Ecclesiasticus 43

¹The firmament of height is his beauty, the beauty of heaven is in the vision of glory.

²The sun in sight declaring at his coming forth, a marvelous instrument, the work of the Highest.

³At noon it burneth the earth, and who can abide in the presence of the heat thereof: keeping a furnace in the works of heat:

⁴the sun three times so much burning the mountains, casting out fiery beams, and shining with his beams blindeth the eyes.

⁵Great is our Lord that made it, and by his words it hath hastened his course.

⁶And the moon in all in her time, is the shewing of season and the sign of age.

⁷By the moon is the sign of a festival day, a light that diminisheth in consummation.

⁸The month is according to her name, increasing marvelously in consummation.

⁹An instrument of the camp on high, shining gloriously in the firmament of heaven.

¹⁰The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven, our Lord illuminating the world on high.

¹¹In the words of the holy one they shall stand to judgement, and shall not fail in their watches.

¹²See the bow, and bless him that made it: it is very beautiful in his brightness.

¹³It hath compassed heaven in the circuit of his glory, the hands of the Highest have opened it.

¹⁴But by his commandment he hath hastened snow, & he hasteth to send forth the lightnings of his judgement.

¹⁵Therefore are the treasures opened, & the clouds fly forth as birds.

¹⁶By his greatness he hath set the clouds, & the hailstones are broken.

¹⁷In his sight the mountains shall be moved, & at his will the south wind hath blown.

¹⁸The noise of his thunder shall beat the earth, the tempest of the northwind, and the gathering together of wind:

¹⁹and as the bird lighting down to sit, he scattereth snow, and the falling thereof, is as the locust diving downward.

²⁰The eye shall admire the beauty of the whiteness thereof, and the heart quaketh at the shower thereof.

²¹He shall pour out frost upon the earth as salt: and when it freezeth, it shall be made as the tops of a thistle.

²²The cold north wind blew, & of water there froze crystal, upon all gathering together of waters it shall rest, & as a breast plate it shall put itself upon the waters.

²³And it shall devour the mountains, & burn the desert, & extinguish that which is green as fire.

²⁴The remedy of all is in the hasty coming of a cloud, and a dew meeting it by the heat that cometh, shall make it quail.

²⁵At his word the wind was still, and with his thought he appeased the depth, and our Lord planted Islands therein.

²⁶They that sail on the sea, tell the perils thereof: & hearing with our ears we shall marvel.

²⁷There are goodly works, & marvelous: diverse kinds of beasts, & of all cattle, & the creature of mighty beasts.

²⁸Through him is the end of their journey confirmed, and by his word all things are set in order.

²⁹We shall say many things, & shall fail in words; but the sum of our words is, He is in all.

³⁰Glorifying him how far shall we be able? For the omnipotent himself is above all his works.

³¹Our Lord is terrible, & exceeding great, & his might is marvelous.

³²Glorifying our Lord as much as ever you can, he shall yet surpass, and his magnificence is marvelous.

³³Blessing our Lord, exalt him as much as you can: for he is greater than all praise.

³⁴Exalting him be ye replenished with strength. Labour not: for you shall not comprehend.

³⁵Who shall see him, and shall declare him? And who shall magnify him as he is from the beginning?

³⁶Many things hid are greater than these: for we have seen few of his works.

³⁷But our Lord made all things, and to them that live piously he hath given wisdom.