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Sirach 24, RSV

24:1 Wisdom will praise herself, and will glory in the midst of her people.

24:2 In the assembly of the Most High she will open her mouth, and in the presence of his host she will glory:

24:3 "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and covered the earth like a mist.

24:4 I dwelt in high places, and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.

24:5 Alone I have made the circuit of the vault of heaven and have walked in the depths of the abyss.

24:6 In the waves of the sea, in the whole earth, and in every people and nation I have gotten a possession.

24:7 Among all these I sought a resting place; I sought in whose territory I might lodge.

24:8 "Then the Creator of all things gave me a commandment, and the one who created me assigned a place for my tent. And he said, `Make your dwelling in Jacob, and in Israel receive your inheritance.'

24:9 From eternity, in the beginning, he created me, and for eternity I shall not cease to exist.

24:10 In the holy tabernacle I ministered before him, and so I was established in Zion.

24:11 In the beloved city likewise he gave me a resting place, and in Jerusalem was my dominion.

24:12 So I took root in an honored people, in the portion of the Lord, who is their inheritance.

24:13 "I grew tall like a cedar in Lebanon, and like a cypress on the heights of Hermon.

24:14 I grew tall like a palm tree in En-ge'di, and like rose plants in Jericho; like a beautiful olive tree in the field, and like a plane tree I grew tall.

24:15 Like cassia and camel's thorn I gave forth the aroma of spices, and like choice myrrh I spread a pleasant odor, like galbanum, onycha, and stacte, and like the fragrance of frankincense in the tabernacle.

24:16 Like a terebinth I spread out my branches, and my branches are glorious and graceful.

24:17 Like a vine I caused loveliness to bud, and my blossoms became glorious and abundant fruit.

24:19 "Come to me, you who desire me, and eat your fill of my produce.

24:20 For the remembrance of me is sweeter than honey, and my inheritance sweeter than the honeycomb.

24:21 Those who eat me will hunger for more, and those who drink me will thirst for more.

24:22 Whoever obeys me will not be put to shame, and those who work with my help will not sin."

24:23 All this is the book of the covenant of the Most High God, the law which Moses commanded us as an inheritance for the congregations of Jacob.

24:25 It fills men with wisdom, like the Pishon, and like the Tigris at the time of the first fruits.

24:26 It makes them full of understanding, like the Euphrates, and like the Jordan at harvest time.

24:27 It makes instruction shine forth like light, like the Gihon at the time of vintage.

24:28 Just as the first man did not know her perfectly, the last one has not fathomed her;

24:29 for her thought is more abundant than the sea, and her counsel deeper than the great abyss.

24:30 I went forth like a canal from a river and like a water channel into a garden.

24:31 I said, "I will water my orchard and drench my garden plot"; and lo, my canal became a river, and my river became a sea.

24:32 I will again make instruction shine forth like the dawn, and I will make it shine afar;

24:33 I will again pour out teaching like prophecy, and leave it to all future generations.

24:34 Observe that I have not labored for myself alone, but for all who seek instruction.

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