Sixth Week

This is the fearful day, O God, whose the evening we did not hope to reach; yet in your love for humankind you have counted us worthy to see it. * Thrice-Holy One, glory to you!

Thus says the Lord, who delivered you, the Holy One of Israel: I am your God, I have shown how to find the way by which you should go. And if you had listened to my commandments, your peace would have been like a river, and your justice like the waves of the sea; your progeny would have been like the sand, and offspring of your womb like the dust of the earth; now you would never be cut off or your name destroyed from before me. Go forth from Babylon, as you flee from the Chaldeans; declare this with a shout of joy, let this be heard; proclaim it to the end of the earth; say, ‘The Lord has delivered his servant Jacob!’ And if they thirst, he will bring them through the desert; he will bring water out of the rock for them; the rock will be split open and water will gush out, and my people will drink. There is no joy, says the Lord, for the ungodly. [49,1] Listen to me, you islands, and attend, you nations. For a long time he will stand, says the Lord. He called my name from my mother’s womb and made my mouth like a sharp sword and hid me in the shadow of his hand; he made me like a chosen arrow, he hid me in his quiver. And he said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, and in you I will be glorified.’ But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain, I have given my strength for nothing and for futility; therefore my judgement is from the Lord, and my toil before my God.’

Verse: Let the redeemed of the Lord say it, whom he redeemed from the hand of the foe.

It came to pass that when Isaac was old and his eyes had become dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his elder son, and said to him, ‘My son’; and he answered, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘See, I have grown old and I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your equipment, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me, and prepare for me savoury food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat; that my soul bless you before I die.’ But Rebecca heard Isaac speaking to his son Esau. Esau went to the field to hunt for game for his father. But Rebecca said to her son Jacob, the younger, ‘See, I heard your father speaking to your brother Esau, saying, “Bring me game, and prepare for me savoury food, that I may eat it, and bless you before the Lord before I die.” Now therefore, my son, hear me as I command you. Go to the flock, and from there fetch me two fine, tender kids, and I will make them into savoury food for your father, such as he loves; and you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that your father may bless you before he dies.’ But Jacob said to Rebecca his mother, ‘My brother Esau is a hairy man, while I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him, and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.’ His mother said to him, ‘Upon me be your curse, my child; only obey my word, and go, bring them to me.’ So he went and took them and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared savoury food, such as his father loved. Then Rebecca took the best garments of Esau her elder son, the best ones which were by her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son; and the skins of the kids she put upon his arms and upon the exposed part of his neck; and she gave the savoury food and the loaves, which she had prepared, into the hands of her son Jacob. So he took them in to his father. And he said, ‘Father’; and he said, ‘Here I am; who are you, my child?’ Jacob said to his father, ‘I am Esau your first-born. I have done as you commanded me me; now arise, sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.’ But Isaac said to his son, ‘How is that you have found so quickly, my child?’ He answered, ‘What the Lord your God put before me.’ Then Isaac said to Jacob, ‘Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are my son Esau or not.’ So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, ‘The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.’ And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him, and said, ‘Are you my son Esau?’ He answered, ‘I am.’ Then he said, ‘Bring it to me, and I will eat of your game, my child,[1] that my soul may bless you.’ So he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, ‘Come near and kiss me, my child.’ So he came near and kissed him; and he smelt the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, ‘See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a full field which the Lord has blessed! May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine. Let nations serve you, and rulers bow down to you. Be lord over your brother, and your father’s sons will bow down to you. The one who curses you is cursed, and the one who blesses you is blessed.’ And it came to pass after Isaac had finished blessing Jacob his son, when Jacob had gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. He also prepared savoury food, and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, ‘Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.’ His father Isaac said to him, ‘Who are you?’ He answered, ‘I am your son, your first-born, Esau.’ Then Isaac was greatly amazed, and said, ‘Who was it then that hunted game for me and brought it to me, and I ate of all of it before you came, and I have blessed him? And he shall be blessed.’ When Esau heard his father Isaac’s words, he cried out with an great and bitter cry, and said to his father, ‘Bless me also, father!’ But he said, ‘Your brother came with guile, and took your blessing.’ Esau said, ‘Rightly he was named Jacob? For see he has supplanted me this second time. He took my birthright; and now he has taken my blessing.’ Then Esau said to his father, ‘Have you not a blessing left for me, father?’ Isaac answered Esau, ‘If I have made him your lord, and all his brothers his servants, and with corn and wine I have sustained him, what then can I do for you, my son?’ Esau said to his father, ‘Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me also, father.’ But Isaac was stunned[2] and Esau lifted up his voice and wept. Then Isaac his father answered him and said, ‘See, away from[3] the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven from on high. And you shall live by your sword, and you shall serve your brother; but the time will come when you will destroy and loose his yoke from your neck.’ And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him.’

