Wisdom of Solomon

Name and Authorship

The Wisdom of Solomon is the title of the book in the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Jewish scriptures. In the Latin Vulgate it is simply called the Book of Wisdom. As in Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and parts of Proverbs, the implied speaker is King Solomon, renowned for the wisdom granted to him by God in answer to his prayer (1 Kings 3.8; Wis 9.8). But the name Solomon never appears in the book apart from the title. Already for Origen (ca. 185–254 ce) and Augustine (354–430 ce) Solomonic authorship was considered improbable. Nonetheless, several types of writing the author employs are identifiable, including Aristotelian genres and styles of writing such as protreptic (instruction or persuasion), epideictic (praise or blame), the encomium (praise), and synkrisis (comparison by juxtaposition). These features point to a Hellenistic-Jewish context.

The anonymous author was likely a well-educated Hellenized Jew associated with one of the synagogues in Alexandria during the Roman occupation of Egypt (ca. 30 bce–40 ce). The book was meant to bolster the faith, especially of young Jews who felt pressure from the culture of Hellenism and the power of Rome, and who were discouraged by their limited possibilities to thrive in an increasingly antagonistic culture. The ideas presented in the book would provide arguments for Jews to defend and articulate their faith to themselves and perhaps to their Greek and Egyptian neighbors.

Canonical Status

The main authoritative texts used in every section and argument of the book originate in the LXX translation of the Hebrew scriptures. Though the first part of the book (chs 1–6) displays effective use of Hebrew parallelism, the Wisdom of Solomon was originally written in Greek. Already Origen expressed uncertainty about its canonical status, a doubt emphasized by Jerome (ca. 340–420 ce) who preferred the shorter Hebrew canon of scripture. The main champion for its canonical status in the Christian canon was Augustine, who argued for its divine inspiration based on the venerable use of the book in the liturgy, especially in funeral rites: “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them” (3.1), a text often chosen for funeral readings even today because of its powerful expression of hope.

The book is canonical in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches but is considered one of the Apocrypha by Protestant churches. No manuscript of the Wisdom of Solomon has been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Structure and Interpretation

The book has three parts, each with a particularly focused argument:

1.1–6.21 Exhortation to love justice in order to avoid death and to gain immortality;

6.22–11.1 Praise of divine wisdom, which makes one friends with God;

11.2–19.22 The Exodus from Egypt and slavery, as an example of the providence of God.

Because of differences in style in the three parts of the book, a few scholars have proposed composite authorship. However, the Greek genres of protreptic and epideictic writing allow for different styles to be used in a single work. Moreover, the thread of the argument, which runs through all three sections of the book, makes an integrated line of reasoning for Jews to remain faithful to the law and the covenant against growing cultural and religious opposition in Alexandria.

In the first section the “two ways” of a life of justice and injustice are juxtaposed, as frequently in wisdom literature. The argument in favor of justice is developed metaphorically as a juridical trial scene (accusation, defense, counteraccusation, examination of the evidence, confession of guilt, judgment). Many of the images employed in this section originate from Isaiah 52–58 (the “suffering servant,” the barren woman, the eunuch, the just, divine judgment). The impious are accused of a life of injustice, which leads to death (ch 1). The imaginary voice of the impious defends a life of pleasure, power, and violence by attacking the hope of the righteous as vacuous (ch 2). Through a series of comparisons and contrasts the author constructs diptychs for the righteous and the impious where appearances and reality are evaluated to establish the final outcome in each case. The way of righteousness leads to immortality, whereas the path of injustice leads to death (chs 3–4). The clearest presentation of the belief in life after death in the Hebrew Bible occurs in the Wisdom of Solomon (ch 3). Dramatically confirming the author's reasoning, the impious—when they see the final state of life of the just one who suffered a tragic death at their hands—confess their wrongdoing and the emptiness of their own unjust project (5.1–14). Divine judgment follows: in an apocalyptic scene, the righteous will live in peace with God, whereas the impious are blown away to oblivion (5.15–23). The forces of God's creation in the cosmos are presented as coming to the help of the just and thwarting the designs of the impious, a theme that recurs in the second and third parts of the book. The final exhortation encourages kings and readers alike to desire wisdom in order to avoid the pitfalls of injustice and embrace a life of justice which brings immortality (6.1–21).

The second section describes the cosmos as pervaded by the wisdom of God, who created all things through divine providence, providing a positive view of the forces of creation. The wisdom of God enables humans to be practitioners of justice and therefore to receive the gift of immortality. Only here in the book does the speech turn to the first person (6.22). The speaker is the unnamed King Solomon who, upon coming to the throne as a young man, beseeches God for a discerning mind (1 Kings 3.8). As in Prov 8.22–30 and Sir 24, wisdom is personified as a woman whom Solomon desires to be his wife and teacher. In his prayer for wisdom, Solomon describes her as sitting beside the throne of God and having been present during the creation of the cosmos (ch 9). Since she knows intimately the realms of the divine and the cosmos, she can help humans become friends of God (7.27). This is the most Greek section of the book, where philosophical ideas and tropes appear, such as the four virtues of Plato and the literary device of aretalogy, which praises a deity's miraculous deeds. In praising wisdom, the author describes seven pairs of characters in which each pair has one who is saved by wisdom and another who perishes for lack of wisdom. Moving from Adam to Moses, the author covers the entire book of Genesis and concludes by introducing the main theme of the final section of the book, the Exodus from Egypt.

In the third section, events described in Exodus and Numbers illustrate how the providence of God comes to the help of the righteous. The Exodus from Egypt is the primary example. Comparison and contrast of the righteous Israelites and the impious Egyptians echoes the struggle between the just and the godless in the first part of the book. Although in the opening exhortation to justice the metaphorical trial provides a vision of a future eschatological judgment, the story of the Exodus shows how God came to the aid of the righteous in the past, demonstrating that the future judgment is not an illusory hope.

This treatment of biblical narrative constructs two novel viewpoints for understanding the significance of the ten plagues of Exodus. First, the author associates the nature of punishment with the nature of the sin (11.6) in five diptychs:

1. The godless drowned newborn infants in the Nile, and the Nile was turned to blood and became undrinkable (11.6–14); in turn God gives water in the desert;

2. The godless worshiped animals; in turn animals plague the godless (11.15–16.14);

3. The godless refused to recognize the true God of heaven and earth; in turn, the forces of heaven, rain and hail, destroy the crops of the godless (16.15–29);

4. The godless enslaved the righteous; in turn the godless are enslaved by darkness (17.1–18.4);

5. The godless killed infants in the river; in turn the firstborn of the godless are killed in the tenth plague (18.5–25), and the army of the godless is destroyed by the waters of the Red Sea (19.1–9).

The second perspective on the plagues shows how God used the very same forces of creation that punish the godless to come to the aid of the righteous (11.5,13). Seven contrasts of the plagues on the ungodly Egyptians with the blessings of the righteous Israelites are used to illustrate this point.

