Song of Songs 7 - Wisdom of Ben Sira 2

New Catholic Bible

^{1     [b]}Come back, come back, O Shulammite;^[c]
    come back so that we may gaze upon you.

Why are you looking at the Shulammite
    as at a dance of Mahanaim?

² How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
    O prince’s daughter.
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
    the handiwork of a master hand.
³ Your navel is a well-rounded bowl
    that never lacks mixed wine.
Your belly is a mound of wheat^[d]
    surrounded by lilies.
⁴ Your two breasts are like two fawns,
    twins of a gazelle.
⁵ Your neck is like an ivory tower;
    your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon^[e]
    by the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose is like the Tower of Lebanon
    that faces toward Damascus.
⁶ Your head is held high like Carmel;^[f]
    your flowing locks are as dark as purple,
    and a king is held captive in your tresses.

⁷ How beautiful you are and how charming,
    my beloved, my delight.
⁸ You are as stately as a palm tree,^[g]
    and your breasts are like clusters of fruit.
^{9     [h]}I have decided to climb the palm tree
    and take hold of its fruit.
May your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
    the scent of your breath as sweet as apples,
¹⁰     and your mouth like fragrant wine.

^[j]May the wine go straight to my beloved,
    gliding over the lips and teeth.
¹¹ I belong to my beloved,
    and his desire is for me.^[k]
12 Come, my beloved,
    let us go forth into the fields
    and spend the night in the villages.
¹³ Let us go to the vineyards early
    and see if the vines are budding,
if their blossoms have opened
    and the pomegranates are in bloom;
    there I will give you my love.
¹⁴ The mandrakes^[l] emit their fragrance,
    and at our doors are the rarest of fruits,
fresh as well as ripened,
    which I have kept in store for you, my beloved.

¹ Oh, if only you were to me like a brother,
    nursed at my mother’s breast.
Then if I met you out of doors,
    I could kiss you
    without people regarding me with scorn.^[m]
2 I would lead you
    and bring you into the home of my mother.
There you would teach me to give you spiced wine to drink
    and the juice of my pomegranates.
³ His left hand is under my head
    and his right arm embraces me.

⁴ I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem:
    Do not stir up or awaken love
    before its time has come.^[n]

⁵ Who is this coming up from the wilderness
    leaning on her beloved?

Under the apple tree^[p] I awakened you;
    it was there that your mother conceived you,
    and there where she who conceived you bore you.

^{6     [q]}Set me as a seal on your heart,
    as a seal upon your arm.
For love is as strong as death,^[r]
    and ardor is as relentless as the netherworld.
Its flames are flashes of fire,
    an unending blaze.^[s]
7 Flood waters cannot quench love,
    nor can torrents drown it.
If one were to offer all his wealth for love,
    he would be regarded with contempt.

⁸ “Our sister is little,
    and her breasts are not yet formed.
What shall we do for our sister
    on the day she is spoken for?
⁹ If she is a wall,
    we will build a silver battlement upon it;
if she is a door,
    we will board her up with planks of cedar.”

¹⁰ I am a wall,
    and my breasts are like towers.
So now in his eyes
    I have become one who brings peace.

^{11     [v]}Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon,^[w]
    and he entrusted that vineyard to tenants.
For its fruit each one would have to pay him
    a thousand pieces of silver.
¹² My vineyard^[x] is under my control.
    You, O Solomon, may have the thousand silver pieces,
    and those who tend the fruit may have two hundred.

¹³ O you who dwell in the gardens,
    my companions are listening for your voice;
    let me hear it.

¹⁴ Make haste, my beloved,
    and be like a gazelle or a young stag
    upon the spice-filled mountains.

¹ Love justice,^[z] you who govern the earth,
    turn your minds to the Lord in a righteous way,
    and seek him with an upright heart.
² For he will be found by those who do not put him to the test,
    and he will reveal himself to those who do not cease to have confidence in him.
³ Perverse thoughts separate a man from God,
    and when his power is put to the test, it reproaches the foolish.
⁴ Wisdom refuses to enter a soul devoted to evil
    or to dwell in a body indebted to sin.
⁵ For the holy spirit of discipline^[aa] shuns deceit,
    shrinks away from foolish discourse,
    and is ashamed at the approach of injustice.
⁶ Wisdom is a spirit filled with kindness,
    but it will not excuse the guilt incurred by the blasphemer for his words,
since God is the witness of his innermost self,^[ab]
    accurately observing his heart
    and listening to every word of his mouth.
⁷ For the spirit of the Lord fills the world,
    and that which holds all things together is well aware of everything that is said.^[ac]
8 Therefore, no one who utters wicked thoughts will escape detection,
    nor will justice, in its chastisement, pass him by.
⁹ For the schemes of the wicked man will be investigated,
    and the sound of his words will reach the Lord
    to convict him of his transgressions,
¹⁰ because a jealous ear listens to everything,
    and no sound of grumbling remains secret.
¹¹ Therefore, beware of futile grumbling
    and restrain your tongue from calumny,^[ad]
for even something said in secret has repercussions,
    and a lying mouth destroys the soul.
¹² Do not invite death by a life prone to error,
    nor incur destruction by the works of your hands.
¹³ For God did not make death,
    nor does he delight in the death of the living.
¹⁴ He created all things so that they might have existence,
    and the creatures of the world engender life.
There is no deadly poison in any of them,
    and the domain of the netherworld^[ae] is not on the earth,
¹⁵     for righteousness is immortal.^[af]

¹⁶ But the godless by their words and deeds summoned death,
    regarded it as a friend, and longed for it.
They made a covenant with it
    since they deserve to be in its company.^[ai]

¹ These people said to themselves with deluded reasoning:
“Brief and burdensome is our life,
    and there is no remedy when death summons,
    nor has anyone been known to have returned^[aj] from the netherworld.
² For we were born as the result of happenstance,
    and afterward we shall be as though we had never existed.
The breath in our nostrils is merely a puff of smoke,
    and our reason is a spark enkindled by the beating of our hearts.
³ Once it is extinguished, our body will turn to ashes,
    and our spirit will melt away like empty air.
⁴ Our name will be forgotten with the passing of time,
    and no one will remember our deeds.
Our life will pass away like the wisps of a cloud
    and be scattered like mist
pursued by the rays of the sun
    and overwhelmed by its heat.
⁵ For our lifetime is but a passing shadow,
    and there is no way to recall our end
    because it is sealed, and no one can bring it back.

⁶ “Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things of life,
    and use creation fully, with youthful ardor.
⁷ Let us take our fill of expensive wine and perfumes
    and allow no flower of spring to escape our notice;
⁸     let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither.^[ak]
9 Let none of us fail to share in our wanton doings;
    let us leave traces of our revelry everywhere,
    since this is our portion, this our lot.

¹⁰ “Let us oppress the righteous man who is in need;^[am]
    let us not spare the widow
    or show respect for the venerable gray head of the aged.
¹¹ Rather, let our might serve as the yardstick of justice,
    for what is feeble has proved itself useless.
¹² Let us wait in hiding for the righteous man,
    for he inconveniences us and opposes our deeds.
He reproaches us for our sins against the law
    and accuses us of failures in what we have been taught.
¹³ He claims to have knowledge of God
    and refers to himself as a child of the Lord.
¹⁴ He has become for us a reproof to our manner of thinking,
    and the very sight of him is a source of pain to us.
¹⁵ For his life is unlike that of others,
    and his ways are just as different.^[an]
16 He considers us to be counterfeit,
    and he steers clear of our ways as unclean.
He proclaims the final end of the righteous as blessed,
    and he boasts that God is his Father.
¹⁷ Let us see if what he says is true,
    and let us probe what will happen at the conclusion of his life.
¹⁸ For if the righteous man is a child of God,^[ao] he will defend him
    and deliver him from the power of his enemies.
¹⁹ Let us test him with insults and torments
    so that we may be able to measure his gentleness
    and ascertain the depths of his forbearance of evil.
²⁰ Let us condemn him^[ap] to a shameful death,
    since, according to his words, he will be protected.”

