Sirach 46:1-17 Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV)

1. Joshua, the son of Nun, was valiant in warfare; he was the successor of Moses among the prophets. He was great in accord with his name,

2. very great in the saving the elect of God. He fought against the insurgent enemies, so that he might obtain the inheritance for Israel.

3. What great glory he secured, by lifting up his hands and throwing his spears against the cities!

4. Who before him has stood so firmly? For the Lord himself led forward the enemies.

5. Was not the sun halted by his wrath, and one day made as if two?

6. He called upon the Most High Power, when the enemies assailed him on every side. And the great and holy God answered him with hailstones of exceedingly great force.

7. He made a violent assault against a hostile nation, and at his descent, he destroyed his adversaries,

8. so that the nations would acknowledge his power: that it is not easy to fight against God. And he followed the Almighty.

9. And in the days of Moses, he accomplished a work of mercy. He and Caleb, the son of Jephuneh, stood against the enemy, and forbid the people from sin, and broke their wicked murmuring.

10. And these two, having been appointed, were freed from peril, from foot soldiers numbering six hundred thousand, so as to lead them into their inheritance, into a land flowing with milk and honey.

11. And the Lord gave strength to Caleb also, and his strength remained even in his old age, so that he ascended to the high places of the land, and his offspring obtained it as an inheritance.

12. This was so that all the sons of Israel would see that it is good to obey the holy God.

13. Then there were the judges, each one called by name, whose heart was not corrupted. They did not turn away from the Lord,

14. so that their memory might be blessed, and their bones might spring forth from their place,

15. and their name might remain forever, continuing in their sons, holy men of glory.

16. Samuel, prophet of the Lord, beloved by the Lord his God, established a new government, and he anointed leaders over his people.

17. By the law of the Lord, he judged the congregation, and the God of Jacob saw it, and so, by his fidelity, he was proven to be a prophet.

Sirach 46