Plagues against the ungodly	Blessings for the righteous
11.6–14 undrinkable water	God gives water in desert
16.1–4 animals suppress the appetite	God gives quails to the righteous
16.5–14 animals kill	God gives a bronze serpent that saves
16.15–29 creation destroys by fire	God provides manna that resists burning
17.1–18.4 captivity by darkness	God provides a pillar of fire in the darkness
18.5–25 death of the firstborn	Aaron stops the angel of death
19.1–9 drowning in the sea	God's people journey on dry land

More generally, the story of the plagues allows the author to reflect on God's mercy and justice (11.17–12.27). Even the manner of punishments is meant to bring the unrighteous to conversion and to teach the righteous to be merciful in turn. A second theological reflection stems from the issue of false worship. The unrighteous worship of animals and idols leads to a critique of all forms of pantheism, idolatry, and animal worship (chs 13–15).

A significant shift of perspective in this third part of the book occurs almost imperceptibly. Throughout the second part, wisdom is described as the prime actor who helps the righteous (ch 10). In the historical reflection on the Exodus, however, God becomes the dramatic actor (chs 11–19). Wisdom is not an entity separate from God. Even in the second part, wisdom is presented as God's manner of sustaining the cosmos and engaging with human beings. Wisdom pervades the cosmos and makes humans friends with God and prophets (7.14,27). In the third part, which explores the significance of the plague narrative for the righteous, the cosmos, which is pervaded by wisdom, becomes a concrete example of God's providence. The very elements of the cosmos aid the righteous, even as they thwart the wicked. Finally, the third part exhibits a different style of writing from the first two. Here, for the first time, is direct speech to God (11.4). The final historical reflection on the Exodus turns into a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the marvelous ways in which God forever seeks to thwart the power of injustice and to bring life for the righteousness (19.22).

Michael Kolarcik

1

Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth,

think of the Lord in goodness

and seek him with sincerity of heart;

²because he is found by those who do not put him to the test,

and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him.

³For perverse thoughts separate people from God,

and when his power is tested, it exposes the foolish;

⁴because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul,

or dwell in a body enslaved to sin.

⁵For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit,

and will leave foolish thoughts behind,

and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness.

⁶For wisdom is a kindly spirit,

but will not free blasphemers from the guilt of their words;

because God is witness of their inmost feelings,

and a true observer of their hearts, and a hearer of their tongues.

⁷Because the spirit of the Lord has filled the world,

and that which holds all things together knows what is said,

⁸therefore those who utter unrighteous things will not escape notice,

and justice, when it punishes, will not pass them by.

⁹For inquiry will be made into the counsels of the ungodly,

and a report of their words will come to the Lord,

to convict them of their lawless deeds;

¹⁰because a jealous ear hears all things,

and the sound of grumbling does not go unheard.

¹¹Beware then of useless grumbling,

and keep your tongue from slander;

because no secret word is without result,^a

and a lying mouth destroys the soul.

¹²Do not invite death by the error of your life,

or bring on destruction by the works of your hands;

¹³because God did not make death,

and he does not delight in the death of the living.

¹⁴For he created all things so that they might exist;

the generative forces^b of the world are wholesome,

and there is no destructive poison in them,

and the dominion^c of Hades is not on earth.

¹⁵For righteousness is immortal.

¹⁶But the ungodly by their words and deeds summoned death;^d

considering him a friend, they pined away

and made a covenant with him,

because they are fit to belong to his company.

2

For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves,

“Short and sorrowful is our life,

and there is no remedy when a life comes to its end,

and no one has been known to return from Hades.

²For we were born by mere chance,

and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been,

for the breath in our nostrils is smoke,

and reason is a spark kindled by the beating of our hearts;

³when it is extinguished, the body will turn to ashes,

and the spirit will dissolve like empty air.

⁴Our name will be forgotten in time,

and no one will remember our works;

our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud,

and be scattered like mist

that is chased by the rays of the sun

and overcome by its heat.

⁵For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow,

and there is no return from our death,

because it is sealed up and no one turns back.

⁶“Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that exist,

and make use of the creation to the full as in youth.

⁷Let us take our fill of costly wine and perfumes,

and let no flower of spring pass us by.

⁸Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither.

⁹Let none of us fail to share in our revelry;

everywhere let us leave signs of enjoyment,

because this is our portion, and this our lot.

¹⁰Let us oppress the righteous poor man;

let us not spare the widow

or regard the gray hairs of the aged.

¹¹But let our might be our law of right,

for what is weak proves itself to be useless.

¹²“Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,

because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;

he reproaches us for sins against the law,

and accuses us of sins against our training.

¹³He professes to have knowledge of God,

and calls himself a child^a of the Lord.

¹⁴He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;

¹⁵the very sight of him is a burden to us,

because his manner of life is unlike that of others,

and his ways are strange.

¹⁶We are considered by him as something base,

and he avoids our ways as unclean;

he calls the last end of the righteous happy,

and boasts that God is his father.

¹⁷Let us see if his words are true,

and let us test what will happen at the end of his life;

¹⁸for if the righteous man is God's child, he will help him,

and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.

¹⁹Let us test him with insult and torture,

so that we may find out how gentle he is,

and make trial of his forbearance.

²⁰Let us condemn him to a shameful death,

for, according to what he says, he will be protected.”

²¹Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray,

for their wickedness blinded them,

²²and they did not know the secret purposes of God,

nor hoped for the wages of holiness,

nor discerned the prize for blameless souls;

²³for God created us for incorruption,

and made us in the image of his own eternity,^b

²⁴but through the devil's envy death entered the world,

and those who belong to his company experience it.

3

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,

and no torment will ever touch them.

²In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died,

and their departure was thought to be a disaster,

³and their going from us to be their destruction;

but they are at peace.

⁴For though in the sight of others they were punished,

their hope is full of immortality.

⁵Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,

because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;

⁶like gold in the furnace he tried them,

and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.

⁷In the time of their visitation they will shine forth,

and will run like sparks through the stubble.

⁸They will govern nations and rule over peoples,

and the Lord will reign over them forever.

⁹Those who trust in him will understand truth,

and the faithful will abide with him in love,

because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones,

and he watches over his elect.^a

¹⁰But the ungodly will be punished as their reasoning deserves,

those who disregarded the righteous^b

and rebelled against the Lord;

¹¹for those who despise wisdom and instruction are miserable.

Their hope is vain, their labors are unprofitable,

and their works are useless.

¹²Their wives are foolish, and their children evil;

¹³their offspring are accursed.

For blessed is the barren woman who is undefiled,

who has not entered into a sinful union;

she will have fruit when God examines souls.

¹⁴Blessed also is the eunuch whose hands have done no lawless deed,

and who has not devised wicked things against the Lord;

for special favor will be shown him for his faithfulness,

and a place of great delight in the temple of the Lord.

¹⁵For the fruit of good labors is renowned,

and the root of understanding does not fail.

¹⁶But children of adulterers will not come to maturity,

and the offspring of an unlawful union will perish.

¹⁷Even if they live long they will be held of no account,

and finally their old age will be without honor.

¹⁸If they die young, they will have no hope

and no consolation on the day of judgment.

¹⁹For the end of an unrighteous generation is grievous.

4

Better than this is childlessness with virtue,

for in the memory of virtue^a is immortality,

because it is known both by God and by mortals.

²When it is present, people imitate^b it,

and they long for it when it has gone;

throughout all time it marches, crowned in triumph,

victor in the contest for prizes that are undefiled.

³But the prolific brood of the ungodly will be of no use,

and none of their illegitimate seedlings will strike a deep root

or take a firm hold.