²¹ Such was their reasoning, but they were wrong,
    for their own malice blinded them.
²² They did not discern the hidden plans of God,
    or hope for the recompense of holiness
    or recognize the reward destined for innocent souls.
²³ For God created us to be immortal
    and formed us in the image of his own nature.^[ar]
24 But as a result of the devil’s envy, death entered the world,
    and those who follow him experience it.

^{1     [au]}But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
    and no torment can overtake them.
² From the viewpoint of the foolish, they seemed to be dead,
    and their passing away was reckoned as a misfortune,
³     and their departure from us as their ruin.
But they are at peace.^[av]
4 Although in the eyes of others they were chastised,
    their hope is full of immortality.
⁵ Having endured a slight chastisement, they will receive great blessings,
    because God tested them
    and found them worthy to be with him.^[aw]
6 He put them to the proof like gold in a furnace,
    and he accepted them as a sacrificial burnt offering.^[ax]
7 In the time of their visitation^[ay] they will shine brightly
    and spread like sparks among the stubble.
⁸ They will judge nations and have dominion over peoples,
    and the Lord will be their King forever.
⁹ Those who trust in him will understand truth,
    and the faithful will dwell with him in love,
because grace and mercy are reserved for his holy ones,
    and he shows concern for his elect.
¹⁰ However, the godless will receive a punishment in accord with their reasoning,
    for they had no concern for the righteous
    and rebelled against the Lord.
¹¹ Those who despise wisdom and discipline are wretched:
    vain is their hope, unprofitable are their labors,
    and worthless are their achievements.
¹² Their wives are foolish and their children depraved;
    their lineage is accursed.

¹³ Blessed is the barren woman who is undefiled,
    who has not experienced a sinful union;
    she will bear fruit at the visitation of souls.
¹⁴ Blessed also is the eunuch whose hands have committed no iniquity
    and who has never harbored any wicked thoughts against the Lord;
he shall receive a special grace for his faithfulness
    and a more illustrious share in the temple of the Lord.
¹⁵ For the fruit of good works is glorious,
    and the root of understanding is ever fruitful.
¹⁶ But the children of adulterers will never see maturity,
    and the offspring of an unlawful union will disappear.
¹⁷ Even should they achieve a long life, they will be regarded as of no account,
    and in the end their old age will be without honor.
¹⁸ But if they die young, they will have no hope,
    nor any consolation on the day of judgment,
¹⁹     for the fate of a wicked generation is harsh.

¹ Far better than this is childlessness accompanied by virtue,^[ba]
    for immortality is gained by a remembrance of virtue,
    since it is acknowledged both by God and by men.
² When it is present, men imitate it,
    and they long for it in its absence.
And throughout eternity it marches crowned in triumph,
    victorious in the struggle for prizes that are undefiled.^[bb]
3 However, the prolific progeny of the wicked will avail nothing;
    none of their illegitimate stock will put forth deep roots
    or lay a firm foundation.
⁴ For even if they put forth branches for a time,
    without a firm foundation they will be shaken by the wind
    and torn up by the violence of the storms.
⁵ Their immature branches will be broken off
    and their fruit will be useless,
    not ripe enough to eat and fit for no purpose.
⁶ For children born of unlawful unions
    bear witness to the wickedness of their parents
    when God brings them to judgment.^[bc]

⁷ But the righteous man, even if he dies prematurely, will be at rest.^[be]
8 For the honor that comes with age is not due to the length of life
    or determined by the number of years.
⁹ Gray hairs for anyone consists in understanding,
    and ripe old age consists in a blameless life.
^{10     [bf]}He has sought to please God, so God has loved him;
    while living among sinners, he has been taken up.
¹¹ He has been snatched away so that evil would not pervert his understanding
    or guile deceive his soul.
¹² For the spell of wickedness beclouds what is good,
    and the swirl of desire corrupts the simple heart.
¹³ Having achieved perfection in a short time,
    he attained a lengthy span of years.
¹⁴ Since his soul was pleasing to the Lord,
    he quickly removed him from the midst of wickedness.
People observed this yet failed to comprehend,
    nor did they reflect on this fact,
¹⁵ that grace and mercy are reserved for God’s holy ones
    and he shows concern for his elect.^[bg]
16 The righteous man who dies condemns the godless who are still alive,
    and youth that has quickly achieved perfection
    condemns the prolonged age of the wicked.
¹⁷ For they observe the death of the wise man
    but understand neither the designs of the Lord for him
    nor why he has kept him safe.
¹⁸ They look on and sneer contemptuously at him,
    but the Lord will laugh them to scorn.
¹⁹ Afterward they will become dishonored corpses
    and objects of contempt among the dead forever.
For he will cast them speechless to the ground
    and shake them to their very foundations.
They will be completely laid waste,
    overwhelmed with grief,
    and their memory will perish.

²⁰ The godless will cringe with terror when their sins are reckoned,
    and their lawless deeds will convict them to their face.

¹ Then will the righteous man stand with great confidence
    in the presence of his oppressors
    and those who derided his sufferings.
² On beholding him, his oppressors will be seized with terrible dread
    and will be amazed at his unexpected deliverance.
³ With remorse they will speak to one another,
    and groaning in distress of spirit they will say:
⁴ “This is the one whom we once mocked
    and made a target of our insults, fools that we were.
We regarded his way of life as madness
    and his end as dishonorable.
⁵ Why is he now reckoned among the children of God,
    sharing the lot of the saints?
⁶ Clearly we have been the ones who have strayed from the way of truth,
    and the light of justice has not shone for us
    or the sun risen upon us.
⁷ We had our fill of traversing the paths of lawlessness and ruin
    and wandered across trackless deserts,
    but of the way of the Lord we have been ignorant.
⁸ Of what avail has arrogance been to us?
    What advantage have we received from our vaunted wealth?
⁹ “All these things have passed like a shadow,
    much like a fleeting notice;
^10 [bi]like a ship that sails through the surging waters
    of whose passage—once it has passed by—no trace can be found,
    no wake from its keel in the waves;
¹¹ or like a bird that flies through the air
    and no sign of its passage is left,
for the light air, whipped by the beat of its pinions
    and cleft by the force of its speed,
is traversed by the flapping wings,
    and afterward there is no sign of its passage;
¹² or as when an arrow is shot at a target,
    the air is parted but immediately comes together again,
    and no evidence remains of its passage;
¹³ so we also, as soon as we were born, ceased to be
    and had not a trace of virtue to exhibit
    but were consumed in our wickedness.”^[bj]
14 The hope of the godless is like chaff carried on the wind,
    and like sea spray swept before a storm;
it is dissipated like smoke confronted by the wind,
    and it passes away like the memory of a guest who stays but a single day.
¹⁵ But the righteous live forever,
    and their recompense is with the Lord;^[bk]
    the Most High provides for them.
¹⁶ Therefore, they will receive a glorious crown
    and a splendid diadem from the hand of the Lord.
For he will shelter them with his right hand
    and shield them with his arm.
¹⁷ He will take zeal as his armor
    and arm all creation to repulse his foes.^[bl]
18 He will put on justice as a breastplate,
    and wear an infallible judgment as a helmet.
¹⁹ He will take invincible holiness as a shield
²⁰     and sharpen unrelenting wrath for a sword,^[bm]
    and the whole world will unite with him to fight against the reckless.
²¹ Shafts of his lightning, accurately aimed, will fly forth,
    hurtling from the clouds as from a well-drawn bow toward their target,
²²     while the hailstones of his wrath will be hurled as from a sling.
The waters of the sea will rage against them,
    and the rivers will relentlessly engulf them.
²³ A mighty wind will rise against them
    and will winnow them like a tempest.
Lawlessness will make the whole earth a wasteland,
    and evildoing will overthrow the thrones of the mighty.

