God and to take pride in all his mercies!
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The Lord’s mercy, that is so abundant, the pardon that is ever theirs who come back to him!
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Think not man is the centre of all things;✻ no son of Adam is immortal, for all the delight men take in their sinful follies.
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Nought brighter than the sun, and yet its brightness shall fail; nought darker than the secret designs of flesh and blood, yet all shall be brought to light.
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God, that marshals the armies of high heaven, and man, all dust and ashes!
