Sirach 1:1-8
{1:1} All wisdom is from the Lord God, and has always been with him, and is before all time.
{1:2} Who has numbered the sand of the sea, and the drops of the rain, and the days of the world? Who has measured the height of heaven, and the breadth of the earth, and the depth of the abyss?
{1:3} Who has examined the wisdom of God, which precedes all things?
{1:4} Wisdom was created before all things, and the understanding of prudence is before all time.
{1:5} The Word of God on high is the source of wisdom, whose steps are eternal commandments.
{1:6} To whom has the root of wisdom been revealed, and who has recognized her astuteness?
{1:7} To whom has the discipline of wisdom been revealed and made manifest? And who has understood the multiplicity of her steps?
{1:8} The most high omnipotent Creator is One, and he is the mighty King, and he is exceedingly to be feared, sitting upon his throne, and he is the sovereign God.
Sirach – Prologue
P:6 For in the time of king Ptolemy Euergetes, in the thirty-eighth year after I had arrived in Egypt, after I had been there for a long time, I found, left behind there, books with a doctrine neither small nor contemptible.
P:7 And so I considered it to be both good and necessary for me to apply some significant diligence and labor in order to translate this book.
P:8 Then, after much attentiveness to doctrine over a length of time, I brought to a close the things being considered, so as to offer this book for those who are willing to apply their mind and to learn how they ought to conduct their way of life,
P:9 for those who have decided to form their life in accord with the law of the Lord.