Ben Sira 40:1-2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 40
Joys and Miseries of Life
1 A great anxiety has God allotted,[a]
and a heavy yoke, to the children of Adam,(A)
From the day they leave their mother’s womb
until the day they return to the mother of all the living.[b]
2 Troubled thoughts and fear of heart are theirs
and anxious foreboding until death.
Footnotes
- 40:1–17 The former idyllic description of the universe is contrasted with the picture of the evils afflicting humanity. Every person, high or low, is burdened from birth to death with fears, anxieties, and troubles, by day and often by night, the time appointed for rest (vv. 1–7). For sinners, the suffering is much greater (vv. 8–10). What they gained by violence and injustice is quickly destroyed; but righteousness will prevail (vv. 14–17).
- 40:1 Mother of all the living: the earth from which human beings were taken. Cf. Gn 2:7; 3:19–20; Jb 1:21; Ps 139:15.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.