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39He seeks out the wisdom of all the ancients,
   and is concerned with prophecies;
² he preserves the sayings of the famous
   and penetrates the subtleties of parables;
³ he seeks out the hidden meanings of proverbs
   and is at home with the obscurities of parables.
⁴ He serves among the great
   and appears before rulers;
he travels in foreign lands
   and learns what is good and evil in the human lot.
⁵ He sets his heart on rising early
   to seek the Lord who made him,
   and to petition the Most High;
he opens his mouth in prayer
   and asks pardon for his sins.

⁶ If the great Lord is willing,
   he will be filled with the spirit of understanding;
he will pour forth words of wisdom of his own
   and give thanks to the Lord in prayer.
⁷ The Lord^* will direct his counsel and knowledge,
   as he meditates on his mysteries.
⁸ He will show the wisdom of what he has learned,
   and will glory in the law of the Lord’s covenant.
⁹ Many will praise his understanding;
   it will never be blotted out.
His memory will not disappear,
   and his name will live through all generations.
¹⁰ Nations will speak of his wisdom,
   and the congregation will proclaim his praise.

The Covenant Extended to All Who Obey

56Thus says the Lord:
   Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
   and my deliverance be revealed.

² Happy is the mortal who does this,
   the one who holds it fast,
who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it,
   and refrains from doing any evil.

³ Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say,
   ‘The Lord will surely separate me from his people’;
and do not let the eunuch say,
   ‘I am just a dry tree.’
⁴ For thus says the Lord:
To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,
   who choose the things that please me
   and hold fast my covenant,
⁵ I will give, in my house and within my walls,
   a monument and a name
   better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
   that shall not be cut off.

⁶ And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
   to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
   and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
   and hold fast my covenant—
⁷ these I will bring to my holy mountain,
   and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices
   will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
   for all peoples.
⁸ Thus says the Lord God,
   who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them
   besides those already gathered.^*