Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus), written by Ben Sira around 180 BC, is a long book of practical wisdom in the style of Proverbs. Its famous roll-call of Israel's heroes, 'Let me now hymn the praises of the men of piety', parallels the 'hall of faith' in Hebrews 11. (Charles's Hebrew-based text reads 'men of piety' where the familiar Greek/KJV reads 'famous men.') Canonical for Catholics and the Orthodox; not in the Jewish or Protestant canon.
Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
Sirach: 'let us praise the men of piety' (the fathers of old)
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) · ApocryphaApocrypha
Let me now hymn the praises of men of piety, of our fathers in their generations.
R. H. Charles's 1913 translation (The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, Oxford; Public Domain)
Sources, trace every one
Every cited verse, in full. Tap any reference to open it in the reader.
- undefined 11:2bsb
This is why the ancients were commended.
On contested questions we show every major view, attributed and cited, and pick no winner. Answers are synthesized from primary sources, truth you can trace, not opinion.