Sirak 46

¹Nun oğlu Yeşu, savaşlarda kudretliydi ve peygamberlik görevinde Musa'nın ardılıydı; kendi isminin anlamına yaraşır şekilde, Tanrı'nın seçkinlerinin kurtuluşu için büyük bir önder oldu, üzerlerine yürüyen düşmanlardan öç aldı ki İsrail'i miras payına kavuştursun.

²Kentlere karşı ellerini kaldırdığında ve ağır kılıcını uzattığında nasıl da onurlandırıldı!

³Ondan önce kim böyle sarsılmaz bir kararlılıkla durabildi? Çünkü düşmanları bizzat Rab onun önüne sürdü.

⁴Onun eliyle güneşin seyri engellenmedi mi ve bir gün iki gün değerine ulaşmadı mı?

⁵Düşmanlar her yandan kendisini sıkıştırdığında, Yüceler Yücesi olan Egemen'e yakardı ve ulu Rab, kudretli gücün dolu taşlarıyla onun duasını işitti.

⁶Ulusların üzerine savaş yağdırdı ve yokuş aşağı inişte karşı koyanları helak etti; öyle ki uluslar onun tam donanımlı askeri gücünü bilsinler, çünkü onun savaşı bizzat Rab'bin huzurundaydı; nitekim o, Güçlü Olan'ın ardınca gitmişti.

⁷Musa'nın günlerinde de o ve Yefunne oğlu Kalev, topluluğa karşı durarak, halkı günahtan alıkoyarak ve kötü söylenmeleri yatıştırarak antlaşmaya sadakat gösterdiler.

⁸Ve altı yüz bin piyade arasından yalnız bu ikisi sağ kurtarıldı ki onları miraslarına, süt ve bal akan toprağa ulaştırsınlar.

⁹Rab Kalev'e güç verdi ve bu güç yaşlılığına dek onda kaldı, öyle ki ülkenin yüksek yerlerine ayak basabildi ve soyu orayı miras olarak elinde tuttu;

¹⁰öyle ki tüm İsrailoğulları, Rab'bin ardınca yürümenin ne denli iyi olduğunu görsün.

¹¹Ve yargıçlar, her biri kendi adıyla, yürekleri ruhsal zinaya sapmayan ve Rab'den yüz çevirmeyenler; onların anısı kutsansın!

¹²Kemikleri bulundukları mezarlarından yeniden filizlensin ve o onurlu adamların adları çocuklarında yenilenerek yaşasın.

¹³Kendi Rabbi tarafından sevilen Samuel, Rab'bin peygamberiydi; krallığı kurdu ve halkının üzerine önderler meshetti.

¹⁴Rab'bin yasasına göre topluluğu yargıladı ve Rab Yakup'u lütfuyla gözetti.

¹⁵Güvenilirliği sayesinde gerçek bir peygamber olduğu kanıtlandı ve sözlerindeki sadakatle görümün güvenilir habercisi olarak tanındı.

¹⁶Düşmanları onu her yandan sıkıştırdığında, emzikteki bir kuzuyu kurban sunarak Güçlü Rab'be yakardı.

¹⁷Ve Rab göklerden gürledi, ulu ve işitilebilir bir sesle sesini duyurdu.

¹⁸Sur liderlerini ve Filistlilerin tüm önderlerini yok etti.

¹⁹Sonsuz uykusuna yatma zamanı gelmeden önce, Rab'bin ve O'nun meshettiğinin huzurunda tanıklık etti: "Hiç kimseden bir çift çarık dahi olsa mal almadım." Ve hiçbir insan onu suçlamadı.

²⁰Ölümünden sonra bile peygamberlik etti ve krala sonunun ne olacağını bildirdi; halkın yasa tanımazlığını silip yok etmek için peygamberlikle sesini yerden yükseltti.

