“How glorious he was!
He was surrounded
By the people.
He came out
Of the inner sanctuary.
He came out
Of house of the curtain.
He was
Like the morning star
Among the clouds,
Like the full moon
At the festal season,
Like the sun shining
On the temple of the Most High,
Like the rainbow
Gleaming in splendid clouds,
Like roses
In the days of the first fruits,
Like lilies
By a spring of water,
Like a green shoot on Lebanon
On a summer day,
Like fire with incense
In the censer,
Like a vessel
Of hammered gold
Studded with all kinds
Of precious stones,
Like an olive tree
Laden with fruit,
Like a cypress
Towering in the clouds.”
Sirach has a description of how glorious the high priest Simon looked as he was surrounded by the Israelite people when he came out of the sanctuary. He was like the morning star in the clouds, like a full moon at the festivals, like the sun shining on the Lord’s Temple, like the rainbow in the clouds, like early roses, like lilies by a water stream, like green branches of Lebanon on a summer day, like fire and incense in a Temple censer, like hammered gold with precious stones, like a blossoming olive tree, and like a cypress tree reaching to the clouds. Sirach used a lot of metaphors to explain the good looks of this high priest.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 