Verse: My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready. I will sing and chant with my glory.

One who keeps a commandment guards their own life; but one who despises their own ways will perish. One who is merciful to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him in accordance with his gift. Discipline your son for thus there will be good hope; do not be exalted in your soul to arrogance. A man who thinks evil will pay a great penalty; and if he commits injury he will lose his life. Listen, my son, to the instruction of your father, that you may become wise at your last days. Many are the thoughts in the heart of a man, but the purpose of the Lord endures for ever. Acts of mercy are fruit for a man, while a just beggar is better than a rich liar. The fear of the Lord leads to life for a man; but one without fear will encamp in places which knowledge does not visit. One who hides his hands in his bosom unjustly, will not even bring them to his mouth. When the pestilent is scourged, a fool becomes more astute. But if your chastise a prudent man, he will understand knowledge.

You have given our City an invincible wall: the Virgin who gave you birth. * Through her we pray, O Saviour, rescue our souls from the evils that surround us.

Verse: O God do not be silent at my praise, for the mouth of sinner and trickster has been opened against me.

Thus says the Lord, I have given you as a covenant for a race, as a light for nations, for you to be as salvation to the end of the earth. Thus says the Lord, who delivered you, the God of Israel, ‘Sanctify the one who despises his soul, who is abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers. Kings shall see him and arise; rulers, and they shall worship him, because of the Lord; for the Holy One of Israel is faithful, and he chose you.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘In an acceptable time I heard you, in a day of salvation I helped you. And I fashioned you I and gave you as a covenant for nations, to establish the land, to apportion desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Be revealed.’ They shall feed along all the ways, on all the paths shall be their pasture. They shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall smite them, for he who has mercy on them will comfort them, and through springs of water he will lead them.

Verse: The Lord said to my lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.

Verse: I will give thanks to, O Lord, with my whole heart, in the council of the upright and in the congregation.

The Lord said to Jacob, ‘Return to the land of your father and to your kindred, and I will be with you.’ So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leia into the field where his flocks were, and said to them, ‘I see that your father’s face, it is not as it was towards me yesterday and the day before. But the God of my father has been with me. You know that I have served your father with all my strength; yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages of ten lambs, but God did not permit him to harm me. If he said, “The spotted shall be your wages,” then all the sheep bore spotted; and if he said, “The white shall be your wages,” then all the sheep bore white. Thus God has taken away the your father’s animals, and given them to me. And it came to pass, when the sheep had conceived and were with young, with my eyes I saw in a dream that the he-goats and rams mounting the ewes and the she-goats were striped, spotted, and mottled with ash-coloured spots. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ’Jacob, Jacob’, and I said, ’Here I am! What is it?’ And he said, ’With your eyes look up and see, the he-goats and rams that mount ewes and she-goats are striped, spotted, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God who appeared to you in God’s place, where you anointed a pillar to me and made a vow to me. Now therefore arise, go forth from this land, and return to the land of your birth.’’’ Then Rachel and Leia answered and said to him, ‘Is there any part or inheritance left to us in our father’s house? Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has been devoured the money given for us. All the wealth and glory which God has taken away from our father shall be for us and our children. Now therefore, do whatever God has told you.’

Verse: Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, he will delight greatly in his commandments.