¹ Listen, then, O kings, and try to comprehend;
    learn, O judges of the whole earth.^[bp]
2 Pay attention, you who govern multitudes,
    and take pride in the huge number of your peoples.
³ Your sovereignty was bestowed on you by the Lord
    and your power by the Most High,
    who will probe your deeds and scrutinize your intentions.^[bq]
4 Since as servants of his kingdom you neither ruled justly,
    nor kept his law,
    nor walked in the paths designated by the will of God,
⁵ he will move against you terribly and swiftly,
    for stern is the judgment decreed against the high and the mighty.^[br]
6 The lowly will be pardoned through mercy,
    but the mighty will be tested with rigor.
⁷ For the Lord of all is not in awe of anyone,
    nor does he show any deference to worldly rank,
since he himself made small and great alike,
    and he provides for all equally.
⁸ But a strict examination awaits those in positions of power.
⁹ To you, then, O monarchs, are these words of mine directed
    so that you may learn wisdom and not go astray.
¹⁰ For those who observe holy precepts with holiness will be accounted holy,
    and those who have become learned in them will have a defense^[bs] to offer.
¹¹ Therefore, be zealous in heeding my words;
    long for them, and you will receive instruction.

¹² Radiant and never-fading is Wisdom;
    she is easily discerned by those who love her
    and is found by those who search for her.
¹³ She hastens to make herself known
    to those who desire her.^[bu]
14 He who rises early to seek her will not have to toil,
    for he will discover her seated at his door.
¹⁵ To meditate on her is to achieve perfection in understanding,
    and he who is vigilant in seeking after her will soon be free from care.
¹⁶ For she herself goes about seeking those who are worthy of her,
    and she graciously appears to them as they tread life’s paths,
    meeting them with all benevolence.
¹⁷ The beginning of Wisdom is a sincere desire for instruction,
    and concern for learning is evidence of love for her;
¹⁸ but love for her is shown by keeping her laws,
    and observing her laws brings the assurance of incorruptibility.
¹⁹ Now incorruptibility brings people close to God;
²⁰     thus the desire for Wisdom leads to a kingdom.
²¹ Therefore, if you take delight in thrones and scepters, you rulers of the peoples,
    honor Wisdom so that you may reign as kings forever.^[bv]

²² Now I will explain what Wisdom is and how she came to be;
    I will not hide her secrets from you.
I will trace her steps from the beginning of creation
    and bring knowledge of her to full light
    without swerving from the truth.
²³ Nor will I allow corrosive envy to accompany me,
    for it has nothing in common with Wisdom.
²⁴ The abundance of the wise is the salvation of the world,
    and a prudent king is the stability of his people.
²⁵ Therefore, learn what I have to teach you,
    and you will profit.

¹ I too am mortal, like everyone else,
    descended from the first being formed out of the earth.^[bx]
I was molded into flesh inside the womb of my mother,
²     solidified in blood within a period of ten months^[by]
    from the seed of a man and the pleasure that accompanies marriage.
³ And I too, when I was born, began to breathe the common air
    and fell upon an earth equal for everyone;
    the first sound I uttered was a cry, as is true of all.
⁴ I was nurtured in swaddling clothes
    and surrounded with care.
⁵ No king has begun life in any other way,
⁶     for there is only one way of entering life, and only one way of leaving it.

⁷ Therefore, I prayed, and understanding was given to me;
    I pleaded, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.
⁸ I preferred her to scepters and thrones,
    and I accounted riches as nothing compared with her.^[bz]
9 Neither did I reckon any precious stone to be her equal,
    because, compared with her, all gold is but a few grains of sand,
    and beside her, silver is accounted as clay.
¹⁰ I loved her more than health and beauty
    and preferred her to the light
    because her radiance is unceasing.
¹¹ Together with her, all good things came to me,
    and in her hands are countless riches.
¹² And I delighted in them all, since Wisdom was their source,
    although I did not realize at the time that she was their mother.
¹³ I pass on ungrudgingly what I learned about her with an open mind;
    her riches I do not conceal.
¹⁴ For she is an inexhaustible treasure for all;
    those who acquire her achieve friendship with God,
    commended to him by the gifts that derive from her instruction.^[ca]

¹⁵ May God grant me the ability to speak according to understanding
    and to express thoughts worthy of the gifts I have received,
since it is he that guides Wisdom
    and directs the wise.
¹⁶ For in his hand are both we and our words,
    as are also all understanding and skill in crafts.
¹⁷ It was he who granted me accurate knowledge of what exists,
    so that I might understand the constitution of the world and the operation of its elements:
¹⁸ the beginning and the end and the midpoint of times,
    the alternation of the solstices and the changes of the seasons,
¹⁹ the cycles of the year and the positions of the stars,
²⁰     the natures of animals and the dispositions of wild beasts,
the powers of spirits and the thoughts of men,
    the varieties of plants and the properties of roots.
²¹ All that was hidden and all that was manifest I learned,
²² for Wisdom, who fashioned all things, instructed me.

^[cd]Within Wisdom is a spirit that is
    intelligent, holy,
unique, manifold, subtle,
    mobile, clear, unstained,
certain, invulnerable, benevolent, shrewd, irresistible, beneficent, ²³ kindly,
steadfast, secure, tranquil,
    all-powerful, all-surveying,
and penetrating all spirits
    that are intelligent, pure, and very subtle.
²⁴ For Wisdom has more mobility than any motion;
    she is so pure that she pervades and penetrates all things.
²⁵ She is the breath of the might of God
    and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;
    therefore, nothing that is defiled can enter into her.
²⁶ For she is the reflection of eternal light,
    the spotless mirror of the active power of God
    and the image of his goodness.
²⁷ Although she is only one, she can do all things;
    while unchanging herself, she makes all things new.
Generation after generation she enters into holy souls,
    and turns them into friends of God^[ce] and prophets.
²⁸ For God loves nothing more
    than one who dwells with Wisdom.
²⁹ She is more beautiful than the sun
    and outshines every constellation of the stars.
In comparison with the light she is far superior,
³⁰     for light is supplanted by the night,
    but evil cannot overpower Wisdom.

¹ She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other,
    and she governs all things exceedingly well.

² I loved Wisdom and searched for her from my youth;
    I resolved to have her for my spouse
    and was in love with her beauty.
³ She manifests her noble birth by union of life with God,
    for the Lord of all has loved her.
⁴ She is privy to the secrets of the knowledge of God
    and chooses his works.
⁵ If riches are deemed a desirable possession in life,
    what offers greater wealth than Wisdom who fashions everything that exists?
⁶ If understanding is at work,
    who is a more effective fashioner of whatever exists than she?
⁷ And if one prizes righteousness,
    the fruits of her labors are virtues.
For she teaches temperance and prudence,
    justice and fortitude,^[cg]
    and nothing in life is of more value for men than these.
⁸ Or again, if one yearns for great experience,
    she knows the things of the past and foresees those of the future.
She understands the subtleties of speech and the solutions of riddles;
    she has advance knowledge of signs and wonders
    and can predict the outcome of times and ages.
⁹ And so I determined to take her as my life companion,
    confident that she would counsel me in times of prosperity
    and comfort me in times of anxiety and sorrow.
¹⁰ Because of her presence I will receive glory among the multitudes
    and honor among the elders, even though I am young.
¹¹ I will be considered wise when I sit in judgment,
    and I will win the admiration of rulers.
¹² When I remain silent, they will await my utterances;
    when I do speak, they will listen carefully.
And should I speak at great length,
    they will put their hands over their mouths.^[ch]
13 Through her I will achieve immortality
    and leave an everlasting memory to my successors.
¹⁴ I will govern peoples, and nations will become subject to me;
¹⁵     fierce monarchs will be in dread when they hear my name,
    but among the people I will be regarded as good and as valiant in battle.
¹⁶ When I return to my home I will rest beside her,
    for to be in her company involves no bitterness,
and life with her entails no pain,
    but only gladness and joy.