⁴For even if they put forth boughs for a while,

standing insecurely they will be shaken by the wind,

and by the violence of the winds they will be uprooted.

⁵The branches will be broken off before they come to maturity,

and their fruit will be useless,

not ripe enough to eat, and good for nothing.

⁶For children born of unlawful unions

are witnesses of evil against their parents when God examines them.^c

⁷But the righteous, though they die early, will be at rest.

⁸For old age is not honored for length of time,

or measured by number of years;

⁹but understanding is gray hair for anyone,

and a blameless life is ripe old age.

¹⁰There were some who pleased God and were loved by him,

and while living among sinners were taken up.

¹¹They were caught up so that evil might not change their understanding

or guile deceive their souls.

¹²For the fascination of wickedness obscures what is good,

and roving desire perverts the innocent mind.

¹³Being perfected in a short time, they fulfilled long years;

¹⁴for their souls were pleasing to the Lord,

therefore he took them quickly from the midst of wickedness.

¹⁵Yet the peoples saw and did not understand,

or take such a thing to heart,

that God's grace and mercy are with his elect,

and that he watches over his holy ones.

¹⁶The righteous who have died will condemn the ungodly who are living,

and youth that is quickly perfected^d will condemn the prolonged old age of the unrighteous.

¹⁷For they will see the end of the wise,

and will not understand what the Lord purposed for them,

and for what he kept them safe.

¹⁸The unrighteous^a will see, and will have contempt for them,

but the Lord will laugh them to scorn.

After this they will become dishonored corpses,

and an outrage among the dead forever;

¹⁹because he will dash them speechless to the ground,

and shake them from the foundations;

they will be left utterly dry and barren,

and they will suffer anguish,

and the memory of them will perish.

²⁰They will come with dread when their sins are reckoned up,

and their lawless deeds will convict them to their face.

5

Then the righteous will stand with great confidence

in the presence of those who have oppressed them

and those who make light of their labors.

²When the unrighteous^b see them, they will be shaken with dreadful fear,

and they will be amazed at the unexpected salvation of the righteous.

³They will speak to one another in repentance,

and in anguish of spirit they will groan, and say,

⁴“These are persons whom we once held in derision

and made a byword of reproach—fools that we were!

We thought that their lives were madness

and that their end was without honor.

⁵Why have they been numbered among the children of God?

And why is their lot among the saints?

⁶So it was we who strayed from the way of truth,

and the light of righteousness did not shine on us,

and the sun did not rise upon us.

⁷We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and destruction,

and we journeyed through trackless deserts,

but the way of the Lord we have not known.

⁸What has our arrogance profited us?

And what good has our boasted wealth brought us?

⁹“All those things have vanished like a shadow,

and like a rumor that passes by;

¹⁰like a ship that sails through the billowy water,

and when it has passed no trace can be found,

no track of its keel in the waves;

¹¹or as, when a bird flies through the air,

no evidence of its passage is found;

the light air, lashed by the beat of its pinions

and pierced by the force of its rushing flight,

is traversed by the movement of its wings,

and afterward no sign of its coming is found there;

¹²or as, when an arrow is shot at a target,

the air, thus divided, comes together at once,

so that no one knows its pathway.

¹³So we also, as soon as we were born, ceased to be,

and we had no sign of virtue to show,

but were consumed in our wickedness.”

¹⁴Because the hope of the ungodly is like thistledown^a carried by the wind,

and like a light frost^b driven away by a storm;

it is dispersed like smoke before the wind,

and it passes like the remembrance of a guest who stays but a day.

¹⁵But the righteous live forever,

and their reward is with the Lord;

the Most High takes care of them.

¹⁶Therefore they will receive a glorious crown

and a beautiful diadem from the hand of the Lord,

because with his right hand he will cover them,

and with his arm he will shield them.

¹⁷The Lord^c will take his zeal as his whole armor,

and will arm all creation to repel^d his enemies;

¹⁸he will put on righteousness as a breastplate,

and wear impartial justice as a helmet;

¹⁹he will take holiness as an invincible shield,

²⁰and sharpen stern wrath for a sword,

and creation will join with him to fight against his frenzied foes.

²¹Shafts of lightning will fly with true aim,

and will leap from the clouds to the target, as from a well-drawn bow,

²²and hailstones full of wrath will be hurled as from a catapult;

the water of the sea will rage against them,

and rivers will relentlessly overwhelm them;

²³a mighty wind will rise against them,

and like a tempest it will winnow them away.

Lawlessness will lay waste the whole earth,

and evildoing will overturn the thrones of rulers.

6

Listen therefore, O kings, and understand;

learn, O judges of the ends of the earth.

²Give ear, you that rule over multitudes,

and boast of many nations.

³For your dominion was given you from the Lord,

and your sovereignty from the Most High;

he will search out your works and inquire into your plans.

⁴Because as servants of his kingdom you did not rule rightly,

or keep the law,

or walk according to the purpose of God,

⁵he will come upon you terribly and swiftly,

because severe judgment falls on those in high places.

⁶For the lowliest may be pardoned in mercy,

but the mighty will be mightily tested.

⁷For the Lord of all will not stand in awe of anyone,

or show deference to greatness;

because he himself made both small and great,

and he takes thought for all alike.

⁸But a strict inquiry is in store for the mighty.

⁹To you then, O monarchs, my words are directed,

so that you may learn wisdom and not transgress.

¹⁰For they will be made holy who observe holy things in holiness,

and those who have been taught them will find a defense.

¹¹Therefore set your desire on my words;

long for them, and you will be instructed.

¹²Wisdom is radiant and unfading,

and she is easily discerned by those who love her,

and is found by those who seek her.

¹³She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.

¹⁴One who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty,

for she will be found sitting at the gate.

¹⁵To fix one's thought on her is perfect understanding,

and one who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care,

¹⁶because she goes about seeking those worthy of her,

and she graciously appears to them in their paths,

and meets them in every thought.

¹⁷The beginning of wisdom^a is the most sincere desire for instruction,

and concern for instruction is love of her,

¹⁸and love of her is the keeping of her laws,

and giving heed to her laws is assurance of immortality,

¹⁹and immortality brings one near to God;

²⁰so the desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom.

²¹Therefore if you delight in thrones and scepters, O monarchs over the peoples,

honor wisdom, so that you may reign forever.

²²I will tell you what wisdom is and how she came to be,

and I will hide no secrets from you,

but I will trace her course from the beginning of creation,

and make knowledge of her clear,

and I will not pass by the truth;

²³nor will I travel in the company of sickly envy,

for envy^b does not associate with wisdom.

²⁴The multitude of the wise is the salvation of the world,

and a sensible king is the stability of any people.

²⁵Therefore be instructed by my words, and you will profit.

7

I also am mortal, like everyone else,

a descendant of the first-formed child of earth;

and in the womb of a mother I was molded into flesh,

²within the period of ten months, compacted with blood,

from the seed of a man and the pleasure of marriage.

³And when I was born, I began to breathe the common air,

and fell upon the kindred earth;

my first sound was a cry, as is true of all.

⁴I was nursed with care in swaddling cloths.

⁵For no king has had a different beginning of existence;

⁶there is for all one entrance into life, and one way out.

⁷Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me;

I called on God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.

⁸I preferred her to scepters and thrones,

and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her.

