Wisdom - The Old Testament

¹ But the souls of the upright are in the hands of God, and no torment can touch them.

² To the unenlightened, they appeared to die, their departure was regarded as disaster,

³ their leaving us like annihilation; but they are at peace.

⁴ If, as it seemed to us, they suffered punishment, their hope was rich with immortality;

⁵ slight was their correction, great will their blessings be. God was putting them to the test and has proved them worthy to be with him;

⁶ he has tested them like gold in a furnace, and accepted them as a perfect burnt offering.

⁷ At their time of visitation, they will shine out; as sparks run through the stubble, so will they.

⁸ They will judge nations, rule over peoples, and the Lord will be their king for ever.

⁹ Those who trust in him will understand the truth, those who are faithful will live with him in love; for grace and mercy await his holy ones, and he intervenes on behalf of his chosen.

¹⁰ But the godless will be duly punished for their reasoning, for having neglected the upright and deserted the Lord.

¹¹ Yes, wretched are they who scorn wisdom and discipline: their hope is void, their toil unavailing, their achievements unprofitable;

¹² their wives are reckless, their children depraved, their descendants accursed.

¹³ Blessed the sterile woman if she be blameless, and has not known an unlawful bed, for she will have fruit at the visitation of souls.

¹⁴ Blessed, too, the eunuch whose hand commits no crime, and who harbours no resentment against the Lord: a special favour will be granted to him for his loyalty, a most desirable portion in the temple of the Lord.

¹⁵ For the fruit of honest labours is glorious, and the root of understanding does not decay.

¹⁶ But the children of adulterers will not reach maturity, the offspring of an unlawful bed will disappear.

¹⁷ Even if they live long, they will count for nothing, their old age will go unhonoured at the last;

¹⁸ while if they die early, they have neither hope nor comfort on the day of judgement,

¹⁹ for the end of a race of evil-doers is harsh.