Read & explore together
Bless God and pray for enduring peace
These verses end with blessing, prayer, and hope. They speak directly to God’s kindness and ask for lasting peace, joy, mercy, and deliverance. The passage teaches readers to respond to God with praise while still asking him for help.
Understanding the passage
Listening in context
In this short passage from Sirach, the writer calls people to bless “the God of all”. The words describe what God does, then turn into a prayer asking for joyfulness of heart, peace in Israel, continuing mercy, and deliverance in God’s own time. This remains wisdom and prayer, not a story scene.
Sirach 50:22–24Main takeaway
This passage teaches that God’s people can bless him for his mercy and also pray for peace, joy, and deliverance in his time.
Look closely at the words
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01Bless the God of allThe passage begins with a call to bless God. He is called “the God of all”, which gives him a wide and weighty title.
Explanation
The passage begins with a call to bless God. He is called “the God of all”, which gives him a wide and weighty title. The verse says he “everywhere does great things”, so the blessing is grounded in what God does, not just in human feelings or custom.
02God’s care from the wombThe next words say God “exalts our days from the womb” and “deals with us according to his mercy”.
Explanation
The next words say God “exalts our days from the womb” and “deals with us according to his mercy”. The phrase “from the womb” points to life from its earliest beginning. “Mercy” shows that God’s dealings are compassionate. The verse praises God for sustaining life and treating people mercifully.
03A prayer for inner joy and public peaceThe blessing moves into prayer. The writer asks God to “grant us joyfulness of heart”. That is inward gladness.
Explanation
The blessing moves into prayer. The writer asks God to “grant us joyfulness of heart”. That is inward gladness. The prayer also asks “that peace may be in our days in Israel”, which is a shared, public blessing. The request joins personal joy with peace for the community.
04Hope for mercy and deliverance in God’s timeThe final verse continues the prayer by asking God “to entrust his mercy with us” and to “deliver us in his time”.
Explanation
The final verse continues the prayer by asking God “to entrust his mercy with us” and to “deliver us in his time”. The wording keeps mercy at the centre. It also shows patience, because deliverance is asked for in God’s time, not according to a human timetable.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01What reasons does verse 22 give for blessing God?
Look for the actions named in the verse: God does great things, exalts our days from the womb, and deals with us according to his mercy.
02What two kinds of gifts are asked for in verse 23?
Notice one request for the heart and one request for the people: joyfulness of heart and peace in Israel.
03What does the phrase “in his time” add to the prayer for deliverance?
The words show that the prayer asks God to act, while leaving the timing with him.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Sirach 50:22–24
22Now bless the God of all, who everywhere does great things, who exalts our days from the womb, and deals with us according to his mercy.
23May he grant us joyfulness of heart, and that peace may be in our days in Israel for the days of eternity,
24to entrust his mercy with us, and let him deliver us in his time!