¹ΚΡΑΤΑΙΟΣ ἐν πολέμοις ᾿Ιησοῦς Ναυῆ καὶ διάδοχος Μωυσῆ ἐν προφητείαις, ὃς ἐγένετο κατὰ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ μέγας ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ ἐκλεκτῶν αὐτοῦ ἐκδικῆσαι ἐπεγειρομένους ἐχθρούς, ὅπως κατακληρονομήσῃ τὸν ᾿Ισραήλ.

²ὡς ἐδοξάσθη ἐν τῷ ἐπᾶραι χεῖρας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἐκτεῖναι ῥομφαίαν ἐπὶ πόλεις.

³τίς πρότερον αὐτοῦ οὕτως ἔστη; τοὺς γὰρ πολεμίους Κύριος αὐτὸς ἐπήγαγεν.

⁴οὐχὶ ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ ἀνεπόδισεν ὁ ἥλιος καὶ μία ἡμέρα ἐγενήθη πρὸς δύο;

⁵ἐπεκαλέσατο τὸν ῞Υψιστον δυνάστην ἐν τῷ θλῖψαι αὐτὸν ἐχθροὺς κυκλόθεν, καὶ ἐπήκουσεν αὐτῶν μέγας Κύριος ἐν λίθοις χαλάζης δυνάμεως κραταιᾶς·

⁶κατέρραξεν ἐπ᾿ ἔθνος πόλεμον καὶ ἐν καταβάσει ἀπώλεσεν ἀνθεστηκότας, ἵνα γνῶσιν ἔθνη πανοπλίαν αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐναντίον Κυρίου ὁ πόλεμος αὐτοῦ· καὶ γὰρ ἐπηκολούθησεν ὀπίσω δυνάστου. -

⁷Καὶ ἐν ἡμέραις Μωυσέως ἐποίησεν ἔλεος, αὐτὸς καὶ Χάλεβ υἱὸς ᾿Ιεφοννῆ, ἀντιστῆναι ἔναντι ἐκκλησίας, κωλῦσαι λαὸν ἀπὸ ἁμαρτίας καὶ κοπάσαι γογγυσμὸν πονηρίας.

⁸καὶ αὐτοὶ δύο ὄντες διεσώθησαν ἀπὸ ἑξακοσίων χιλιάδων πεζῶν, εἰσαγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς εἰς κληρονομίαν, εἰς γῆν ρέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι.

⁹καὶ ἔδωκεν ὁ Κύριος τῷ Χάλεβ ἰσχύν, καὶ ἕως γήρους διέμεινεν αὐτῷ ἐπιβῆναι αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸ ὕψος τῆς γῆς, καὶ τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ κατέσχε κληρονομίαν,

¹⁰ὅπως ἴδωσι πάντες οἱ υἱοὶ ᾿Ισραὴλ ὅτι καλὸν τὸ πορεύεσθαι ὀπίσω Κυρίου.—

¹¹Καὶ οἱ κριταί, ἕκαστος τῷ αὐτοῦ ὀνόματι, ὅσων οὐκ ἐξεπόρνευσεν ἡ καρδία καὶ ὅσοι οὐκ ἀπεστράφησαν ἀπὸ Κυρίου, εἴη τὸ μνημόσυνον αὐτῶν ἐν εὐλογίαις·

¹²τὰ ὀστᾶ αὐτῶν ἀναθάλοι ἐκ τοῦ τόπου αὐτῶν καὶ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτῶν ἀντικαταλλασσόμενον ἐφ᾿ υἱοῖς δεδοξασμένων αὐτῶν. -

¹³᾿Ηγαπημένος ὑπὸ Κυρίου αὐτοῦ Σαμουὴλ προφήτης Κυρίου κατέστησε βασιλείαν καὶ ἔχρισεν ἄρχοντας ἐπὶ τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ·

¹⁴ἐν νόμῳ Κυρίου ἔκρινε συναγωγήν, καὶ ἐπεσκέψατο Κύριος τὸν ᾿Ιακώβ·

¹⁵ἐν πίστει αὐτοῦ ἠκριβάσθη προφήτης καὶ ἐγνώσθη ἐν πίστει αὐτοῦ πιστὸς ὁράσεως.