⁹Neither did I liken to her any priceless gem,

because all gold is but a little sand in her sight,

and silver will be accounted as clay before her.

¹⁰I loved her more than health and beauty,

and I chose to have her rather than light,

because her radiance never ceases.

¹¹All good things came to me along with her,

and in her hands uncounted wealth.

¹²I rejoiced in them all, because wisdom leads them;

but I did not know that she was their mother.

¹³I learned without guile and I impart without grudging;

I do not hide her wealth,

¹⁴for it is an unfailing treasure for mortals;

those who get it obtain friendship with God,

commended for the gifts that come from instruction.

¹⁵May God grant me to speak with judgment,

and to have thoughts worthy of what I have received;

for he is the guide even of wisdom

and the corrector of the wise.

¹⁶For both we and our words are in his hand,

as are all understanding and skill in crafts.

¹⁷For it is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists,

to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements;

¹⁸the beginning and end and middle of times,

the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons,

¹⁹the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars,

²⁰the natures of animals and the tempers of wild animals,

the powers of spirits^a and the thoughts of human beings,

the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots;

²¹I learned both what is secret and what is manifest,

²²for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.

There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy,

unique, manifold, subtle,

mobile, clear, unpolluted,

distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen,

irresistible, ²³beneficent, humane,

steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,

all-powerful, overseeing all,

and penetrating through all spirits

that are intelligent, pure, and altogether subtle.

²⁴For wisdom is more mobile than any motion;

because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.

²⁵For she is a breath of the power of God,

and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;

therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.

²⁶For she is a reflection of eternal light,

a spotless mirror of the working of God,

and an image of his goodness.

²⁷Although she is but one, she can do all things,

and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;

in every generation she passes into holy souls

and makes them friends of God, and prophets;

²⁸for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.

²⁹She is more beautiful than the sun,

and excels every constellation of the stars.

Compared with the light she is found to be superior,

³⁰for it is succeeded by the night,

but against wisdom evil does not prevail.

8

She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other,

and she orders all things well.

²I loved her and sought her from my youth;

I desired to take her for my bride,

and became enamored of her beauty.

³She glorifies her noble birth by living with God,

and the Lord of all loves her.

⁴For she is an initiate in the knowledge of God,

and an associate in his works.

⁵If riches are a desirable possession in life,

what is richer than wisdom, the active cause of all things?

⁶And if understanding is effective,

who more than she is fashioner of what exists?

⁷And if anyone loves righteousness,

her labors are virtues;

for she teaches self-control and prudence,

justice and courage;

nothing in life is more profitable for mortals than these.

⁸And if anyone longs for wide experience,

she knows the things of old, and infers the things to come;

she understands turns of speech and the solutions of riddles;

she has foreknowledge of signs and wonders

and of the outcome of seasons and times.

⁹Therefore I determined to take her to live with me,

knowing that she would give me good counsel

and encouragement in cares and grief.

¹⁰Because of her I shall have glory among the multitudes

and honor in the presence of the elders, though I am young.

¹¹I shall be found keen in judgment,

and in the sight of rulers I shall be admired.

¹²When I am silent they will wait for me,

and when I speak they will give heed;

if I speak at greater length,

they will put their hands on their mouths.

¹³Because of her I shall have immortality,

and leave an everlasting remembrance to those who come after me.

¹⁴I shall govern peoples,

and nations will be subject to me;

¹⁵dread monarchs will be afraid of me when they hear of me;

among the people I shall show myself capable, and courageous in war.

¹⁶When I enter my house, I shall find rest with her;

for companionship with her has no bitterness,

and life with her has no pain, but gladness and joy.

¹⁷When I considered these things inwardly,

and pondered in my heart

that in kinship with wisdom there is immortality,

¹⁸and in friendship with her, pure delight,

and in the labors of her hands, unfailing wealth,

and in the experience of her company, understanding,

and renown in sharing her words,

I went about seeking how to get her for myself.

¹⁹As a child I was naturally gifted,

and a good soul fell to my lot;

²⁰or rather, being good, I entered an undefiled body.

²¹But I perceived that I would not possess wisdom unless God gave her to me—

and it was a mark of insight to know whose gift she was—

so I appealed to the Lord and implored him,

and with my whole heart I said:

9

“O God of my ancestors and Lord of mercy,

who have made all things by your word,

²and by your wisdom have formed humankind

to have dominion over the creatures you have made,

³and rule the world in holiness and righteousness,

and pronounce judgment in uprightness of soul,

⁴give me the wisdom that sits by your throne,

and do not reject me from among your servants.

⁵For I am your servant^a the son of your serving girl,

a man who is weak and short-lived,

with little understanding of judgment and laws;

⁶for even one who is perfect among human beings

will be regarded as nothing without the wisdom that comes from you.

⁷You have chosen me to be king of your people

and to be judge over your sons and daughters.

⁸You have given command to build a temple on your holy mountain,

and an altar in the city of your habitation,

a copy of the holy tent that you prepared from the beginning.

⁹With you is wisdom, she who knows your works

and was present when you made the world;

she understands what is pleasing in your sight

and what is right according to your commandments.

¹⁰Send her forth from the holy heavens,

and from the throne of your glory send her,

that she may labor at my side,

and that I may learn what is pleasing to you.

¹¹For she knows and understands all things,

and she will guide me wisely in my actions

and guard me with her glory.

¹²Then my works will be acceptable,

and I shall judge your people justly,

and shall be worthy of the throne^b of my father.

¹³For who can learn the counsel of God?

Or who can discern what the Lord wills?

¹⁴For the reasoning of mortals is worthless,

and our designs are likely to fail;

¹⁵for a perishable body weighs down the soul,

and this earthy tent burdens the thoughtful^c mind.

¹⁶We can hardly guess at what is on earth,

and what is at hand we find with labor;

but who has traced out what is in the heavens?

¹⁷Who has learned your counsel,

unless you have given wisdom

and sent your holy spirit from on high?

¹⁸And thus the paths of those on earth were set right,

and people were taught what pleases you,

and were saved by wisdom.”

10

Wisdom^d protected the first-formed father of the world, when he alone had been created;

she delivered him from his transgression,

²and gave him strength to rule all things.

³But when an unrighteous man departed from her in his anger,

he perished because in rage he killed his brother.

⁴When the earth was flooded because of him, wisdom again saved it,

steering the righteous man by a paltry piece of wood.

⁵Wisdom^a also, when the nations in wicked agreement had been put to confusion,

recognized the righteous man and preserved him blameless before God,

and kept him strong in the face of his compassion for his child.

⁶Wisdom^a rescued a righteous man when the ungodly were perishing;

he escaped the fire that descended on the Five Cities.^b

⁷Evidence of their wickedness still remains:

a continually smoking wasteland,

plants bearing fruit that does not ripen,

and a pillar of salt standing as a monument to an unbelieving soul.

⁸For because they passed wisdom by,

they not only were hindered from recognizing the good,

but also left for humankind a reminder of their folly,

so that their failures could never go unnoticed.

⁹Wisdom rescued from troubles those who served her.

¹⁰When a righteous man fled from his brother's wrath,

she guided him on straight paths;

she showed him the kingdom of God,

and gave him knowledge of holy things;

she prospered him in his labors,

and increased the fruit of his toil.

¹¹When his oppressors were covetous,

she stood by him and made him rich.

