Ecclesiasticus 46

Joshua son of Nun was brave in war, and he took the place of Moses as a prophet. As his name says, he was made great, to save God's chosen people, to pay back the enemies who rose up against them, and to settle Israel in the land that was theirs to inherit.

1Jesus the son a Nave was valiant in the wars, and was the successor of Moses in prophecies, who according to his name was made great for the saving of the elect of God, and taking vengeance of the enemies that rose up against them, that he might set Israel in their inheritance.

NoteThe King James calls him "Jesus the son a Nave" because Ben Sira's book survives in Greek, and Greek spells Joshua as Iesous and Nun as Naue; the man meant is Joshua son of Nun, Moses' deputy and successor. The line "according to his name was made great for the saving of the elect" is a play on that name: Joshua means roughly "the Lord saves." "Inheritance" here is not money but land: the territory each tribe received as its permanent holding.

2What great glory he won when he lifted up his hands and stretched out his sword against the cities!

2How great glory gat he, when he did lift up his hands, and stretched out his sword against the cities!

NoteLifting up the hands and stretching out the sword recalls Joshua 8, where Joshua held out his javelin toward the city of Ai and kept it extended until the town fell. The gesture was a signal to his troops and a sign that the attack was commanded.

3Who before him ever stood so firm? For the Lord himself handed his enemies over to him.

3Who before him so stood to it? for the Lord himself brought his enemies unto him.

4Did not the sun turn back because of him? Did not one day become as long as two?

4Did not the sun go back by his means? and was not one day as long as two?

NoteA reference to Joshua 10, where the sun was said to stand still over Gibeon so that the fighting could be finished before dark, making one day as long as two.

5He called on the Most High Lord when his enemies pressed in on him from every side, and the great Lord heard him.

5He called upon the most high Lord, when the enemies pressed upon him on every side; and the great Lord heard him.

6With hailstones of great power he made the fighting fall hard on the nations, and on the slope he destroyed those who stood against him, so that the nations would know his armor, and how he fought where the Lord could see; for he followed the Mighty One.

6And with hailstones of mighty power he made the battle to fall violently upon the nations, and in the descent of Beth-horon he destroyed them that resisted, that the nations might know all their strength, because he fought in the sight of the Lord, and he followed the Mighty One.

NoteThe hailstones and the slope belong to the same battle: a storm struck the fleeing armies at the descent of Beth-horon, a steep pass dropping from the hill country toward the coastal plain, and the road there was the obvious escape route. The King James reads "that the nations might know all their strength"; other copies of the Greek read "know his armor," meaning his weaponry or his equipment for war. The manuscripts genuinely differ.

7In the time of Moses he also did a work of mercy, he and Caleb son of Jephunneh, when the two of them stood firm against the assembly, held the people back from sin, and quieted their wicked complaining.

7In the time of Moses also he did a work of mercy, he and Caleb the son of Jephunne, in that they withstood the congregation, and withheld the people from sin, and appeased the wicked murmuring.

NoteThe episode is Numbers 13 and 14. Twelve scouts were sent into Canaan; ten came back saying the land could not be taken, and only Joshua and Caleb urged going in. "Withstood the congregation" means they stood against the whole assembled people, who wanted to turn back. "Murmuring" in the King James is not muttering under the breath but open, angry complaining against Moses and against God.

8Out of six hundred thousand people on foot, only those two were kept alive to bring the people into their inheritance, into the land flowing with milk and honey.

8And of six hundred thousand people on foot, they two were preserved to bring them in to the heritage, even unto the land that floweth with milk and honey.

NoteSix hundred thousand "on foot" is the figure given for the adult men who left Egypt, counted as foot soldiers rather than as the whole population. The point is that of that entire generation only these two lived to enter the land. "Flowing with milk and honey" was the standard phrase for Canaan: milk from herds grazing good pasture, and honey from wild bees, a land rich enough to feed itself without hard labor.

9The Lord also gave strength to Caleb, and it stayed with him into his old age, so that he went up into the hill country of the land, and his descendants received it as their inheritance,

9The Lord gave strength also unto Caleb, which remained with him unto his old age: so that he entered upon the high places of the land, and his seed obtained it for an heritage:

Note"High places" in the King James usually means hilltop shrines, but here it simply means the hill country, the upland region around Hebron that Caleb asked for and received. "His seed" means his descendants.