¹⁷ Reflecting upon these things within myself
    and having concluded in my heart
that there is immortality in kinship with Wisdom
¹⁸     and pure delight in friendship with her,
inexhaustible wealth in the works of her hands
    and understanding in frequenting her company
    as well as great renown in conversing with her,
I began to search in all directions,
    seeking to win her for myself.
¹⁹ As a child I was blessed with natural gifts,
    and a good soul was my heritage,
²⁰     or rather, being good, I had entered into an undefiled body.^[cj]
21 But realizing that I could not possess Wisdom^[ck] unless God gave her to me—
    and this itself was an indication of understanding, to know the source of that gift—
I turned to the Lord and implored him
    and with all my heart I said:

¹ “God of my ancestors and Lord of mercy,
    by your word^[cl] you have created all things,
² and in your wisdom you have fashioned man
    to have power over all the creatures you have made,
³ to govern the world in holiness and righteousness,
    and to mete out justice with an upright heart.
⁴ Grant me Wisdom, who sits beside your throne,^[cm]
    and do not exclude me from the number of your children.
⁵ “For I am your servant and the son of your handmaid,
    a weak man with but a short time to live
    and with meager comprehension of justice and law.
⁶ Indeed, even one who is perfect among the sons of men
    will be of no account
    if he lacks the Wisdom that comes from you.
⁷ You have chosen me to be king of your people
    and to sit in judgment over your sons and daughters.
⁸ You have commanded me to build a temple on your holy mountain,
    and an altar in the city that is your dwelling,
    a replica of the sacred tabernacle that you prepared from the beginning.^[cn]
9 With you is Wisdom, who knows your works
    and was present when you created the world.
She understands what is pleasing in your eyes
    and what is in conformity with your commandments.
¹⁰ “Send her forth from your holy heavens,
    and dispatch her from the throne of your glory,
so that she may labor at my side
    and I may learn what is pleasing to you.
¹¹ For she knows and understands all things,
    and with prudence she will guide me in my deeds
    and guard me with her splendor.
¹² Then will my works be acceptable to you,
    and I will judge your people uprightly
    and be worthy of the throne of my father.
¹³ “What person can have knowledge of the counsel of God,
    or who can discern what the will of the Lord is?
¹⁴ The reasonings of mortals are faulty
    and our reflections are unstable.
¹⁵ For a perishable body burdens the soul,
    and its earthly tent^[co] weighs down the mind filled with many cares.
¹⁶ With difficulty do we assess what is on earth,
    and that which is within our reach we discover only after arduous labor;
    who then can seek out the things of heaven?
¹⁷ Who could ever have known your counsel if you had not given Wisdom
    and sent your Holy Spirit from on high?
¹⁸ And thus the paths of those on earth were straightened,
    and men were taught what pleases you
    and were saved by Wisdom.”

¹ Wisdom preserved the first-formed father of the world^[cr]
    when he alone had been created.
She delivered him from his transgression
²     and gave him the power to rule over all things.
³ But when the wicked man^[cs] forsook her in his wrath,
    he perished because of his fratricidal fury.
⁴ When a flood overwhelmed the earth because of him, Wisdom again saved it,
    steering the righteous man^[ct] to safety on a fragile piece of wood.

⁵ And when the nations were thrown into confusion after indulging in wicked conspiracy,
    Wisdom singled out the righteous man^[cu] and kept him blameless in God’s sight
    and steeled him in the face of his compassion for his son.
⁶ Wisdom rescued the righteous man^[cv] from the midst of the godless who were being destroyed,
    and he escaped the fire that rained down on the Five Cities.
⁷ As evidence of their wickedness,
    there still remains a smoldering waste,
    together with plants whose fruit never ripens;
and a pillar of salt stands
    as a memorial of an unbelieving soul.^[cw]
8 For by forsaking Wisdom
    they not only lost the ability to recognize what is good,
but also bequeathed to humanity a reminder of their folly
    so that their offenses might never be forgotten.

⁹ But Wisdom rescued from tribulations
    those who served her.
¹⁰ When the righteous man was fleeing from the anger of his brother,
    she steered him to straight paths.
She showed him the kingdom of God
    and bestowed upon him a knowledge of holy things.
She gave success to his labors
    and multiplied the fruit of his work.
¹¹ She aided him against the greed of his oppressors
    and made him a wealthy man.
¹² She protected him from his enemies
    and saved him from ambushers.
In his arduous struggle she brought him victory
    so that he might realize that piety^[cy] is more powerful than anything else.
¹³ When the righteous man^[cz] was sold, Wisdom did not desert him,
    but she delivered him from sin.
¹⁴ She descended with him into the dungeon,
    and she did not forsake him in his chains
until she had brought him a royal scepter
    and power over his adversaries.
She exposed the falsity of his accusers
    and bestowed on him everlasting glory.

¹⁵ It was Wisdom who delivered a holy people and blameless race
    from a nation of oppressors.
¹⁶ She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord^[db]
    and withstood dread kings with signs and wonders.
¹⁷ She gave the holy ones the recompense of their labors;^[dc]
    she guided them on a wondrous way,
becoming a shelter for them by day
    and a starry light throughout the night.
¹⁸ She brought them across the Red Sea
    and led them through the deep waters.
¹⁹ But she submerged their enemies
    and cast them up from the bottom of the deep.
²⁰ Therefore, the righteous despoiled the wicked;^[dd]
    they extolled your holy name, O Lord,
    and with one voice praised your protecting hand;
²¹ for Wisdom opened the mouths of the dumb
    and loosened the tongues of infants.^[de]

¹ Through the holy prophet, Wisdom^[df] gave them success in everything.
² They journeyed through an inhospitable wilderness
    and pitched their tents in untrodden wastes;
³     they stood firm against their enemies and turned back their foes.
⁴ When they were thirsty they cried out to you,
    and water was given to them out of unyielding rock,
    a refreshment for their thirst out of hard stone.^[dg]
5 The very means that had served to punish their enemies
    became a benefit for them in their need.^[dh]
6 Instead of the spring of an ever-flowing river^[di]
    befouled by blood mingled with water
⁷     as a rebuke for the decree to slaughter infants,
you gave them abundant water unexpectedly,
⁸     showing them by their thirst at that time
    how you punished their enemies.
⁹ For when they themselves were tested, although they were only chastised in mercy,
    they comprehended the torments of the godless who had been judged in anger.
¹⁰ You tested the former, admonishing them like a father,
    but the latter you sifted as a stern king does in condemnation.
¹¹ Whether far off or close by,^[dj] they were afflicted alike,
¹²     for a twofold grief seized them,
    and a groaning over the remembrances of the past.
¹³ When they heard that through their punishment the righteous had received benefits,
    they perceived the presence of the Lord.^[dk]
14 For the one whom long before they had cast out, exposed, and rejected^[dl] with scorn,
    they regarded with admiration at the end of the events,
    when they experienced thirst vastly different from that of the righteous.