My son, to do what is just and to speak truth is more pleasing to God than the blood of sacrifices. A haughty man is arrogant-hearted in his pride; while the lamp of the ungodly is sin. One that gathers treasures with a lying tongue pursues futility and goes towards the snare of death. Destruction shall lodge with the ungodly; for they are unwilling to do what is just. To the crooked God sends crooked ways; for his works are pure and right. Better to dwell in a corner under the sky, than in stuccoed walls with injustice, and in a shared house. The soul of the ungodly will not be pitied by anyone. When a dissolute person is punished the guileless becomes cleverer: while a wise one who understands will receive knowledge. A just person understands the hearts of the ungodly: and despises the ungodly in their wicked deeds. One that stops his ears from hearing the weak, will cry out himself, and there shall be no one to listen. A secret gift turns away anger: but one who refrains from giving rouses strong wrath. The joy of the just to do judgement: but a holy person is unclean to evil-doers. A man who strays from the way of justice, will rest in the congregation of giants.[4] A poor man loves joy, making friends of wine and oil in abundance; while a transgressor is an off-scouring of a just one. It is better to dwell in a desert land than with a quarrelsome, talkative and quick-tempered woman. A desirable treasure will rest on the mouth of the wise; but foolish men will swallow it up. The way of justice and mercy will find life and glory.

Act with mercy towards us, Lord, and do not hand us over to our iniquities, holy Master almighty, we beg you.

Thus says the Lord: Cry aloud, and spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare to my people their sins, and to the house of Jacob their iniquities. Day by day they seek me, and desire to know my ways; like a people that had done justice, and had not abandoned the judgment of their God, they now ask me for just judgment, and desire to draw near to God, saying, Why have we fasted, and you did not see? Humbled our souls, and you did not know? Because, in the days of your fasts you find your wishes, and all those under your power you goad. If you fast for quarrels and fights, and smite the humble with your fists, why do you fast for me as you do today, for your voice to be heard be heard in your cry? I did not choose this fast, nor a day for a person to humble their soul. Even if you bend down your neck like a ring, and spread under you sackcloth and ashes, you shall not because of this call it an acceptable fast. I did not choose such a fast, says the Lord. But untie every bond of iniquity, unfasten the knots of hard bargains, send the bruised away with remission, and cancel every unjust account. Break your bread for the hungry, and lead the poor who have no shelter into your house: if you see someone naked, clothe them, and you are not to disregard the relations of your own seed. Then your light will break forth as the morning, and your healing speedily spring forth: and your justice will go before you, and the glory of God will surround you. Then you will cry, and God will hear you; while you are still speaking he will say, Behold, I am here. If you remove the bond from yourself, and the stretching out of the hands, and murmuring speech; and if you give bread to the hungry from your soul, and satisfy the humbled soul; then your light will spring up in darkness, and your darkness will be as noon-day: and your God will be with you continually.

Verse: At Israel’s departure from Egypt, of Jacob’s house from a barbarian people, Judea became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.

Verse: I have loved because the Lord will listen to the voice of my supplication.

And the brothers brought Joseph the gifts which they had in their hands, into the house; and they prostrated before him with their faces to the ground. But he asked them, ’How are you?’ and he said to them, ’Is your father, the old man of whom you spoke, well? Is he still alive?’ And they said, ’Your servant our father is well. He is still alive.’ And he said, ’That man is blessed by God’.[5] And bowing down, they prostrated before him. And Joseph, lifting up his eyes, saw his brother Benjamin, born of the same mother, and said, ’Is this your younger brother, whom you said you would bring to me? ’ and he said, ’God have mercy on you, my child.’ And Joseph was deeply troubled, for so strong was the affection he felt for his brother that he wanted to weep; and he went into his private chamber, and wept there. And having washed his face and came out and controlled himself. [45:1] And Joseph could not refrain him with everyone standing near him, but he said, ’Send everyone away from me.’ And no one stood near Joseph, when he made himself known to his brethren. And he cried aloud with weeping. All the Egyptians heard, and it became known Pharao’s house. But Joseph said to his brothers, ’I am Joseph. Is my father still alive? And his brothers could not answer him, for they were deeply troubled. But Joseph said to his brothers, ’Come near me’; and they came near. And he said, ’I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Now then do not be grieved, and do not let it seem hard to you that you sold me here, for God sent me before you for life. For this is the second year there is famine in the land, and there are still five years left, in which there will be neither ploughing, nor harvest. For God sent me before you that a remnant might be left for you on earth to nourish a great remnant of you. Now then it was not you that sent me here, but God; and he has made me like a father to Pharao, and lord of all his house, and ruler of all the land of Egypt. Hurry, therefore, and go up to my father, and say to him, ’This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all the land of Egypt; come down therefore to me, and do not delay. And you shall dwell in the land of Gesem of Arabia; and you shall be near me, you and your sons, and your sons’ sons, your sheep and your oxen, and whatever is yours; and I will nourish you there—for there are still five years of famine—lest you and your sons, and all your possessions be wiped out. Look, your own eyes can see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin can see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. Report, therefore, to my father all my glory in Egypt, and everything you have seen, and make haste and bring down my father here. And he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept on him; and Benjamin wept on his neck. And he kissed all his brothers, and wept on them; and after this his brothers spoke to him. And the report was carried into Pharao’s house, saying, ’Joseph ’s brothers have come.’ And Pharao rejoiced, and his household.