¹⁶καὶ ἐπεκαλέσατο τὸν Κύριον δυνάστην ἐν τῷ θλῖψαι ἐχθροὺς αὐτοῦ κυκλόθεν ἐν προσφορᾷ ἀρνὸς γαλαθηνοῦ·

¹⁷καὶ ἐβρόντησεν ἀπ᾿ οὐρανοῦ Κύριος καὶ ἐν ἤχῳ μεγάλῳ ἀκουστὴν ἐποίησε τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ

¹⁸καὶ ἐξέτριψεν ἡγουμένους Τυρίων καὶ πάντας ἄρχοντας Φυλιστιείμ.

¹⁹καὶ πρὸ καιροῦ κοιμήσεως αἰῶνος ἐπεμαρτύρατο ἔναντι Κυρίου καὶ χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ· χρήματα καὶ ἕως ὑποδημάτων ἀπὸ πάσης σαρκὸς οὐκ εἴληφα· καὶ οὐκ ἐνεκάλεσεν αὐτῷ ἄνθρωπος.

²⁰καὶ μετὰ τὸ ὑπνῶσαι αὐτὸν ἐπροφήτευσε καὶ ὑπέδειξε βασιλεῖ τὴν τελευτὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνύψωσεν ἐκ γῆς τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ ἐν προφητείᾳ ἐξαλεῖψαι ἀνομίαν λαοῦ.

¹Jesus the son a Nave was valiant in the wars, and was the successor of Moses in prophecies, who according to his name was made great for the saving of the elect of God, and taking vengeance of the enemies that rose up against them, that he might set Israel in their inheritance.

²How great glory gat he, when he did lift up his hands, and stretched out his sword against the cities!

³Who before him so stood to it? for the Lord himself brought his enemies unto him.

⁴Did not the sun go back by his means? and was not one day as long as two?

⁵He called upon the most high Lord, when the enemies pressed upon him on every side; and the great Lord heard him.

⁶And with hailstones of mighty power he made the battle to fall violently upon the nations, and in the descent of Beth-horon he destroyed them that resisted, that the nations might know all their strength, because he fought in the sight of the Lord, and he followed the Mighty One.

⁷In the time of Moses also he did a work of mercy, he and Caleb the son of Jephunne, in that they withstood the congregation, and withheld the people from sin, and appeased the wicked murmuring.

⁸And of six hundred thousand people on foot, they two were preserved to bring them in to the heritage, even unto the land that floweth with milk and honey.

⁹The Lord gave strength also unto Caleb, which remained with him unto his old age: so that he entered upon the high places of the land, and his seed obtained it for an heritage:

¹⁰That all the children of Israel might see that it is good to follow the Lord.

¹¹And concerning the judges, every one by name, whose heart went not a whoring, nor departed from the Lord, let their memory be blessed.

¹²Let their bones flourish out of their place, and let the name of them that were honoured be continued upon their children.

¹³Samuel, the prophet of the Lord, beloved of his Lord, established a kingdom, and anointed princes over his people.

¹⁴By the law of the Lord he judged the congregation, and the Lord had respect unto Jacob.

¹⁵By his faithfulness he was found a true prophet, and by his word he was known to be faithful in vision.

¹⁶He called upon the mighty Lord, when his enemies pressed upon him on every side, when he offered the sucking lamb.

¹⁷And the Lord thundered from heaven, and with a great noise made his voice to be heard.

¹⁸And he destroyed the rulers of the Tyrians, and all the princes of the Philistines.

¹⁹And before his long sleep he made protestations in the sight of the Lord and his anointed, I have not taken any man’s goods, so much as a shoe: and no man did accuse him.

²⁰And after his death he prophesied, and shewed the king his end, and lifted up his voice from the earth in prophecy, to blot out the wickedness of the people.