Sirach chapter 15

[This chapter is in Orthodox and Catholic Bibles] Seeking wisdom is a lifelong quest, continued. We humans have free will.

 


 

The Book of Sirach is recognized as Deuterocanonical Scripture by the Orthodox and Catholic Churches

 


 

SEEKING WISDOM IS A LIFELONG QUEST, CONTINUED

 

VERSE 1. He that fears the Lord will do this; And he that has possession of the law will obtain her.

he that has possession of the law will obtain her. If you are a student of the Scriptures, you will be drawn to wisdom.

 

VERSE 2. And as a mother shall she meet him, And receive him as a wife married in her virginity.

as a mother shall she meet him. If you seek wisdom, wisdom will meet you.

receive him as a wife. If you seek wisdom, wisdom will become an intimate partner in your life.

 

VERSE 3. She will feed him with bread of understanding, And give him water of wisdom to drink.

feed him. When you are a student of wisdom, you will feed on wisdom.

 

VERSE 4. He will be stayed upon her, and will not be moved; And will rely upon her, and will not be confounded.

 

VERSE 5. And she will exalt him above his neighbors; And she will open his mouth in the midst of the congregation.

 

VERSE 6. He will inherit joy, and a crown of gladness, And an everlasting name.

 

VERSE 7. Foolish men will not obtain her; And sinners will not see her.

 

VERSE 8. She is far from pride; And liars will not remember her.

 

VERSE 9. Praise is not comely in the mouth of a sinner; For it was not sent him from the Lord.

 

VERSE 10. For praise will be spoken in wisdom; And the Lord will prosper it.

 

WE HUMANS HAVE FREE WILL

 

VERSE 11. Say not you, It is through the Lord that I fell away; For you shall not do the things that he hates.

It is through the Lord that I fell away. We cannot blame the LORD God for our falling away from the faith.

 

VERSE 12. Say not you, It is he that caused me to err; For he has no need of a sinful man.

 

VERSE 13. The Lord hates every abomination; And those who fear him love it not.

 

VERSE 14. He himself made man from the beginning, And left him in the hand of his own counsel.

 

VERSE 15. If you will, you shall keep the commandments; And to perform faithfulness is of your own good pleasure.

 

VERSE 16. He has set fire and water before you: You will stretch forth your hand to whichever you will.

stretch forth your hand to whichever you will. God has given us free will. We can do whatever we want.

The opposite of free will is “determinism.” Determinism means that everything is determined for us. We have no choices. We are like automatons that are following a script.

Some Christians speak of God being in control of everything. They mean God is in control of our human choices, and that we do not have free will.

However, the Christian movement has always embraced the notion of free will. We humans have the freedom to do whatever we want.

 

VERSE 17. Before man is life and death; And whichever he likes, it shall be given him.

Before man is life and death. To choose the way of life means to learn from the Bible and act upon it. Blessings and wisdom will follow. As for you and your house, will you serve the LORD? Read more »

whichever he likes, it shall be given him. The LORD God has given us free will. We can make our own choices.

 

VERSE 18. For great is the wisdom of the Lord: He is mighty in power, and sees all things;

 

VERSE 19. And his eyes are upon those who fear him; And he will take knowledge of every work of man.

 

VERSE 20. He has not commanded any man to be ungodly; And he has not given any man licence to sin.

 


next chapter »

« previous chapter


SIRACH

CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51

RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, Chronology

Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.