One that guards their mouth and tongue keeps their soul from affliction. An arrogant, self-willed and boastful person is called a plague; while one that remembers ills is a transgressor.[6] Desires kill the sluggard; for his hands do not choose to do anything. An ungodly person longs for evil desires all day; but the just is ungrudgingly merciful and compassionate. The sacrifices of the ungodly are abomination to the Lord, for they offer them lawlessly. A false witness will perish; but an obedient man will speak cautiously. An ungodly man brazenly gives undertakings in person;[7] but the upright himself understands his ways. There is no wisdom, there is no courage, there is no counsel against the ungodly. A horse is prepared for the day of war; but help is from the Lord. [22:1-4] A good name is better than great wealth, while good favour is above silver and gold. A rich and a poor person met together; but the Lord made them both. An intelligent man seeing a bad man severely chastised is himself disciplined[8], but fools pass by and are punished. The offspring of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and wealth, and glory, and life.

Do not forget the voice of your servants, Lord. Remember that we have always put our hope in you, the one who can all things, and help us, we implore.

Thus says the Lord, As when a grape in found in the cluster, people will say, Do not destroy it; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for the sake of the one that serves me, for that person’s sake I will not destroy them all. And I will lead out the posterity of Jacob and that of Juda, and they shall inherit my holy mountain: and my chosen ones shall inherit it and my servants shall dwell there. And there shall be in the forest folds of flocks, and the valley of Achor will be a resting for herds for my people, who have sought me. But you that have deserted me, and forget my holy mountain, and prepare a table for the devil, and fill up a drink-offering to Fortune, I will hand you over to the sword, you shall all fall by slaughter: for I called you, and you did not obey; I spoke, and you disobeyed; and you did evil in my sight, and chose the things I did not want. Therefore thus says the Lord, See, those who serve me shall eat, while you shall go hungry. See, those who serve me shall drink, while you shall go thirsty. See, those who serve me shall rejoice, while you shall be ashamed. See, those who serve me shall exult with joy, while you shall cry because of the pain of your heart, and howl from the affliction of your spirit. For you shall leave behind your name for the satisfaction[10] of my chosen ones, but the Lord shall destroy you, while those who serve me shall be called by a new name, which shall be blessed on the earth; for they shall bless the true God.

Verse: Lay down for me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I shall always seek it.

Israel departed, he and all that he had, and came to the well of the oath; and he offered a sacrifice to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in a night vision, saying, Jacob, Jacob; and he said, What is it? And he says to him, I am the God of your fathers; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. And I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will bring you up in the end; and Joseph will place his hands on your eyes. And Jacob rose up from the well of the oath; and the sons of Israel took up their father, and the baggage, and their wives on the wagons, which Joseph[11] had sent to take him. And taking up their goods, and all the property, which they had acquired in the land of Chanaan, they came into the land of Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him, his sons, and the sons of his sons with him; his daughters, and the daughters of his daughters; and he brought all his seed into Egypt.