¹⁵ In return for the foolish reasonings of their wickedness,
    which misled them into worshiping serpents bereft of reason and insects devoid of worth,
you sent as punishment upon them hordes of irrational creatures,^[do]
16     so that they might learn that the agents of one’s sin are the instruments of one’s punishment.^[dp]
17 For your all-powerful hand,
    which created the world out of formless matter,^[dq]
    had the wherewithal to send upon them a host of bears or savage lions,
¹⁸ or newly created, ferocious, unknown beasts
    either breathing fiery blasts
or belching forth thick smoke
    or flashing frightful sparks from their eyes.
¹⁹ These could not only destroy people by the harm they did
    but also strike them dead by their terrifying appearance alone.
²⁰ Even without these, a single breath would have sufficed to overcome them
    when pursued by justice
    and dispersed by your powerful spirit.
But you have ordered all things by measure, number, and weight.

²¹ For you always have the option to exert great strength,
    and who can withstand the might of your arm?
²² Indeed, before you, the whole world is like a speck that tips the scales,
    or like a drop of morning dew that falls on the ground.
²³ Yet you are merciful to all, for you can do all things,
    and you overlook men’s sins so that they may repent.
²⁴ For you love everything that exists
    and abhor nothing that you have created,
    since you would not have fashioned anything that you hated.^[dr]
25 How could anything have continued to exist unless you had willed it,
    or be preserved if it had not been called forth by you?
²⁶ You spare all things,
    for they are yours, O Lord, you who love souls.

¹ Your imperishable spirit permeates all things;
²     that is why, bit by bit, you correct those who err,
and you admonish them and call to mind the very things in which they go wrong,
    so that they may renounce their wickedness and believe in you, O Lord.

³ The ancient inhabitants of your holy land
⁴     you despised for their loathsome practices:
their acts of sorcery and sacrilegious rites,
⁵     their merciless slaughter of children,
    and their cannibalistic feasting on human flesh and blood.^[dt]
Those initiates of secret rituals,
⁶     those parents who slaughtered defenseless children,
you willed to destroy by the hands of our ancestors,
⁷     so that the land cherished by you above all others
    might receive a worthy colony of children of God.
^{8     [du]}But even these, since they were men, you spared,
    and you sent wasps as forerunners of your army
    to exterminate them little by little.
⁹ It was well within your power to have the godless vanquished in battle by the righteous
    or to destroy them in an instant by savage beasts or by one stern word.
¹⁰ But by carrying out your sentence in stages,
    you gave them the chance to repent.
You were well aware that they came from an evil stock,
    and that their wickedness was innate,
and that their way of thinking would never change,
¹¹     for they were an accursed race from the beginning.

Again, it was not because of fear of anyone
    that you allowed their sins to go unpunished.
¹² For who can say to you: “What have you done?”
    or who can challenge your judgment?
Who can bring accusation against you
    when the nations you have created are destroyed?
Or who can come into your presence
    as the defender of the wicked?
¹³ For there is no other god besides you, who show concern for the wellbeing of all people,
    to whom you must prove that you have not been unjust in your judgments.
¹⁴ Nor can any king or ruler confront you in defense of those you have punished.
¹⁵ You are righteous, and you govern all things with righteousness,
    considering it not in keeping with your power
    to condemn anyone not deserving of punishment.
¹⁶ For your strength is the source of righteousness,
    and your universal dominion makes you gracious to all.^[dv]
17 You display your strength when people doubt the absolute degree of your power,
    and you rebuke any insolence shown by those who are aware of your might.
¹⁸ But even though your strength is unsurpassed, you show mercy in your judgment,
    and you govern us with great leniency,
    for you possess the power to act whenever you so choose.

¹⁹ By acting in this way you have taught your people
    that the righteous man must be kind to others,
and you have gifted your children with blessed hope
    because you grant them repentance for their sins.^[dx]
20 For if you have shown such great solicitude and indulgence
    in punishing the enemies of your children who deserved to die
    and have granted them time and opportunity to repudiate their wickedness,
²¹ with what attentiveness have you judged your children
    to whose ancestors you made such wonderful promises through oaths and covenants!
²² Hence, while you chastise us, you scourge our enemies ten thousand times more,
    so that we may recall your goodness when we judge,
    and when we are judged, we may hope for mercy.

²³ This is why against those who lived wicked lives of folly
    you used their own abominations to torment them.
²⁴ For they went far astray along the paths of error,
    accepting as gods the vilest and most despicable animals,
    being deluded like foolish infants.
²⁵ Therefore, as though they were children unable to reason,
    you imposed a sentence upon them to mock them.
²⁶ However, those who have paid no heed to the warning of mild rebukes
    will experience the full weight of God’s judgment.
²⁷ They were angered at their suffering,
    finding themselves punished because of those creatures they had regarded as gods.
But then they saw and recognized as the true God
    the one whom previously they had refused to know,
    and with this the very height of condemnation fell upon them.^[dz]

¹ For all men were inherently foolish^[ec] who remained in ignorance of God,
    and did not come to know him who is, even while observing the good things around them,
    nor recognize the artisan while studying his works.
² To their way of thinking, either fire or wind or the swift air,
    or the periphery of the stars, or tempestuous water,
    or the luminaries of heaven^[ed] were the gods that govern the world.
³ If they have been deluded by the beauty of these things into believing that these were gods,
    let them come to understand how far superior to these is their Lord,
    since he was the source of beauty that fashioned them.
⁴ And if they were astonished at their power and energy,
    let them realize from observing these things how much more powerful is he who made them.
⁵ For from the grandeur and the beauty of created things
    is derived a corresponding perception of the Creator.
⁶ Yet these people incur minimal blame,^[ee]
    for they may have gone astray
    while seeking God and eagerly desiring to find him.
⁷ For while diligently searching among his works,
    they are distracted by the beauty of these things.
⁸ But even so, they cannot be completely absolved of guilt.
⁹ For if they achieved a sufficient degree of knowledge to investigate the world,
    how did they fail to find its Lord more quickly?

¹⁰ But the truly wretched ones are those who place their hopes in dead things,^[ef]
    and give the title of gods to the work of human hands:
gold and silver skillfully fashioned,
    likenesses of animals,
    or useless stone sculpted by some ancient artisan.
^11 [eg]Consider, for example, a skilled woodworker who cuts down a suitable tree,
    carefully strips it of all its bark,
and then, with admirable artistry,
    produces some article suitable for daily use.
¹² The small pieces of wood left over from his work
    he burns so that he may cook his food and eat his fill.
¹³ However, left over among these remnants is a useless piece of wood,
    crooked and full of knots,
    which he puts aside to whittle at his leisure.
He carves it skillfully during his spare time,
    forming it into the likeness of a man,
    or makes it resemble some worthless animal,
¹⁴ giving it a coat of vermilion and covering its surface with red paint
    while smearing over every blemish in it.
¹⁵ Then he provides for it a suitable shrine
    and places it on the wall, fastening it there with nails.
¹⁶ In this way, he takes precautions so that it will not fall,
    since he realizes that it cannot help itself,
    for, being merely an image, it requires help.
¹⁷ But when he prays regarding his possessions or his marriage or his children,
    he feels no shame in addressing this lifeless object.
¹⁸ In asking for health he petitions something that is weak,
    and for life he entreats the dead;
for aid he prays to something totally inept,
    and for a prosperous journey he beseeches something that is unable to walk.
¹⁹ And for profits, work, and success in affairs,
    he asks the assistance of something whose hands are completely immobile.

