章节研读
Sirach 17 — Creation, Covenant, and the Call to Repent
Chapter 17 of Sirach describes God's equipping of humanity with reason, dominion, and a covenant, then warns that He watches every deed and calls sinners to repentance before their light fails.
经文
- 1.主用地造人，又使人归于地。The Lord created man out of earth, and turned him back to it again.
- 2.他给了人有限的日子，但却赐予他们管理地上万物的权柄。He gave to men few days, a limited time, but granted them authority over the things upon the earth.
- 3.他将自己的力量赐予他们，并照着自己的形象造他们。He endowed them with strength like his own, and made them in his own image.
- 4.他使所有活物都惧怕他们，并使他们统治野兽和空中的鸟。He placed the fear of them in all living beings, and granted them dominion over beasts and birds.
- 6.他为他们造了舌头和眼睛，又赐给他们耳朵和思考的脑袋。He made for them tongue and eyes; he gave them ears and a mind for thinking.
- 7.他用知识和聪明充满了他们，又将善恶指示他们。He filled them with knowledge and understanding, and showed them good and evil.
- 8.他使他们的心注视他的作为，显明他所做的威严。He set his eye upon their hearts to show them the majesty of his works.
- 10.他们将称颂他的圣名，宣扬他所做的一切伟大事工。And they will praise his holy name, to proclaim the grandeur of his works.
- 11.他赐予他们知识，并将生存的律法赐给他们。He bestowed knowledge upon them, and allotted to them the law of life.
- 12.他与他们立了永远的约，并将他的典章指示他们。He established with them an eternal covenant, and showed them his judgments.
- 13.他们的眼睛看见了他的荣耀威严，他们的耳朵听见了他声音的荣耀。Their eyes saw his glorious majesty, and their ears heard the glory of his voice.
- 14.他对他们说：“要提防一切不公义。”又吩咐他们各人要关心邻舍。And he said to them, “Beware of all unrighteousness.” And he gave commandment to each of them concerning his neighbor.
- 15.他们的道路常在他面前，他们的行为不会被他眼所隐藏。Their ways are always before him, they will not be hid from his eyes.
- 17.他为每个国家设立了管辖者，但以色列是耶和华自己的份。He appointed a ruler for every nation, but Israel is the Lord’s own portion.
- 19.他们所做的一切事在他面前都像阳光一样，他的眼睛时时都察看他们的行为。All their works are as the sun before him, and his eyes are continually upon their ways.
- 20.他们的不义不向他隐藏，他们所有的罪孽都在主面前。Their iniquities are not hidden from him, and all their sins are before the Lord.
- 22.一个人的施舍在主面前就像一个印记，主也会把人的恩惠存放在眼中的苹果里。A man’s almsgiving is like a signet with the Lord, and he will keep a person’s kindness like the apple of his eye.
- 23.其后他必起来报复他们，将他们的报应加在他们的头上。Afterward he will arise and requite them, and he will bring their recompense on their heads.
- 24.然而，对于那些悔改的人，他赐予他们回转的机会，并鼓励那些几乎失去忍耐的信徒。Yet to those who repent he grants a return, and he encourages those whose endurance is failing.
- 25.悔改的呼召 向主转向，舍弃你的罪过；在他面前祷告，减少你的过犯。A Call to Repentance Turn to the Lord and forsake your sins; pray in his presence and lessen your offenses.
- 26.归向至高者，离开邪恶，极其憎恶可憎之事。Return to the Most High and turn away from iniquity, and hate abominations intensely.
- 27.在阴间，谁会向至高者歌唱赞美，像活着的人一样感谢他？Who will sing praises to the Most High in Hades, as do those who are alive and give thanks?
- 28.从死人那里，就像从不存在的人那里一样，感恩已经停止；那活着健康的人唱主的赞美。From the dead, as from one who does not exist, thanksgiving has ceased; he who is alive and well sings the Lord’s praises.
