Sirach 43:1-22

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

43 The pride of the higher realms is the clear vault of the sky,
    as glorious to behold as the sight of the heavens.
² The sun, when it appears, proclaims as it rises
    what a marvelous instrument it is, the work of the Most High.
³ At noon it parches the land,
    and who can withstand its burning heat?
⁴ A man tending^[a] a furnace works in burning heat,
    but three times as hot is the sun scorching the mountains;
it breathes out fiery vapors,
    and its bright rays blind the eyes.
⁵ Great is the Lord who made it;
    at his orders it hurries on its course.

⁶ It is the moon that marks the changing seasons,^[b]
    governing the times, their everlasting sign.
⁷ From the moon comes the sign for festal days,
    a light that wanes when it completes its course.
⁸ The new moon, as its name suggests, renews itself;^[c]
    how marvelous it is in this change,
a beacon to the hosts on high,
    shining in the vault of the heavens!

⁹ The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven,
    a glittering array in the heights of the Lord.
¹⁰ On the orders of the Holy One they stand in their appointed places;
    they never relax in their watches.
¹¹ Look at the rainbow, and praise him who made it;
    it is exceedingly beautiful in its brightness.
¹² It encircles the sky with its glorious arc;
    the hands of the Most High have stretched it out.

¹³ By his command he sends the driving snow
    and speeds the lightnings of his judgment.
¹⁴ Therefore the storehouses are opened,
    and the clouds fly out like birds.
¹⁵ In his majesty he gives the clouds their strength,
    and the hailstones are broken in pieces.
^17a The voice of his thunder rebukes the earth;
¹⁶     when he appears, the mountains shake.
At his will the south wind blows;
^17b     so do the storm from the north and the whirlwind.
He scatters the snow like birds flying down,
    and its descent is like locusts alighting.
¹⁸ The eye is dazzled by the beauty of its whiteness,
    and the mind is amazed as it falls.
¹⁹ He pours frost over the earth like salt,
    and icicles form like pointed thorns.
²⁰ The cold north wind blows,
    and ice freezes on the water;
it settles on every pool of water,
    and the water puts it on like a breastplate.
²¹ He consumes the mountains and burns up the wilderness,
    and withers the tender grass like fire.
²² A mist quickly heals all things;
    the falling dew gives refreshment from the heat.