¹²She protected him from his enemies,

and kept him safe from those who lay in wait for him;

in his arduous contest she gave him the victory,

so that he might learn that godliness is more powerful than anything else.

¹³When a righteous man was sold, wisdom^c did not desert him,

but delivered him from sin.

She descended with him into the dungeon,

¹⁴and when he was in prison she did not leave him,

until she brought him the scepter of a kingdom

and authority over his masters.

Those who accused him she showed to be false,

and she gave him everlasting honor.

¹⁵A holy people and blameless race

wisdom delivered from a nation of oppressors.

¹⁶She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord,

and withstood dread kings with wonders and signs.

¹⁷She gave to holy people the reward of their labors;

she guided them along a marvelous way,

and became a shelter to them by day,

and a starry flame through the night.

¹⁸She brought them over the Red Sea,

and led them through deep waters;

¹⁹but she drowned their enemies,

and cast them up from the depth of the sea.

²⁰Therefore the righteous plundered the ungodly;

they sang hymns, O Lord, to your holy name,

and praised with one accord your defending hand;

²¹for wisdom opened the mouths of those who were mute,

and made the tongues of infants speak clearly.

11

Wisdom^a prospered their works by the hand of a holy prophet.

²They journeyed through an uninhabited wilderness,

and pitched their tents in untrodden places.

³They withstood their enemies and fought off their foes.

⁴When they were thirsty, they called upon you,

and water was given them out of flinty rock,

and from hard stone a remedy for their thirst.

⁵For through the very things by which their enemies were punished,

they themselves received benefit in their need.

⁶Instead of the fountain of an ever-flowing river,

stirred up and defiled with blood

⁷in rebuke for the decree to kill the infants,

you gave them abundant water unexpectedly,

⁸showing by their thirst at that time

how you punished their enemies.

⁹For when they were tried, though they were being disciplined in mercy,

they learned how the ungodly were tormented when judged in wrath.

¹⁰For you tested them as a parent^b does in warning,

but you examined the ungodly^c as a stern king does in condemnation.

¹¹Whether absent or present, they were equally distressed,

¹²for a twofold grief possessed them,

and a groaning at the memory of what had occurred.

¹³For when they heard that through their own punishments

the righteous^d had received benefit, they perceived it was the Lord's doing.

¹⁴For though they had mockingly rejected him who long before had been cast out and exposed,

at the end of the events they marveled at him,

when they felt thirst in a different way from the righteous.

¹⁵In return for their foolish and wicked thoughts,

which led them astray to worship irrational serpents and worthless animals,

you sent upon them a multitude of irrational creatures to punish them,

¹⁶so that they might learn that one is punished by the very things by which one sins.

¹⁷For your all-powerful hand,

which created the world out of formless matter,

did not lack the means to send upon them a multitude of bears, or bold lions,

¹⁸or newly-created unknown beasts full of rage,

or such as breathe out fiery breath,

or belch forth a thick pall of smoke,

or flash terrible sparks from their eyes;

¹⁹not only could the harm they did destroy people,^a

but the mere sight of them could kill by fright.

²⁰Even apart from these, people^b could fall at a single breath

when pursued by justice

and scattered by the breath of your power.

But you have arranged all things by measure and number and weight.

²¹For it is always in your power to show great strength,

and who can withstand the might of your arm?

²²Because the whole world before you is like a speck that tips the scales,

and like a drop of morning dew that falls on the ground.

²³But you are merciful to all, for you can do all things,

and you overlook people's sins, so that they may repent.

²⁴For you love all things that exist,

and detest none of the things that you have made,

for you would not have made anything if you had hated it.

²⁵How would anything have endured if you had not willed it?

Or how would anything not called forth by you have been preserved?

²⁶You spare all things, for they are yours, O Lord, you who love the living.

12

For your immortal spirit is in all things.

²Therefore you correct little by little those who trespass,

and you remind and warn them of the things through which they sin,

so that they may be freed from wickedness and put their trust in you, O Lord.

³Those who lived long ago in your holy land

⁴you hated for their detestable practices,

their works of sorcery and unholy rites,

⁵their merciless slaughter^c of children,

and their sacrificial feasting on human flesh and blood.

These initiates from the midst of a heathen cult,^d

⁶these parents who murder helpless lives,

you willed to destroy by the hands of our ancestors,

⁷so that the land most precious of all to you

might receive a worthy colony of the servants^a of God.

⁸But even these you spared, since they were but mortals,

and sent wasps^b as forerunners of your army

to destroy them little by little,

⁹though you were not unable to give the ungodly into the hands of the righteous in battle,

or to destroy them at one blow by dread wild animals or your stern word.

¹⁰But judging them little by little you gave them an opportunity to repent,

though you were not unaware that their origin^c was evil

and their wickedness inborn,

and that their way of thinking would never change.

¹¹For they were an accursed race from the beginning,

and it was not through fear of anyone that you left them unpunished for their sins.

¹²For who will say, “What have you done?”

or will resist your judgment?

Who will accuse you for the destruction of nations that you made?

Or who will come before you to plead as an advocate for the unrighteous?

¹³For neither is there any god besides you, whose care is for all people,^d

to whom you should prove that you have not judged unjustly;

¹⁴nor can any king or monarch confront you about those whom you have punished.

¹⁵You are righteous and you rule all things righteously,

deeming it alien to your power

to condemn anyone who does not deserve to be punished.

¹⁶For your strength is the source of righteousness,

and your sovereignty over all causes you to spare all.

¹⁷For you show your strength when people doubt the completeness of your power,

and you rebuke any insolence among those who know it.^e

¹⁸Although you are sovereign in strength, you judge with mildness,

and with great forbearance you govern us;

for you have power to act whenever you choose.

¹⁹Through such works you have taught your people

that the righteous must be kind,

and you have filled your children with good hope,

because you give repentance for sins.

²⁰For if you punished with such great care and indulgence^f

the enemies of your servants^a and those deserving of death,

granting them time and opportunity to give up their wickedness,

²¹with what strictness you have judged your children,

to whose ancestors you gave oaths and covenants full of good promises!

²²So while chastening us you scourge our enemies ten thousand times more,

so that, when we judge, we may meditate upon your goodness,

and when we are judged, we may expect mercy.

²³Therefore those who lived unrighteously, in a life of folly,

you tormented through their own abominations.

²⁴For they went far astray on the paths of error,

accepting as gods those animals that even their enemies^a despised;

they were deceived like foolish infants.

²⁵Therefore, as though to children who cannot reason,

you sent your judgment to mock them.

²⁶But those who have not heeded the warning of mild rebukes

will experience the deserved judgment of God.

²⁷For when in their suffering they became incensed

at those creatures that they had thought to be gods, being punished by means of them,

they saw and recognized as the true God the one whom they had before refused to know.

Therefore the utmost condemnation came upon them.

13

For all people who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature;

and they were unable from the good things that are seen to know the one who exists,

nor did they recognize the artisan while paying heed to his works;

²but they supposed that either fire or wind or swift air,

or the circle of the stars, or turbulent water,

or the luminaries of heaven were the gods that rule the world.

³If through delight in the beauty of these things people assumed them to be gods,

let them know how much better than these is their Lord,

for the author of beauty created them.

⁴And if people^a were amazed at their power and working,

let them perceive from them

how much more powerful is the one who formed them.

