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44:1  So let us now give praise to godly men, our ancestors of generations past,
44:2  those whom the Lord honored with great glory, in whom his greatness has been seen from the beginning of time.
44:3  There were some who ruled kingdoms, and some who were known for their strength. Some were wise advisers, and some spoke prophecies.
44:4  There were statesmen whose policies governed the people, rulers who issued decrees, scholars who spoke wise words, and those who used pointed proverbs,
44:5  poets, and composers of music,
44:6  rich and powerful men living peacefully at home.
44:7  All of these were famous in their own times, honored by the people of their day.
44:8  Some of them left a reputation, and people still praise them today.
44:9  There are others who are not remembered, as if they had never lived, who died and were forgotten, they, and their children after them.
44:10  But we will praise these godly men, whose righteous deeds have never been forgotten.
44:11  Their reputations will be passed on to their descendants, and this will be their inheritance.
44:12  Their descendants continue to keep the covenant and always will, because of what their ancestors did.
44:13  Their family line will go on forever, and their fame will never fade.
44:14  Their bodies were laid to rest, but their reputations will live forever.
44:15  Nations will tell about their wisdom, and God's people will praise them.
44:16  Enoch pleased the Lord and was taken up into heaven. He became an inspiration for repentance for all time to come.
44:17  Noah was a perfectly righteous man. After destruction came, he gave the human race a new start. Because of him there were people left on earth when the flood was over.
44:18  The Lord made an eternal covenant with him, promising that life would never again be destroyed by a flood.
44:19  Abraham was the great ancestor of many nations; his reputation was faultless.
44:20  He kept the Law of the Most High and made a covenant with him, a covenant marked on his body. When he was put to the test, he was found faithful.
44:21  And so the Lord made him a solemn promise that his descendants would be a blessing to the world; that their number would be countless, like the dust of the earth; that they would be honored more than any other people on earth; and that their land would extend from sea to sea, from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
44:22  The Lord renewed that covenant with Isaac, and then again with Jacob, repeating the promise that Abraham's descendants would be a blessing to the whole human race. The Lord assured Jacob that he would bless him; he gave him the land that would be his, dividing it into twelve parts, one for each of the tribes.
44:23  The Lord renewed that covenant with Isaac, and then again with Jacob, repeating the promise that Abraham's descendants would be a blessing to the whole human race. The Lord assured Jacob that he would bless him; he gave him the land that would be his, dividing it into twelve parts, one for each of the tribes.