Sirach Versification Comparison

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Sirach Versification Comparison: NRSV, RSV, Rahlfs

As noted by apparently everyone who has ever attempted to work with the text tradition of
Sirach, its complexity is frustrating if not daunting. The complications of text and versions are,
however, in no way allayed by the near-equally variegated versification systems employed in
modern editions and translations. In any given citation of Sirach, one must intuit the intended
reference based on the date of the work citing, and the language or religious affiliation of the
author making the citation, and often the point of the citation.

Below, I have compiled a comparison chart of the differences between the (probably) four most
common systems of versification: Rahlfs', the Revised Standard Version, Ziegler's, and the
New Revised Standard Version. The references are keyed to the order of the NRSV, with a
separate section for the NRSV to Ziegler comparison, as there are fewer differences between
these two. Note that only the differences in versification are given. When the edition/translation
has the same versification as the NRSV, there is no listing.

RAHLFS=
Rahlfs, Alfred. Septuaginta : id est, Vetus Testamentum graece
iuxta LXX interpretes. Editio minor.
Stuttgart : Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1979.

ZIEGLER=
Ziegler, Joseph, ed. Sapientia Iesu Filii Sirach.
Septuaginta : Vetus Testamentum Graecum vol. 2:12.
Gottingen : Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1965.

RSV=
Herbert G. May, Bruce M. Metzger, eds. The new Oxford annotated Bible
with the Apocrypha: Revised standard version, containing the second edition
of the New Testament and an expanded edition of the Apocrypha.
New York : Oxford University Press, 1977.

NRSV=
Bruce M. Metzger, Roland E. Murphy, eds. The new Oxford annotated Bible
with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books.
New York : Oxford University Press, 1991.

NRSV	ZIEGLER
2.17c-f	2.18
30.25	33.13b
ch 31	ch 34
ch 32	ch 35
33.1-15	36.1-15
33.16a	36.16a
33.16b-17	30.25
33.18-31	30.26-39
33.32-33	30.40
ch 34	ch 31
ch 35	ch 32
36.1-12	33.1-12
36.13	33.13a
[36.14-15 unused]	[36.14-15 unused]
36.16	36.16b
36.17-31	36.17-31

NRSV	RSV	RAHLFS
2.17c-f	2.18	2.18
6.1		5.15b-d [6.1 unused]
20.16ab		20.16
20.16c-17		20.17
22.7-8	22.9-10
22.9-10	22.7-8
23.16ab		23.16
23.16c-17		23.17
29.16-17		29.16
29.18ab		29.17
29.18cd		29.18
33.16-17	33.16
33.18-27	33.17-26
33.28-29	33.27	33.28
33.30ab	33.28	33.29
33.30cd	33.29	33.30
33.31ab	33.30	33.31
33.31c-33	33.31
33.31cd		33.32
33.32-33		33.33
34.10-11	34.10	34.10
34.12-13	34.11-12	34.11-12
34.14-15	34.13	34.13
34.16	34.14	34.14
34.17-18	34.15	34.15
34.19	34.16	34.16
34.20	34.17	34.17
34.21-22	34.18	34.18
34.23-25	34.19-21	34.19-21
34.26-27	34.22	34.22
34.28-31	34.23-26	34.23-26
35.1-2	35.1	35.1
35.3-4	35.2	35.2
35.5	35.3	35.3
35.6-7	35.4-5	35.4
35.8-13	35.6-11	35.5-10
35.14-15	35.12
35.14-15a		35.11
35.15bc		35.12
35.16-17	35.13-14	35.13-14
35.18-19	35.15	35.15
35.20	35.16	35.16
35.21-22a	35.17
35.21a		35.17
35.21b-22a		35.18
35.22b-23	35.18
35.22b		35.19
35.22c-33a		35.20
35.23b		35.21
35.24-25	35.19	35.22-23
35.26	35.20	35.24
36.1-2		36.1
36.3-5		36.2-4
36.6-7	36.6	36.5
36.8-9	36.7	36.6
36.10-12	36.8-10	36.7-9
36.13-16	36.11	36.10
36.17-22	36.12-17
36.17-21		36.11-15
36.22a		36.16
36.22b		36.17
36.23-30	36.18-25	36.18-25
36.31a		36.26
36.31b		36.27
37.17-18a		37.17
37.18bc		37.18
38.7-8a		38.7
38.8b		38.8
38.32ab		38.32
38.32c-33c		38.33
38.33d-34b		38.34
38.34c-39.1	39.1	39.1
39.16-17b		39.16
39.17cd		39.17
40.4-5b		40.4
40.5cd		40.5
41.3-4a	41.3
41.4bcd	41.4
41.18c-19a		41.19
41.19bc		41.20
41.19d-20a		41.21
41.20b-21a		41.22
41.21bc		41.23
41.22ab		41.24
41.22cd		41.25
42.1ab		41.26
42.1cd		41.27
42.1a-d	41.23
42.1ef	42.1	42.1
43.17c-18		43.18
44.22c-23e	44.23	44.23
44.23f-45.1	45.1	45.1
45.10-11a		45.10
45.11b-e		45.11
46.6e-7		46.7
47.23e-24		47.24
48.15a-d		48.15
48.15e-16		48.16
51.2-3a		51.2
51.3b-e		51.3
51.10-11b		51.10
51.11c-12b		51.11
51.12cd		51.12