My son, if your heart is wise, you will gladden my heart also; and your lips, if they are right, will continue speaking with my lips. Do not let not your heart envy sinners: but be in fear of the Lord all the day. For if you keep these things, you will have posterity; and your hope will depart. Listen, my son, and be wise, and rightly direct the thoughts of your heart. Do not be a drinker, nor stretch yourself in subscriptions to parties, and purchases of meats,[12] for every drunkard and lecher will become poor; and every idler will dress in rags and tatters. Listen, my son, to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother because she has grown old. Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, instruction, and understanding.[13] A righteous father brings up well; and his soul rejoices over a wise son. Let your father and your mother rejoice over you, and let her that bore you be glad. My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways. For a foreign house is a perforated wine-jar; and something foreign is a narrow well.[14] For such a one will perish suddenly; and every transgressor will be destroyed.[15] Who has woe? Who has turmoil? who has disputes? and who unpleasantness and gossip? who has needless bruises? whose eyes are livid? Do they not belong to those who spend long hours at wine? to those who search out where drinking parties are? Do not get drunk with wine; but talk with just men, and converse in discussions.[16] For if you fix your eyes on bowls and cups, you will afterwards walk around more naked than a pestle. Finally such a person lies prostrate like someone bitten by a snake, and poison is spread through him as by a horned serpent. Whenever your eyes see a strange woman, then your mouth will speak dishonest things. And you will lie like someone on the high seas, or a steersman in a great storm. And you will say, They hit me, and I was not hurt; they made fun of me, and I did not realise it. When will it be morning, so that I may go and look for companions to go with? [24:1] My son, do not envy bad men, nor long to be with them. For their heart meditates lies, and their lips speak mischief. A house is built by wisdom, and is erected by understanding. Its rooms are filled by discernment with all precious and excellent wealth. A wise man is better than a strong man; and a man who has prudence than a large estate.

Irresistible, Lord, is the anger of your threat on sinners; and we are unworthy to fix our gaze and ask you for mercy. Do not destroy in your rage and anger us who you fashioned with your own hand.

Verse: For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I have sought good things for you.

Exult, Jerusalem, and all you that love her keep a festival in her. Rejoice greatly with her, all who now grieve over her, that you may suck, and be satisfied with the breast of her consolation; that you may milk out, and delight yourselves from the entrance of her glory. For thus says the Lord, See, I turn towards them like a river of peace, and like an overflowing torrent flooding them with the glory of the nations. Their children will be carried on the shoulders, and comforted on the knees. As a mother comforts her child, so will I too will comfort you; and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And you will see, and your heart will rejoice, and your bones will spring up like grass; and the hand of the Lord will be known to those who fear him, and he will threaten the disobedient. For, see, the Lord will come like fire, and his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his vengeance with wrath, and his execration with a flame of fire. For with the fire of the Lord all the earth will be judged, and all flesh with his sword. Many will be slain by the Lord. Those who sanctify and purify themselves for the gardens and the porches, and eat swine's flesh, and abominations, and mice, will perish together, says the Lord. And I know their works and their thoughts. I am going to assemble all the nations and tongues; and they will come, and they will see my glory. And I will leave signs on them, and I will send out those of them that have been saved to the nations, to Tharsis, and Phoud, and Loud, and Mosoch, and to Thobel, and to Greece, and to the isles far away, to those who have not heard my name, nor seen my glory. And they will declare my glory among the nations, and bring your brethren out of all the nations as a gift for the Lord with horses, and chariots, in covered chariots with mules and canopies, to the holy city Jerusalem, said the Lord, just as the children of Israel bring their sacrifices to me with psalms into the house of the Lord. And I will take from them priests and Levites for myself, says the Lord. For as the new heaven and the new earth, which I am making, remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your seed and your name last. And from New Moon to New Moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh will come to worship before me in Jerusalem, said the Lord. And they will go out, and see the corpses of the men who have transgressed against me: for their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched; and they will be a spectacle to all flesh.

Verse: If the Lord had not been among us, let Israel now say; if the Lord had not been among us when people rose up against us, they would have swallowed us down alive.

