Sirach 43

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.