⁵For from the greatness and beauty of created things

comes a corresponding perception of their Creator.

⁶Yet these people are little to be blamed,

for perhaps they go astray

while seeking God and desiring to find him.

⁷For while they live among his works, they keep searching,

and they trust in what they see, because the things that are seen are beautiful.

⁸Yet again, not even they are to be excused;

⁹for if they had the power to know so much

that they could investigate the world,

how did they fail to find sooner the Lord of these things?

¹⁰But miserable, with their hopes set on dead things, are those

who give the name “gods” to the works of human hands,

gold and silver fashioned with skill,

and likenesses of animals,

or a useless stone, the work of an ancient hand.

¹¹A skilled woodcutter may saw down a tree easy to handle

and skillfully strip off all its bark,

and then with pleasing workmanship

make a useful vessel that serves life's needs,

¹²and burn the cast-off pieces of his work

to prepare his food, and eat his fill.

¹³But a cast-off piece from among them, useful for nothing,

a stick crooked and full of knots,

he takes and carves with care in his leisure,

and shapes it with skill gained in idleness;^a

he forms it in the likeness of a human being,

¹⁴or makes it like some worthless animal,

giving it a coat of red paint and coloring its surface red

and covering every blemish in it with paint;

¹⁵then he makes a suitable niche for it,

and sets it in the wall, and fastens it there with iron.

¹⁶He takes thought for it, so that it may not fall,

because he knows that it cannot help itself,

for it is only an image and has need of help.

¹⁷When he prays about possessions and his marriage and children,

he is not ashamed to address a lifeless thing.

¹⁸For health he appeals to a thing that is weak;

for life he prays to a thing that is dead;

for aid he entreats a thing that is utterly inexperienced;

for a prosperous journey, a thing that cannot take a step;

¹⁹for money-making and work and success with his hands

he asks strength of a thing whose hands have no strength.

14

Again, one preparing to sail and about to voyage over raging waves

calls upon a piece of wood more fragile than the ship that carries him.

²For it was desire for gain that planned that vessel,

and wisdom was the artisan who built it;

³but it is your providence, O Father, that steers its course,

because you have given it a path in the sea,

and a safe way through the waves,

⁴showing that you can save from every danger,

so that even a person who lacks skill may put to sea.

⁵It is your will that works of your wisdom should not be without effect;

therefore people trust their lives even to the smallest piece of wood,

and passing through the billows on a raft they come safely to land.

⁶For even in the beginning, when arrogant giants were perishing,

the hope of the world took refuge on a raft,

and guided by your hand left to the world the seed of a new generation.

⁷For blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes.

⁸But the idol made with hands is accursed, and so is the one who made it—

he for having made it, and the perishable thing because it was named a god.

⁹For equally hateful to God are the ungodly and their ungodliness;

¹⁰for what was done will be punished together with the one who did it.

¹¹Therefore there will be a visitation also upon the heathen idols,

because, though part of what God created, they became an abomination,

snares for human souls

and a trap for the feet of the foolish.

¹²For the idea of making idols was the beginning of fornication,

and the invention of them was the corruption of life;

¹³for they did not exist from the beginning,

nor will they last forever.

¹⁴For through human vanity they entered the world,

and therefore their speedy end has been planned.

¹⁵For a father, consumed with grief at an untimely bereavement,

made an image of his child, who had been suddenly taken from him;

he now honored as a god what was once a dead human being,

and handed on to his dependents secret rites and initiations.

¹⁶Then the ungodly custom, grown strong with time, was kept as a law,

and at the command of monarchs carved images were worshiped.

¹⁷When people could not honor monarchs^a in their presence, since they lived at a distance,

they imagined their appearance far away,

and made a visible image of the king whom they honored,

so that by their zeal they might flatter the absent one as though present.

¹⁸Then the ambition of the artisan impelled

even those who did not know the king to intensify their worship.

¹⁹For he, perhaps wishing to please his ruler,

skillfully forced the likeness to take more beautiful form,

²⁰and the multitude, attracted by the charm of his work,

now regarded as an object of worship the one whom shortly before they had honored as a human being.

²¹And this became a hidden trap for humankind,

because people, in bondage to misfortune or to royal authority,

bestowed on objects of stone or wood the name that ought not to be shared.

²²Then it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of God,

but though living in great strife due to ignorance,

they call such great evils peace.

²³For whether they kill children in their initiations, or celebrate secret mysteries,

or hold frenzied revels with strange customs,

²⁴they no longer keep either their lives or their marriages pure,

but they either treacherously kill one another, or grieve one another by adultery,

²⁵and all is a raging riot of blood and murder, theft and deceit, corruption, faithlessness, tumult, perjury,

²⁶confusion over what is good, forgetfulness of favors,

defiling of souls, sexual perversion,

disorder in marriages, adultery, and debauchery.

²⁷For the worship of idols not to be named

is the beginning and cause and end of every evil.

²⁸For their worshipers^a either rave in exultation,

or prophesy lies, or live unrighteously, or readily commit perjury;

²⁹for because they trust in lifeless idols

they swear wicked oaths and expect to suffer no harm.

³⁰But just penalties will overtake them on two counts:

because they thought wrongly about God in devoting themselves to idols,

and because in deceit they swore unrighteously through contempt for holiness.

³¹For it is not the power of the things by which people swear,^b

but the just penalty for those who sin,

that always pursues the transgression of the unrighteous.

15

But you, our God, are kind and true, patient, and ruling all things^c in mercy.

²For even if we sin we are yours, knowing your power;

but we will not sin, because we know that you acknowledge us as yours.

³For to know you is complete righteousness,

and to know your power is the root of immortality.

⁴For neither has the evil intent of human art misled us,

nor the fruitless toil of painters,

a figure stained with varied colors,

⁵whose appearance arouses yearning in fools,

so that they desire^d the lifeless form of a dead image.

⁶Lovers of evil things and fit for such objects of hope^e

are those who either make or desire or worship them.

⁷A potter kneads the soft earth

and laboriously molds each vessel for our service,

fashioning out of the same clay

both the vessels that serve clean uses

and those for contrary uses, making all alike;

but which shall be the use of each of them

the worker in clay decides.

⁸With misspent toil, these workers form a futile god from the same clay—

these mortals who were made of earth a short time before

and after a little while go to the earth from which all mortals are taken,

when the time comes to return the souls that were borrowed.

⁹But the workers are not concerned that mortals are destined to die

or that their life is brief,

but they compete with workers in gold and silver,

and imitate workers in copper;

and they count it a glorious thing to mold counterfeit gods.

¹⁰Their heart is ashes, their hope is cheaper than dirt,

and their lives are of less worth than clay,

¹¹because they failed to know the one who formed them

and inspired them with active souls

and breathed a living spirit into them.

¹²But they considered our existence an idle game,

and life a festival held for profit,

for they say one must get money however one can, even by base means.

¹³For these persons, more than all others, know that they sin

when they make from earthy matter fragile vessels and carved images.

¹⁴But most foolish, and more miserable than an infant,

are all the enemies who oppressed your people.

¹⁵For they thought that all their heathen idols were gods,

though these have neither the use of their eyes to see with,

nor nostrils with which to draw breath,

nor ears with which to hear,

nor fingers to feel with,

and their feet are of no use for walking.