When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. [50:1] And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept over him, and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the embalmers[17] to embalm his father; and the embalmers embalmed Israel. And they completed forty days for him, for this is the number of days for burial; and Egypt mourned him for seventy days. And when the days of mourning were over, Joseph spoke to Pharao’s princes, saying, If I have found favour in your sight, speak concerning me in Pharao’s ears, saying, My father made me swear an oath, saying, In the sepulchre which I dug for myself in the land of Chanaan, there you are to bury me. Now therefore I will go up and bury my father, and come back again. And Pharao said to Joseph, Go up, bury your father, as he made you swear. So Joseph went up to bury his father; and all Pharao's servants went up with him, and the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, and Joseph's whole household, and his brothers, and all his father’s house. But they left behind his family[18] and the sheep and the oxen in the land of Gesem. And there went up with him also chariots and horsemen; and it was a very great company. And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan; and they lamented him with great and intense lamentation; and he made a mourning for his father for seven days. And the inhabitants of the land of Chanaan saw the mourning at the floor of Atad, and said, ’This is a great mourning for the Egyptians’; therefore they[19] called the name of the place, which is beyond Jordan, The Mourning of Egypt. And this is what his sons did for him. And his sons carried him up into the land of Chanaan, and buried him in the double cave, the cave Abraham had bought for possession of a burial place, from Ephrom the Chettite, facing Mambre. And Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and those who had gone up with him to bury his father. But when Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, 'Perhaps Joseph will bear malice against us, and pay us back all the evils which we did against him. And they came to Joseph, and said, Your father made us swear an oath before his death, saying, ’Speak to Joseph as follows, Forgive them their injustice and their sin, for they have done evil against you; and now forgive the injustice of the servants of the God of your father’. And Joseph wept as they spoke to him. And they came to him and said, We here are your servants. And Joseph said to them, ’Do not be afraid, for I am God’s. You took counsel against me for evil, but God took counsel for me for good, so that things might be as they are today, and many people might be fed’. And he said to them, ’Do not be afraid, I will support you, and your families’. And he encouraged them, and spoke kindly to them. And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his brothers, and all his father's family. And Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. And Joseph saw Ephraim's children to the third generation; and the sons of Machir, Manasse’s son were born on Joseph’s thighs. And Joseph spoke to his bothers, saying, ’I am dying, but God will surely visit you, and will bring you out of this land into the land which God swore to your[20] fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’. And Joseph made the sons of Israel, swear an oath, saying, ’At the visitation with which God will visit you, then you shall carry up my bones from here with you’. And Joseph died, aged a hundred and ten; and they prepared his corpse, and put him in a coffin in Egypt.

Open your mouth with the word of God, and judge all things fairly[21]. Open your mouth and judge justly, and defend the poor and weak. Who can find a dynamic wife? Such a wife is more valuable than precious stones. The heart of her husband has confidence in her: such a wife will not be in need of fine spoils. For she achieves good for her husband all her life long. Winding off wool and flax, she makes[22] it serviceable with her hands. She is like a ship trading from a afar: and she gathers her wealth. And she rises by night, and gives food to her household, and tasks to her maidservants. She views a farm, and buys it: and with the fruit of her hands she plants a plot of land. She strongly girds her loins, and sets her arms to work. She knows by experience that working is good; and her lamp is not extinguished all night. She reaches out her arms to what is needful, and applies her hands to the spindle. She opens her hands to the poor, and hands out fruit to the needy. Her husband is not anxious about those at home when he delays somewhere: for all those round her are clothed. She makes outer garments of double thickness for her husband, and garments of fine linen and scarlet for herself. Her husband becomes a an object of admiration in the gates, when he sits in council with the senior inhabitants of the land. She makes fine linens and sells them to the Phoenicians, and girdles to the Canaanites. She puts on strength and glory; and rejoices in the last days. She opens her mouth with care and with propriety, and keeps control over her tongue. The ways of her household are careful[23], and she does not eat the bread of idleness. She opens her mouth wisely, and in accordance with law. And her generosity establishes her children, and they grow rich, and her husband praises her. Many daughters have obtained power, many have gained wealth; but you have exceeded, and surpassed them all. Charms are false, and a woman's beauty is worthless: for it is a woman of understanding that is blessed, and let her praise the fear the Lord. Give her of the fruit of her lips; and let her husband be praised in the gates.