- 29.主的慈悲是何等的大，他对那些归向他的人又有何等的饶恕！How great is the mercy of the Lord, and his forgiveness for those who turn to him!
- 30.因为所有的事物不能在人身上都具备，因为人是有限的，不是永生的。For all things cannot be in men, since a son of man is not immortal.
- 31.比太阳更明亮的是什么呢？然而它的光却失败了。如此，血肉之躯谋划邪恶。What is brighter than the sun? Yet its light fails. So flesh and blood devise evil.
- 32.他统率天上的万军，但所有的人都不过是尘土和灰烬。He marshals the host of the height of heaven; but all men are dust and ashes.
这段经文的意思
Sirach 17 opens by tracing God's gifts to the first man: formed from earth (v. 1), given limited days and authority (v. 2), clothed in a strength resembling God's own and shaped in His image (v. 3), and granted dominion over animals (v. 4). The vocabulary — 'strength like his own' and 'his own image' — frames humanity not as autonomous but as a delegated likeness, which grounds the chapter's later moral demand that such a creature act responsibly before its Maker.
The middle section turns to covenant and omniscience. Humans received tongue, eyes, ears, and a mind (v. 6); they were shown good and evil (v. 7); God set His eye upon their hearts (v. 8). An 'eternal covenant' with its judgments was established (vv. 11–12), and the people's eyes saw His glorious majesty (v. 13). Crucially, 'their ways are always before him, they will not be hid from his eyes' (v. 15). Even while assigning rulers to the nations, God reserved 'Israel' as 'the Lord's own portion' (v. 17), a distinctive claim amid universal sovereignty.
The final block warns and invites. Iniquity is not hidden (v. 20); almsgiving is treasured 'like the apple of his eye' (v. 22), yet the Lord 'will arise and requite them' (v. 23). For the repentant He 'grants a return' and 'encourages those whose endurance is failing' (v. 24). The call 'turn to the Lord and forsake your sins' (v. 25) is sharpened by a sobering question: who can praise God in Hades? (v. 27). Since the son of man is not immortal (v. 30) and even the sun's light fails (v. 31), repentance must happen now.
背景
The provided chapter note identifies this text as part of a backfill of Sirach chapters outside the P0/P1 priority list; no further introduction, section headings, or commentary are supplied. Within the verse list itself, chapter 17 falls into three observable movements: the equipping of humanity (vv. 1–4, 6–8), the covenant and God's watchful presence (vv. 10–15, 17, 19–20), and the call to repent with its mortality reminder (vv. 22–32). A heading 'A Call to Repentance' appears in the text before v. 25, marking the transition to the final exhortation.
Verses 5, 9, 16, 18, and 21 are not present in the supplied verse list, so the running argument between vv. 4 and 6, between vv. 8 and 10, and between vv. 15 and 17 is not visible from the provided material. Any study of those junctions must consult the complete chapter rather than relying on the excerpts shown.
常见问题
Why is Israel called 'the Lord's own portion' (v. 17) in a chapter about all humanity?
The chapter first describes gifts given to humanity in general — image, dominion, covenant, law — and only then singles out Israel as God's distinctive inheritance. The verse contrasts universal rule ('a ruler for every nation') with a special relationship, without canceling the earlier statements about human dignity.
Does Sirach 17 say people can earn salvation by almsgiving?
The verse says almsgiving is treasured 'like the apple of his eye' (v. 22), but the same context insists on God's requital of sin (v. 23), the need for repentance (vv. 25–26), and human mortality (v. 30). Almsgiving is presented as something God safeguards, not as a substitute for turning back to Him.
Who is meant to sing praises 'in Hades' (v. 27), and why does the author raise the question?
The rhetorical question assumes that the dead no longer offer thanksgiving (v. 28); therefore praise must come from the living. The author raises it to press the urgency of repentance now, before mortality overtakes the one who still has breath to give thanks.