¹⁶For a human being made them,

and one whose spirit is borrowed formed them;

for none can form gods that are like themselves.

¹⁷People are mortal, and what they make with lawless hands is dead;

for they are better than the objects they worship,

since^a they have life, but the idols^b never had.

¹⁸Moreover, they worship even the most hateful animals,

which are worse than all others when judged by their lack of intelligence;

¹⁹and even as animals they are not so beautiful in appearance that one would desire them,

but they have escaped both the praise of God and his blessing.

16

Therefore those people^c were deservedly punished through such creatures,

and were tormented by a multitude of animals.

²Instead of this punishment you showed kindness to your people,

and you prepared quails to eat,

a delicacy to satisfy the desire of appetite;

³in order that those people, when they desired food,

might lose the least remnant of appetite^d

because of the odious creatures sent to them,

while your people,^c after suffering want a short time,

might partake of delicacies.

⁴For it was necessary that upon those oppressors inescapable want should come,

while to these others it was merely shown how their enemies were being tormented.

⁵For when the terrible rage of wild animals came upon your people^e

and they were being destroyed by the bites of writhing serpents,

your wrath did not continue to the end;

⁶they were troubled for a little while as a warning,

and received a symbol of deliverance to remind them of your law's command.

⁷For the one who turned toward it was saved, not by the thing that was beheld,

but by you, the Savior of all.

⁸And by this also you convinced our enemies

that it is you who deliver from every evil.

⁹For they were killed by the bites of locusts and flies,

and no healing was found for them,

because they deserved to be punished by such things.

¹⁰But your children were not conquered even by the fangs of venomous serpents,

for your mercy came to their help and healed them.

¹¹To remind them of your oracles they were bitten,

and then were quickly delivered,

so that they would not fall into deep forgetfulness

and become unresponsive^a to your kindness.

¹²For neither herb nor poultice cured them,

but it was your word, O Lord, that heals all people.

¹³For you have power over life and death;

you lead mortals down to the gates of Hades and back again.

¹⁴A person in wickedness kills another,

but cannot bring back the departed spirit,

or set free the imprisoned soul.

¹⁵To escape from your hand is impossible;

¹⁶for the ungodly, refusing to know you,

were flogged by the strength of your arm,

pursued by unusual rains and hail and relentless storms,

and utterly consumed by fire.

¹⁷For—most incredible of all—in water, which quenches all things,

the fire had still greater effect,

for the universe defends the righteous.

¹⁸At one time the flame was restrained,

so that it might not consume the creatures sent against the ungodly,

but that seeing this they might know

that they were being pursued by the judgment of God;

¹⁹and at another time even in the midst of water it burned more intensely than fire,

to destroy the crops of the unrighteous land.

²⁰Instead of these things you gave your people food of angels,

and without their toil you supplied them from heaven with bread ready to eat,

providing every pleasure and suited to every taste.

²¹For your sustenance manifested your sweetness toward your children;

and the bread, ministering^b to the desire of the one who took it,

was changed to suit everyone's liking.

²²Snow and ice withstood fire without melting,

so that they might know that the crops of their enemies

were being destroyed by the fire that blazed in the hail

and flashed in the showers of rain;

²³whereas the fire,^c in order that the righteous might be fed,

even forgot its native power.

²⁴For creation, serving you who made it,

exerts itself to punish the unrighteous,

and in kindness relaxes on behalf of those who trust in you.

²⁵Therefore at that time also, changed into all forms,

it served your all-nourishing bounty,

according to the desire of those who had need,^a

²⁶so that your children, whom you loved, O Lord, might learn

that it is not the production of crops that feeds humankind

but that your word sustains those who trust in you.

²⁷For what was not destroyed by fire

was melted when simply warmed by a fleeting ray of the sun,

²⁸to make it known that one must rise before the sun to give you thanks,

and must pray to you at the dawning of the light;

²⁹for the hope of an ungrateful person will melt like wintry frost,

and flow away like waste water.

17

Great are your judgments and hard to describe;

therefore uninstructed souls have gone astray.

²For when lawless people supposed that they held the holy nation in their power,

they themselves lay as captives of darkness and prisoners of long night,

shut in under their roofs, exiles from eternal providence.

³For thinking that in their secret sins they were unobserved

behind a dark curtain of forgetfulness,

they were scattered, terribly^b alarmed,

and appalled by specters.

⁴For not even the inner chamber that held them protected them from fear,

but terrifying sounds rang out around them,

and dismal phantoms with gloomy faces appeared.

⁵And no power of fire was able to give light,

nor did the brilliant flames of the stars

avail to illumine that hateful night.

⁶Nothing was shining through to them

except a dreadful, self-kindled fire,

and in terror they deemed the things that they saw

to be worse than that unseen appearance.

⁷The delusions of their magic art lay humbled,

and their boasted wisdom was scornfully rebuked.

⁸For those who promised to drive off the fears and disorders of a sick soul

were sick themselves with ridiculous fear.

⁹For even if nothing disturbing frightened them,

yet, scared by the passing of wild animals and the hissing of snakes

¹⁰they perished in trembling fear,

refusing to look even at the air, though it nowhere could be avoided.

¹¹For wickedness is a cowardly thing, condemned by its own testimony;^c

distressed by conscience, it has always exaggerated^d the difficulties.

¹²For fear is nothing but a giving up of the helps that come from reason;

¹³and hope, defeated by this inward weakness,

prefers ignorance of what causes the torment.

¹⁴But throughout the night, which was really powerless

and which came upon them from the recesses of powerless Hades,

they all slept the same sleep,

¹⁵and now were driven by monstrous specters,

and now were paralyzed by their souls’ surrender;

for sudden and unexpected fear overwhelmed them.

¹⁶And whoever was there fell down,

and thus was kept shut up in a prison not made of iron;

¹⁷for whether they were farmers or shepherds

or workers who toiled in the wilderness,

they were seized, and endured the inescapable fate;

for with one chain of darkness they all were bound.

¹⁸Whether there came a whistling wind,

or a melodious sound of birds in widespreading branches,

or the rhythm of violently rushing water,

¹⁹or the harsh crash of rocks hurled down,

or the unseen running of leaping animals,

or the sound of the most savage roaring beasts,

or an echo thrown back from a hollow of the mountains,

it paralyzed them with terror.

²⁰For the whole world was illumined with brilliant light,

and went about its work unhindered,

²¹while over those people alone heavy night was spread,

an image of the darkness that was destined to receive them;

but still heavier than darkness were they to themselves.

18

But for your holy ones there was very great light.

Their enemies^a heard their voices but did not see their forms,

and counted them happy for not having suffered,

²and were thankful that your holy ones,^b though previously wronged, were doing them no injury;

and they begged their pardon for having been at variance with them.^b

³Therefore you provided a flaming pillar of fire

as a guide for your people's^c unknown journey,

and a harmless sun for their glorious wandering.

⁴For their enemies^d deserved to be deprived of light and imprisoned in darkness,

those who had kept your children imprisoned,

through whom the imperishable light of the law was to be given to the world.

⁵When they had resolved to kill the infants of your holy ones,

and one child had been abandoned and rescued,

you in punishment took away a multitude of their children;

and you destroyed them all together by a mighty flood.

⁶That night was made known beforehand to our ancestors,

so that they might rejoice in sure knowledge of the oaths in which they trusted.