[1] The Hebrew has the more subtle, ’of my son’s game’. Some modern English versions, such as NAB and NIV, have adopted the lxx version.

[2] This clause is not in the Hebrew and its meaning is not clear. The verb is very rare in classical Greek and means ’to pierce, stab or gouge’. But is more frequent in the passive and used metaphorically, ’to be stunned, bewildered’, and even ’to be silenced’. In patristic Greek, of course, it takes on the meaning ’to be moved to repentance’; and the cognate noun, katanyxis, means ’compunction ’. The meaning here, then, could be either ’stunned ’, or ’deeply moved’, or ’reduced to silence’. The NAB and the Jerusalem Bible, in both French and English, follow the Septuagint and give the verb the latter meaning. The Vulgate, followed by the Douai version, has ’moved ’.

[3] The Greek preposition apo presents a problem, as does the Hebrew. It could mean either ’from, of ’, or ’away from, far from’. In the context the latter seems more likely and this is how most translators understand it.

[4] The Hebrew word here translated in Greek as giants is the same as that in Psalm 87, where the Greek, by a deliberate misreading of the Hebrew, has doctors. The reference is to the dead, the shades.

[5] This sentence is not in the Hebrew. Another possible translation is Blessed be that man by God.

[6] The last clauses are not in the Hebrew.

[7] The Greek of this clause is not easy, and the translation given is only a suggestion. The Hebrew means something like, the ungodly puts on a bold face.

[8] The Greek word means both is taught and is disciplined. This is difficult to reproduce in English.

[9] Psalm 116 is omitted, presumably because it is only two verses long.

[10] This is meaning of the Greek, which has misread the Hebrew, which means abomination.

[11] The Hebrew has ’Pharaoh’, not ’Joseph’.

[12] The Hebrew is quite different. The Greek translator appears to have underlined the financial aspect of the dangers of eating and drinking with others. Polonius would have agreed.

[13] This verse, 23, is not in the original Septuagint, but it is found in the Triodion. The Greek is a possible translation of the Hebrew, but most versions translate the latter with something like: ’Buy truth, and do not sell <it; buy> wisdom, instruction, and understanding’ [NRSV]. The bracketed words in italics are not in the Hebrew, and the Greek is a literal version of the Hebrew. Some scholars consider the verse to be a secondary addition to the Hebrew.

[14] The Greek here is very odd. The Hebrew refers to the dangers of prostitutes for a young man. ’Foreignness’ is linked in the Old Testament to idolatry, which is often seen as adultery and ’foreign’ women as a danger since the time of Solomon.

[15] This verse bears virtually no relation to the Hebrew, which continues the theme of the dangers of the prostitute.

[16] The Greek word peripatos means a place for walking, particularly a covered walk, but also a ’discussion’ such as one might take part while walking in such a place. It also refers to the well known school of philosophy. The Hebrew again is quite different.

[17] Strictly ’one who prepares for burial’ with the cognate verb ’to prepare for burial’. This is the earliest occurrence of these two words in Greek, and the only ones in the lxx. The common word for ’bury ’ is thapto, and so it seems probable that these unusual words are used here to mean ’embalm ’. The Hebrew speaks of ’doctors ’.

[18] The Hebrew has ’children’. Does the lxx mean to include the women in those left behind?

[19] The editions of the Triodion differ here between singular and plural, as do the manuscripts and ancient versions. Wevers and Rahlfs both print a singular, but the plural is more natural and it is the reading of the Triodion published by the Apostoliki Diakonia, which is generally more reliable than other Greek editions.

[20] This is the reading of the Triodion and many manuscripts, though the critical editions of Wevers and Rahlfs favour the first person. The phrase is not found in the Hebrew.

[21] In Hebrew this verse is very different and its second half contains a well known problem of translation.

[22] The majority of verbs in what follows are aorist, but this is simply because the Hebrew employs the ’perfect’.

[23] Literally ’watertight’.