The first reading is taken from the Book of Sirach. Ben Sira wrote down these “wisdom” saying around the year 200BC. His grandson translated them into Greek probably in 115BC and from there they made it into the Greek Bible (the Septuagint.) The Hebrew original was, apparently, lost so the book is not part of the Hebrew Bible and hence not in the Protestant Old Testament which is based on the Hebrew Bible (the Tanach). It was not until the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 that the original Hebrew edition of the Book was know. The early church loved the wisdom found in the book so much that it was called Ecclesiasticus, or the Church Book, in the Latin (Vulgate) edition of the Bible. Ben Sira is concerned with how an individual lives a virtuous life. Trust God and God will help you; trust in him, and he will direct your way. The lectionary will pick up the book again when we return to Ordinary Time after Pentecost.
