Hymn to the ancestors

¹Now allow us to praise

famous people and our ancestors,

generation by generation.

²The Lord created great glory,[#44.2 Heb measured out]

his majesty from eternity.

³They ruled in their kingdoms,

and made a name with their power,

some giving counsel

by their intelligence;

some making pronouncements

in prophecies;

⁴some leading the people

by their deliberations,

and by their understanding

of the people’s learning,

giving wise words in their instruction;

⁵others devising musical melodies,

and composing poems;

⁶rich people endowed with strength,

living in peace in their dwellings—

⁷all of these were honored

in their generation,

a source of pride in their time.

⁸Some of them left behind a name

so that their praises might be told.

⁹For some there is no memory,

and they perished as though

they hadn’t existed.

These have become as though

they hadn’t been born,

¹⁰But these were compassionate people

whose righteous deeds

haven’t been forgotten.

¹¹This will persist with their children;

their descendants

will be a good legacy.

¹²Their descendants stand

by the covenants,

and their children also, for their sake.

¹³Their descendants will last forever,

and their glory will never be erased.

¹⁴Their bodies were buried in peace,

but their name lives for generations.

¹⁵The people will tell of their wisdom,

and the congregation

will proclaim their praise.

Enoch

¹⁶Enoch pleased the Lord

and was transferred,

an example of a changed heart

and mind for generations.

Noah

¹⁷Noah was found perfect and righteous;

in a time of anger,

he was selected in exchange

for the ungodly.

Because of him,

a few survivors remained on the earth

¹⁸Eternal covenants were made with him

so that all living things would not be wiped out by a flood again.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

¹⁹Abraham was the great father

of a multitude of nations,

and there was no smudge on his glory.

²⁰He kept the laws of the Most High,

and he entered into a covenant with him.

²¹Therefore, the Lord certified for Abraham

with a solemn pledge

that he would bless nations

through his descendants,

that he would make him increase

like the dust of the earth,

exalt his descendants like the stars,

and give them an inheritance

from sea to sea

and from the river to the end

of the earth.

²²He made the same commitment to Isaac

because of Abraham his father.

He made a blessing for all humanity

and a covenant

²³to rest on Jacob’s head.

The Lord acknowledged him

with his blessings;

he gave him an inheritance,

divided his shares,

and allotted them

among the twelve tribes.

Moses

The Lord brought forward out of Jacob

a man of mercy,