10so that all the children of Israel might see that it is good to follow the Lord.

10That all the children of Israel might see that it is good to follow the Lord.

11And as for the judges, each one by name, whose hearts were not unfaithful and did not turn away from the Lord: may their memory be blessed.

11And concerning the judges, every one by name, whose heart went not a whoring, nor departed from the Lord, let their memory be blessed.

NoteThe judges were not courtroom officials. They were the leaders described in the book of Judges, men and women who rallied the tribes in a crisis and then governed, often after a military rescue. "Whose heart went not a whoring" uses a standard biblical idiom in which worshiping other gods is spoken of as a married partner being unfaithful; it is about loyalty to God, not sexual conduct.

12May their bones sprout with new life from where they lie, and may the name of those who were honored live on in their children.

12Let their bones flourish out of their place, and let the name of them that were honoured be continued upon their children.

NoteA traditional blessing spoken over the dead: may their bones put out shoots from the grave, as a cut stump sends up new growth. The wish is that the family line continue and the name stay alive in later generations.

13Samuel, the prophet of the Lord, loved by his Lord, set up a kingdom and anointed rulers over his people.

13Samuel, the prophet of the Lord, beloved of his Lord, established a kingdom, and anointed princes over his people.

NoteSamuel anointed Saul and then David. Anointing meant pouring olive oil over a man's head in a public ceremony to mark him as chosen for an office; it is where the title "anointed one" comes from. "Princes" here means rulers or heads of the nation, not sons of a king.

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

14By the law of the Lord he judged the congregation, and the Lord had respect unto Jacob.

Note"Jacob" stands for the whole nation, which traced itself to the man Jacob and was named Israel after him. "Had respect unto" in 1611 English means looked on with favor, paid attention to, not treated with deference.

15By his faithfulness he was shown to be a true prophet, and by his words he was known to be trustworthy in what he saw.

15By his faithfulness he was found a true prophet, and by his word he was known to be faithful in vision.

16He called on the mighty Lord when his enemies pressed in on him from every side, and he offered up a lamb that was still nursing.

16He called upon the mighty Lord, when his enemies pressed upon him on every side, when he offered the sucking lamb.

NoteThe scene is 1 Samuel 7. A lamb still nursing, not yet weaned, was offered whole as a burnt sacrifice while the Philistine army advanced, an unusually costly offering made in an emergency.

17And the Lord thundered from heaven and made his voice heard with a great noise.

17And the Lord thundered from heaven, and with a great noise made his voice to be heard.

18And he destroyed the rulers of the people of Tyre and all the leaders of the Philistines.

18And he destroyed the rulers of the Tyrians, and all the princes cf the Philistines.

NoteThe Philistines occupied five cities on the coastal plain southwest of Israel and were Israel's chief rivals in this period; their "princes" were the lords of those cities. The mention of Tyre is puzzling, since Tyre was a Phoenician port far to the north and takes no part in the story of Samuel; many readers take the Greek word here to be a copying slip for the Philistine rulers, but the Greek text as it stands says Tyrians.

19Before his long sleep he made a solemn declaration before the Lord and before his anointed one: "I have not taken anything from any man, not even a sandal." And no one accused him.

19And before his long sleep he made protestations in the sight of the Lord and his anointed, I have not taken any man’s goods, so much as a shoe: and no man did accuse him.

Note"Made protestations" means made a formal public declaration, close to swearing an oath in front of witnesses. The scene is 1 Samuel 12, where Samuel steps down as leader and challenges anyone to name property he took while in office. "His anointed" is the newly anointed king, Saul, standing there as a witness. A sandal was the cheapest thing a man owned, so "so much as a shoe" means he had not taken even the smallest item.

20And after his death he prophesied, and showed the king his end, and lifted up his voice from the earth in prophecy, to wipe out the wickedness of the people.

20And after his death he prophesied, and shewed the king his end, and lifted up his voice from the earth in prophecy, to blot out the wickedness of the people.

NoteA reference to 1 Samuel 28, where Saul had Samuel's spirit called up from the grave after Samuel's death, and Samuel told the king that he would die in the coming battle. "Lifted up his voice from the earth" means spoke from below ground, from the place of the dead.