¹ Again, someone preparing to embark on a voyage through turbulent waves
    invokes a piece of wood more frail than the ship that carries him.
² It was desire for profit that devised that vessel,
    and Wisdom was the shipwright that built it.^[eh]
3 However, O Father, your providence^[ei] guides it,
    since you have provided it with a pathway through the sea
    and with a safe passage through the waves,
⁴ indicating that you can save from every danger,
    so that even an inexperienced person can put out to sea.
⁵ It is your will that the works of your Wisdom should not be sterile;
    thus men entrust their lives even to the most fragile wood,
    and they safely reach land even after sailing through the waves on a raft.
⁶ For in the beginning, when arrogant giants were being destroyed,
    the hope of the world took refuge on a raft^[ej]
    and, guided by your hand, bequeathed to the world the seed of a new generation.
⁷ For blessed is the wood through which a righteous work is accomplished,^[ek]
8     but the idol made with hands is accursed, as is its maker—
    he for having made it, and it because, even though perishable, it was called a god.
⁹ Equally hateful to God are the godless man and his ungodliness;
¹⁰     the work and the artificer will both be punished.
¹¹ Therefore, a visitation will overtake even the idols of the nations
    because among the creatures of God they have become an abomination,
a scandal for human souls,
    and a pitfall for the feet of the foolish.

¹² The invention of idols marked the origin of immorality;
    their discovery corrupted human life.
¹³ They did not exist at the beginning,
    and they will not last forever.
¹⁴ They entered the world as a result of human vanity,
    and therefore a speedy demise has been planned for them.
¹⁵ A father overcome with grief at an untimely death
    had an image made of the child so quickly taken from him.
And he honored as a god what was formerly a corpse
    and handed on to his household the observance of sacrifices and ceremonies.
¹⁶ With the passing of time this impious custom became established and was observed as a law,
    and at the command of rulers graven images were worshiped.
¹⁷ When the subjects of a monarch lived at such a distance that they could not honor him in person,
    they would have a likeness made of their far-off ruler,
thereby possessing a visible image of the king they desired to honor,
    zealously in this way flattering the absent ruler as though he were present.^[em]
18 Even those who did not know the king
    were aroused to promote his worship by the ambition of the artisan
¹⁹ who, perhaps in his eagerness to please his ruler,
    used all his skill to depict him in the most favorable way;
²⁰ and the people, attracted by the beauty of his artistry,
    began to worship as a god someone whom they had previously honored as a man.
²¹ Thus, this became a snare for humankind,
    since people, whether victimized by misfortune or by tyranny,
    assigned to objects of stone and wood the name that belongs to no other.
²² Then it was not sufficient for them to have mistaken notions in their knowledge of God;
    for, even though they live in the midst of a great war of ignorance,
    they term such horrible evils peace.
²³ They engage in the ritual murders of children and in occult rites,
    and they hold frenzied orgies replete with unnatural ceremonies.
²⁴ They no longer cherish the purity of their lives and marriages,
    either treacherously murdering their neighbor or aggrieving him by committing adultery with his spouse.
²⁵ Chaos reigns supreme—blood and murder, theft and fraud,
    corruption, treachery, riot, perjury,
²⁶ destruction of the tranquillity of decent men, ingratitude,
    defilement of souls, sexual perversion,
    disorder in marriages, adultery, and debauchery.
²⁷ For the worship of nameless idols
    is the beginning, the source, and the end of every evil.
²⁸ Idolaters either become frenzied in their exultation or prophesy what is untrue,
    or live wicked lives or do not hesitate to commit perjury.
²⁹ Since they place their trust in lifeless idols,
    they have no fear of punishment in swearing false oaths.
^{30     [en]}But justice will overtake them on two counts:
    because in their devotion to idols they ignored God,
    and because in their contempt for holiness they deliberately committed perjury.
³¹ For it is not the power of the things by which men swear
    but the just punishment reserved for those who sin
    that always overtakes the transgression of the wicked.

¹ But you, our God, are good and faithful,
    slow to anger, and showing mercy in governing the universe.
² Even if we sin, we are yours, for we acknowledge your power;
    but we will not sin, for we know that we are yours.
³ To know you constitutes complete righteousness,
    and to know your power constitutes the root of immortality.^[ep]
4 We have not been led astray by the evil creations of human skill
    or by the barren toil of painters,
figures covered over with varied colors,
⁵     the sight of which arouses in fools
    a yearning for the lifeless form of a dead image.
⁶ Lovers of evil and deserving of similar yearnings
    are those who make such figures, those who desire them, and those who worship them.

⁷ A potter laboriously kneads the soft earth,
    molding each object for our use,
fashioning out of the same clay
    both the vessels that will serve noble purposes
    and those designed for a contrary use.
But what shall be the purpose of each object
    is determined by the potter.^[er]
8 With misspent effort he will mold a false god from the same clay;
    although he himself was made out of earth a short time before,
after a brief interval, he will return to that earth from which he was taken,
    when he is required to return on demand the life that was lent to him.
⁹ However, he is not concerned about death
    or that his span of life is brief;
rather he competes with artisans in gold and silver
    and emulates workers in bronze,
    and he takes pride in making models of false gods.
¹⁰ His heart is ashes, his hopes of less value than common dirt,
    and his life less worthy than clay,
¹¹ because he failed to recognize the one who fashioned him
    and breathed into him an active soul
    and infused into him a living spirit.
¹² Indeed, he considered this life of ours as an idle game,
    and our span of years as a market that will be a source of profit.
    “No matter how wicked the means,” he says, “one must make a living.”
¹³ For this man, more than all others, knows that he is committing sin,
    when from the same earthy materials he makes both fragile pots and idols.

¹⁴ But the most foolish of all, and infantile in their acts,
    are the enemies who enslaved your people.
¹⁵ For they regarded as gods all their heathen idols,
    although these cannot use their eyes to see
    or their nostrils to breathe the air.
Neither can they use their ears to hear
    or the fingers on their hands to touch;
    and their feet are useless for walking.
¹⁶ For it was a man who made them;
    they were fashioned by one whose very breath is on loan.
For no artisan can form a god to resemble himself;
¹⁷     since he is mortal, what he is able to form with his impious hands is dead.
Thus, he is superior to the objects of his worship,
    since he has the life that his idols never had.
^{18     [es]}And besides, they worship even the most loathsome animals,
    worse than all the others in their lack of intelligence,
¹⁹ and without the slightest hint of beauty that might make them seem desirable;
    they have been excluded both from the approval of God and from his blessing.^[et]

¹ Therefore, these idolaters were deservedly punished by creatures like these
    and tormented by swarms of vermin.
² But in contrast to this punishment, you treated your people with kindness,
    sending them quail to eat,
    a rare delicacy to satisfy their hunger.
³ Thus, the idolaters, repulsed by the sight of loathsome creatures^[ew] sent to plague them,
    lost their appetite even though suffering from hunger,
while your own people, after a short period of privation,
    partook with pleasure of rare delicacies.
⁴ For these idolaters necessarily had to be afflicted with inexorable want,
    sufficient to indicate to your people how their enemies were being tormented.

⁵ Even when the venomous rage of wild animals terrorized your people
    and they were perishing from the bites of wriggling serpents,
    your anger did not continue to the uttermost.
⁶ They were afflicted for a short time as a warning,
    and they were then given a symbol of salvation to remind them of the precepts of your law.^[ex]
7 For he who turned toward it was saved,
    not by what he beheld,
    but by you, the Savior of all.
⁸ And by such means also you convinced our enemies
    that it is you who deliver from every evil.
⁹ For they were slain from the bites of locusts and flies,
    and no remedy was devised to save their lives
    because their punishment by such creatures was well deserved.
¹⁰ However, not even the fangs of venomous snakes could overwhelm your people,
    for your mercy intervened to heal them.
¹¹ They were bitten so that they would be reminded of your decrees,
    and then they were quickly healed
so that they would not fall into profound forgetfulness
    and fail to respond to your kindness.
¹² For it was neither herb nor poultice that cured them
    but your all-healing word, O Lord.
¹³ For you have power over life and death,
    bringing people down to the gates of the netherworld and then back again;^[ey]
14 whereas, man may slay in malice,
    but he has no power to restore the breath of life
    or to set free the soul imprisoned by death.

