NOTES for Sir 17:1-4; Sir 17:6-15; Sir 17:17
1 The Lord created man of the earth, and turned him into it again. |
2 He gave them few days, and a short time, and power also over the things therein. |
3 He endued them with strength by themselves, and made them according to his image, |
4 And put the fear of man upon all flesh, and gave him dominion over beasts and fowls. |
6 Counsel, and a tongue, and eyes, ears, and a heart, gave he them to understand. |
7 Withal he filled them with the knowledge of understanding, and shewed them good and evil. |
8 He set his eye upon their hearts, that he might shew them the greatness of his works. |
9 He gave them to glory in his marvellous acts for ever, that they might declare his works with understanding. |
10 And the elect shall praise his holy name. |
11 Beside this he gave them knowledge, and the law of life for an heritage. |
12 He made an everlasting covenant with them, and shewed them his judgments. |
13 Their eyes saw the majesty of his glory, and their ears heard his glorious voice. |
14 And he said unto them, Beware of all unrighteousness; and he gave every man commandment concerning his neighbour. |
15 Their ways are ever before him, and shall not be hid from his eyes. |
17 For in the division of the nations of the whole earth he set a ruler over every people; but Israel is the Lord's portion: |
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Here we have another interesting formulation. It is clear that much here can be blamed on the imperfection of the translation... but it is better to think about what this means. "He gave them meaning, tongue and eyes, and ears and a heart for reasoning; He filled them with discernment of mind and showed them good and evil." A heart for reasoning? How does that work? We usually think with the head. Most of all, this is not about reflections of a purely intellectual character, but about the ability to discern good and evil, truth and falsehood. This ability is not limited to the realm of the intellect. Here it is not enough simply to think and analyze; here one must feel. And it is important to remember that the Lord did not give us a heart for nothing, and not to reduce everything to purely intellectual analysis.
Other notes
For Sir 17:17
17 For in the division of the nations of the whole earth he set a ruler over every people; but Israel is the Lord's portion: |
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