Ben Sira 16:5-10
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
5 Many such things my eye has seen,
and even more than these my ear has heard.
6 Against a sinful band fire is kindled,(A)
upon a godless people wrath blazes.[a]
7 He did not forgive the princes of old[b]
who rebelled long ago in their might.(B)
8 He did not spare the neighbors of Lot,[c](C)
abominable in their pride.
9 He did not spare the doomed people,[d]
dispossessed because of their sin;
10 Nor the six hundred thousand foot soldiers,[e](D)
sent to their graves for the arrogance of their hearts.
Footnotes
- 16:6 For Korah and his band (v. 6a), see 45:18–19; Nm 16:1–35; Ps 106:18; for the disgruntled Israelites (v. 6b), Ps 78:21–22.
- 16:7 The princes of old: e.g., the mighty destroyed in the flood (Gn 6:1–4; Wis 14:6; Bar 3:26–28), as well as the king of Babylon (Is 14:4–21) and Nebuchadnezzar (Dn 4:7–30).
- 16:8 Neighbors of Lot: the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, condemned elsewhere for their sexual violence (Gn 19:24–25) and failure at hospitality (Ez 16:49–50).
- 16:9 Doomed people: the Canaanite tribes whose aberrant religious practices, at least in Israelite opinion, caused their downfall: Ex 23:23–24, 27–33; 33:2; 34:11–16; Dt 7:1–2; Wis 12:3–7.
- 16:10 Six hundred thousand foot soldiers: the number given for those rescued by Moses, who murmured against the Lord in the wilderness and died there: 46:1, 7–8; Nm 11:20; 14:1–12, 22–24, 29, 36–38; 26:65; Dt 1:35–38.
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