¹⁵ However, from your hand it is impossible to escape.
¹⁶ For the godless who refused to acknowledge you
    were scourged by the might of your arm,
pursued by unusual rains and hailstorms and unrelenting downpours
    and devoured by fire.
¹⁷ And, defying all logic, in water, which quenches all things,
    the fire raged more fiercely than ever,
    for creation itself defends the righteous.
¹⁸ At one time the flames would die down
    so that they would not consume the creatures inflicted upon the wicked,
but that, seeing this, the latter might know
    that they were being pursued by the judgment of God.
¹⁹ At yet another time the flames would burn with far greater intensity, even in the water,
    to destroy the products of a sinful land.
²⁰ In contrast, you nourished your people with the food of angels,^[ez]
    and with no labor on their part, you supplied them with bread from heaven that was ready to eat,
    filled with every delight and pleasing to every taste.
²¹ The sustenance you offered manifested your kindly mercy to your children,
    for the bread that conformed to the desire of those who ate it
    was transformed to appeal to each one’s preference.
²² Snow and ice^[fa] withstood the fire and did not melt,
    so that they would realize that the harvesters of their enemies
were destroyed by a fire that blazed in the hail
    and flashed through the falling rain;
²³ whereas, that same fire even forgot its own strength
    so that the righteous might be fed.
²⁴ For creation, at the service of you, its maker,
    strains mightily to effect the punishment of the wicked,
    but relaxes for the benefit of those who trust in you.
²⁵ Therefore, at that time too, it was transformed in endless ways
    to serve your all-nourishing bounty,
    according to the desires of those in need,
²⁶ so that your beloved children, O Lord, might learn
    that it is not the various crops of the earth that nourish them,
    but it is your word that sustains those who trust in you.^[fb]
27 For whatever was not destroyed by fire^[fc]
    melted when merely warmed by a passing sunbeam,
²⁸ to instruct us that we must rise before the sun to offer thanks to you
    and must pray to you at the dawning of the day.
²⁹ For the hope of an ungrateful person will melt like the frost of winter
    and flow away like water no longer of any use.

¹ Great are your judgments and difficult to expound;
    for this reason obtuse souls were led into error.
² For when the wicked believed that they held your holy nation in their power,
    they themselves became prisoners of darkness, shackled by the endless night,
    confined under their own roofs, banished from eternal providence.
³ For those who believed that their secret sins were unnoticed
    behind a dark veil of forgetfulness
were scattered in fright and trembling,
    terrified by apparitions.
⁴ Not even the dark corners that sheltered them could offer them refuge from fear,
    for terrifying sounds echoed around them,
    and frightening, grim-faced apparitions appeared before their eyes.
⁵ No fire had sufficient intensity to provide them with light,
    nor was the blazing brilliance of the stars sufficient
    to illumine the somber night.
⁶ The only light their eyes perceived
    came from a terrifying, spontaneous blaze.^[fe]
And, when no longer seen, in their fright they regarded the darkness
    as preferable to that sight.
⁷ The illusions of their magic art were held up to ridicule,
    and their vaunted wisdom was laughed to scorn,
⁸ for they who had boasted of their power to drive out fears and disorders from sick souls
    were now themselves sick with dread that was ludicrous.
⁹ Even if there was nothing disturbing to frighten them,
    they were panic-stricken because of the crawling vermin and the hissing of snakes,
¹⁰ and, convulsed with terror, they perished,
    even refusing to look upon the air whose presence cannot be avoided.
¹¹ For wickedness is a cowardly trait that is condemned by its own testimony,
    and when confronted by conscience,^[ff] it tends to magnify difficulties.
¹² For fear is nothing but the rejection of the aids that are provided by reason;
¹³     and the less one expects from them,
    the more one prefers to remain ignorant of what is causing the torment.
¹⁴ And so, throughout that night, which was powerless over them,^[fg]
    and which descended upon them from the depths of the powerless netherworld,
    they all experienced the same sleep—
¹⁵ now tormented by monstrous apparitions,
    now incapacitated by their souls’ surrender—
    for sudden and unlooked-for fear had overcome them.
¹⁶ And so, whoever was there fell down
    and was confined in a prison that lacked bars.
¹⁷ For whether he was a farmer or a shepherd
    or a laborer toiling in the wilderness,
he was overtaken to suffer the inescapable fate,
^{18     [fh]}for a single chain of darkness bound all.
And whether it was merely the whistling wind,
    or the melodious sound of birds in the spreading branches,
or the steady rhythm of rushing water,
¹⁹     or the violent crash of cascading rocks,
or the unseen gallop of leaping animals,
    or the roaring of savage wild beasts,
or an echo reverberating from the hollow of the mountains,
    it immobilized them with fear.
²⁰ For the whole world was bathed in brilliant light
    and was at work without any hindrance.
²¹ But over them alone an oppressive darkness spread,
    a replica of the darkness that next awaited them;
    yet heavier than the darkness was the burden that they were to each other.

¹ But for your holy ones there shone a very great light.
Their enemies who heard their voices but did not see their forms
    considered them blessed because they had not also suffered.
² They were grateful that your holy ones had not done them any injury despite being previously wronged,
    and they asked forgiveness for having been their enemies.
³ Instead of darkness, you provided for your people a pillar of fire
    to guide them on their unfamiliar journey,
    and a gentle sun for their glorious pilgrimage.
⁴ But their enemies deserved to be denied light and to be incarcerated in darkness,
    for they had made prisoners of your children
    through whom the incorruptible light of your law was to be given to the world.^[fi]

⁵ After they had decided to slay the infants of your holy ones,
    and just a single boy^[fj] had been abandoned and rescued,
you in retribution carried off a multitude of their sons
    and destroyed them all in the raging waters.
⁶ That night had been made known beforehand^[fk] to our ancestors,
    so that, with accurate knowledge of the promises in which they had put their confidence,
    they could be of good heart.
⁷ Your people thus awaited
    the salvation of the righteous and the destruction of their enemies.
⁸ For you employed the same means to punish our adversaries
    as you did to glorify us when you called us to yourself.
⁹ For the holy children of good people were offering sacrifices in secret,
    and with one accord they agreed to keep the divine law,
so that your holy ones would share alike both blessings and dangers,
    after first chanting the praises of the ancestors.^[fl]
10 In response came the dissonant cry of their enemies,
    and the piteous lamentation for their children spread abroad.
¹¹ The slave received the same punishment as the master,
    and now commoner and king had to endure identical sufferings.
¹² And all alike, afflicted by the same form of death,
    had corpses too many to count.
For there were not enough who were left alive to bury the dead,
    since in a single instant their most precious offspring had been destroyed.
¹³ Formerly they had disbelieved everything as a result of their sorceries,
    but at the destruction of their firstborn they acknowledged this people to be the offspring of God.
^14 [fm]For when profound silence encompassed all things
    and the night was at midpoint in its swift course,
¹⁵ your all-powerful Word leapt from your royal throne in heaven
    like a relentless warrior into the midst of a land doomed to destruction.
¹⁶ Carrying the sharp sword of your inexorable decree,
    and touching the heavens while standing on earth,
    he filled the universe with death.
¹⁷ Immediately the godless were terrified by apparitions in terrible dreams,
    and unexpected fears attacked them.
¹⁸ Cast down to the ground half-dead, some here, others there,
    they revealed clearly why they were dying.
¹⁹ For the dreams that disturbed them had forewarned them of this
    so that they would not perish without knowing the reason for their suffering.
²⁰ Even the righteous were touched by the experience of death
    when large numbers of them were struck down by a plague in the wilderness.
But the wrath did not endure for long.
²¹ For a blameless man^[fn] hastened to be their champion,
    bearing the weapons of his ministry,
    prayer and propitiating incense;
and he withstood the wrath and put an end to the plague,
    thereby showing that he was indeed your servant.
²² He overcame the wrath
    neither by physical strength nor by force of arms;
rather, by his word he subdued the avenger,^[fo]
    calling to mind the oaths and the covenants given to our ancestors.
²³ For when the corpses were already piled up in heaps,
    he intervened and held back the wrath
    and cut off its way to the living.
²⁴ For the entire world was depicted on his full-length robe,^[fp]
    and the glorious names of our ancestors were carved on the four rows of stones,
    and your majesty was seen on the diadem upon his head.
²⁵ To these the destroyer yielded, for these he feared;
    a mere sampling of wrath was sufficient.

¹ But the godless were assailed to the very end by merciless anger,
    for God knew beforehand what they would do—
² that although they had agreed to let his people go
    and had hastened to send them forth,
    they would have a change of heart and pursue them.
³ For while they were still conducting their funeral rites
    and mourning at the tombs of their dead,
they made another rash decision
    and pursued as fugitives
    those whom they had entreated to leave and had sent away.
⁴ For the fate they deserved urged them on to this decision
    and made them forget what had already befallen them,
so that they might experience the full range of torments required to complete their punishment,
⁵     and so that your people might experience a glorious^[fr] journey
    while their enemies would meet an unusual death.
⁶ For the whole creation with its varied elements was fashioned anew^[fs]
    in compliance with your commands
    so that your children might be preserved safe and sound.
⁷ The cloud was seen to overshadow the camp,
    and dry land emerged where previously water had flowed.
In the midst of the Red Sea an unobstructed road appeared,
    a grassy plain arising out of the raging waves,
⁸ over which crossed the entire nation protected by your hand
    after beholding marvelous wonders.
⁹ For they frolicked about like horses
    and bounded about like lambs,
    praising you, O Lord, who delivered them.
¹⁰ For they still recalled the events of their exile,
    how instead of producing animals the land brought forth gnats,
    and instead of fish the river disgorged swarms of frogs.
¹¹ Later they were introduced to a new kind of bird
    when, moved by appetite, they demanded savory food,
¹²     and quail came up from the sea to satisfy them.

¹³ The punishments did not rain down on the sinners
    without previous warnings in the form of violent thunder.^[fu]
And they justly suffered for their wicked deeds,
    since they had exhibited such bitter hatred to strangers.
¹⁴ There had been others^[fv] who had refused to receive strangers who had come to them,
    but these had made slaves of their guests who were their benefactors.
¹⁵ There will indeed be punishment inflicted upon the former
    since they had offered a hostile reception to strangers.
¹⁶ But the latter, after first welcoming them with festive celebrations,
    afterward oppressed with terrible sufferings
    those who had already shared with them the same rights.
¹⁷ Therefore, they were also struck with blindness,^[fw]
    like the sinners at the door of the righteous man,
when, surrounded by yawning darkness,
    all of them had to grope their way to their own doorways.

¹⁸ A new arrangement of the elements occurred,
    just as the strings of a harp can produce varied rhythms
    while each note remains the same.
This can be clearly perceived
    from an observation of what took place.
¹⁹ Land animals^[fx] became water creatures,
    while creatures that swim migrated to dry land.
²⁰ Even in water, fire maintained its normal strength,
    and water forgot its fire-quenching nature.
²¹ Flames, by contrast, failed to consume the flesh
    of perishable animals that walked in their midst,
    nor did they melt the icelike composition of heavenly food so prone to liquefy.

²² In every way, O Lord, you have exalted and glorified your people;
    you have never failed to help them at any time and in every circumstance.

¹ All wisdom^[gd] derives from the Lord
    and remains with him forever.
² The sands of the sea, the drops of rain,
    and the days of eternity—who can count them?
³ The height of the sky, the breadth of the earth,
    the depth of the abyss^[ge]—who can explore them?
⁴ Wisdom was created before all other things;
    and prudent understanding has existed from eternity.
[⁵ The fount of wisdom is God’s word in the highest heaven,
    and her ways are the eternal laws.]^[gf]
6 To whom has the root of wisdom been revealed?
    Who understands her subtleties?
[⁷ To whom has an understanding of wisdom been disclosed?
    And who has known her resourcefulness?]^[gg]
8 Only one is wise and greatly to be feared,
    seated upon his throne—the Lord.
⁹ He is the one who created her,^[gh]
    observed her, and recognized her value,
    and so poured her forth upon all his works,
¹⁰ upon all flesh as he chose,
    lavishing her upon those who love him.
^[gi][The love of the Lord is glorious wisdom;
    he apportions her to those to whom he appears, that they may see him.]

¹¹ The fear of the Lord is glory and exultation,
    happiness and a crown of joy.
¹² The fear of the Lord gladdens the heart,
    bestowing happiness and joy and a long life.
^[gk][The fear of the Lord is a gift from the Lord;
    also for love he makes firm paths.]
¹³ The one who fears the Lord will experience a happy end;
    he will be blessed on the day of his death.
¹⁴ The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord;
    she is created with the faithful in their mothers’ wombs.
¹⁵ She has made her home among men an age-old foundation,
    and among their descendants she will show her beneficence.
¹⁶ The fear of the Lord is the full measure of wisdom;
    she intoxicates people with her fruits.
¹⁷ She fills their homes with desirable goods
    and their storehouses with her fruits.
¹⁸ The crown of wisdom is the fear of the Lord
    as she bestows peace and perfect health.
^[gl][Both are gifts of the Lord for peace;
    glory opens out for those who love him.
    He saw her and recognized her value.]
¹⁹ The Lord has seen and appraised her,
    showering down knowledge and discerning understanding
    and heightening the glory of those who possess her.
²⁰ The root of wisdom is fear of the Lord,
    and her branches bring forth long life.
[²¹ The fear of the Lord takes away sin,
    and he who perseveres turns away all anger.]^[gm]

²² Unjustified anger can never be excused;
    anger will be the cause of a man’s downfall.
²³ A patient man endures difficulties for a time,
    and then he regains his sense of contentment.
²⁴ Until the appropriate moment he keeps his thoughts to himself,
    and then the lips of many affirm his wisdom.

²⁵ The treasuries of wisdom contain wise maxims,
    but the fear of God is an abomination to the sinner.
²⁶ If you desire wisdom, keep the commandments,
    and the Lord will lavish her upon you.^[gp]
27 For the fear of the Lord is wisdom and discipline,
    fidelity and humility are his delight.
²⁸ Do not disregard the fear of the Lord,
    or approach him with a divided heart.
²⁹ Do not act out a role before others;
    keep careful watch over your lips.
³⁰ Do not exalt yourself, lest you fall
    and bring dishonor upon yourself.
For then the Lord will reveal your secrets
    and overthrow you before the whole community,
since you did not practice the fear of the Lord
    and your heart was full of deceit.

¹ My child, when you come to serve the Lord,
    prepare yourself to endure trials.
² Be sincere of heart and steadfast,
    and do not be alarmed when confronted with adversity.
³ Cling to him and do not forsake him,
    so that your final days will be blessed.
⁴ Accept whatever befalls you,
    and be patient whenever you suffer humiliation.
⁵ For gold is tested in the fire,
    and worthy men in the furnace of humiliation.
    [In sickness and poverty, place your trust in him.]^[gr]
6 Trust him, and he will help you;
    follow a straight path and hope in him.^[gs]