⁷The deliverance of the righteous and the destruction of their enemies

were expected by your people.

⁸For by the same means by which you punished our enemies

you called us to yourself and glorified us.

⁹For in secret the holy children of good people offered sacrifices,

and with one accord agreed to the divine law,

so that the saints would share alike the same things,

both blessings and dangers;

and already they were singing the praises of the ancestors.^a

¹⁰But the discordant cry of their enemies echoed back,

and their piteous lament for their children was spread abroad.

¹¹The slave was punished with the same penalty as the master,

and the commoner suffered the same loss as the king;

¹²and they all together, by the one form^b of death,

had corpses too many to count.

For the living were not sufficient even to bury them,

since in one instant their most valued children had been destroyed.

¹³For though they had disbelieved everything because of their magic arts,

yet, when their firstborn were destroyed, they acknowledged your people to be God's child.

¹⁴For while gentle silence enveloped all things,

and night in its swift course was now half gone,

¹⁵your all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne,

into the midst of the land that was doomed,

a stern warrior

¹⁶carrying the sharp sword of your authentic command,

and stood and filled all things with death,

and touched heaven while standing on the earth.

¹⁷Then at once apparitions in dreadful dreams greatly troubled them,

and unexpected fears assailed them;

¹⁸and one here and another there, hurled down half dead,

made known why they were dying;

¹⁹for the dreams that disturbed them forewarned them of this,

so that they might not perish without knowing why they suffered.

²⁰The experience of death touched also the righteous,

and a plague came upon the multitude in the desert,

but the wrath did not long continue.

²¹For a blameless man was quick to act as their champion;

he brought forward the shield of his ministry,

prayer and propitiation by incense;

he withstood the anger and put an end to the disaster,

showing that he was your servant.

²²He conquered the wrath^c not by strength of body,

not by force of arms,

but by his word he subdued the avenger,

appealing to the oaths and covenants given to our ancestors.

²³For when the dead had already fallen on one another in heaps,

he intervened and held back the wrath,

and cut off its way to the living.

²⁴For on his long robe the whole world was depicted,

and the glories of the ancestors were engraved on the four rows of stones,

and your majesty was on the diadem upon his head.

²⁵To these the destroyer yielded, these he^a feared;

for merely to test the wrath was enough.

19

But the ungodly were assailed to the end by pitiless anger,

for God^b knew in advance even their future actions:

²how, though they themselves had permitted^c your people to depart

and hastily sent them out,

they would change their minds and pursue them.

³For while they were still engaged in mourning,

and were lamenting at the graves of their dead,

they reached another foolish decision,

and pursued as fugitives those whom they had begged and compelled to leave.

⁴For the fate they deserved drew them on to this end,

and made them forget what had happened,

in order that they might fill up the punishment that their torments still lacked,

⁵and that your people might experience^d an incredible journey,

but they themselves might meet a strange death.

⁶For the whole creation in its nature was fashioned anew,

complying with your commands,

so that your children^e might be kept unharmed.

⁷The cloud was seen overshadowing the camp,

and dry land emerging where water had stood before,

an unhindered way out of the Red Sea,

and a grassy plain out of the raging waves,

⁸where those protected by your hand passed through as one nation,

after gazing on marvelous wonders.

⁹For they ranged like horses,

and leaped like lambs,

praising you, O Lord, who delivered them.

¹⁰For they still recalled the events of their sojourn,

how instead of producing animals the earth brought forth gnats,

and instead of fish the river spewed out vast numbers of frogs.

¹¹Afterward they saw also a new kind^f of birds,

when desire led them to ask for luxurious food;

¹²for, to give them relief, quails came up from the sea.

¹³The punishments did not come upon the sinners

without prior signs in the violence of thunder,

for they justly suffered because of their wicked acts;

for they practiced a more bitter hatred of strangers.

¹⁴Others had refused to receive strangers when they came to them,

but these made slaves of guests who were their benefactors.

¹⁵And not only so—but, while punishment of some sort will come upon the former

for having received strangers with hostility,

¹⁶the latter, having first received them with festal celebrations,

afterward afflicted with terrible sufferings

those who had already shared the same rights.

¹⁷They were stricken also with loss of sight—

just as were those at the door of the righteous man—

when, surrounded by yawning darkness,

all of them tried to find the way through their own doors.

¹⁸For the elements changed^a places with one another,

as on a harp the notes vary the nature of the rhythm,

while each note remains the same.^b

This may be clearly inferred from the sight of what took place.

¹⁹For land animals were transformed into water creatures,

and creatures that swim moved over to the land.

²⁰Fire even in water retained its normal power,

and water forgot its fire-quenching nature.

²¹Flames, on the contrary, failed to consume

the flesh of perishable creatures that walked among them,

nor did they melt^c the crystalline, quick-melting kind of heavenly food.

²²For in everything, O Lord, you have exalted and glorified your people,

and you have not neglected to help them at all times and in all places.

1.1–6.21: Exhortation to love righteousness. This opening section embodies a complex argument for justice in an elegant concentric structure:

A. Address to judges: "love righteousness" (1.1–15)

B. The erroneous reasoning of the ungodly (1.16–2.24)

C. In defense of virtue and justice (3.1–4.20)

The just are in the hand of God (3.1–13a)

The moral strength of the virtuous (3.13b–4.6)

Tws youth (4.7–20)

B’. The confession of the ungodly and the final judgment (5.1–23)

A’. Address to kings: "learn wisdom" (6.1–21)

1.1–15: Exhortation to love righteousness. A series of oppositions form the basis of making a choice for justice. On one side are righteousness, the Lord, God, wisdom, a holy and disciplined spirit, a kindly spirit, and the spirit of the Lord (vv. 1–7). On the other side are perverse thoughts, a deceitful soul, foolish thoughts, unrighteousness, blasphemers, and death (vv. 3–13). These oppositions are a version of the doctrine of the two ways (e.g., Ps 1). 1: The book begins with the literary device of the apostrophe, a direct address to the hearers or readers, though the actual audience is the Hellenistic Jewish community, not their Gentile rulers. 7: Wisdom seems to be equated with the spirit of the Lord. 11: Tongue, the dangers of rash speech is a frequent topic in wisdom literature (e.g., Prov 2.12; 4.24; 10.11, 18–19, 31–32; Sir 9.18; 20.24–26; 28.12–26). 12: Death here is not simply the experience of mortality but rather a total annihilation and separation from God. 14: Hades, both the abode of the dead in Greek tradition, and the god who presides over the underworld.

1.16–2.24: The erroneous reasoning of the ungodly. In the style of the Greco-Roman diatribe, the author creates a fictional adversary, “the ungodly,” who embody the reasoning for injustice which the author will refute in subsequent texts. The section condenses arguments used to justify exploiting the weak. It apparently evokes the Epicurean insistence on materiality and enjoyment in life, but it is a fictional caricature of Epicurean thought, which also valued moderation. 1.16: Covenant with death (lit., “him”; see v.14n.), cf. Isa 28.15. 2.1–5: The negative judgment on life might be construed as imitating the descriptions of the brevity of human life elsewhere in the Bible (e.g., Pss 90.9–10; 102.3,11; Job 10.20; 14.1–2; Eccl 6.12), but an underlying despair about the valuelessness of life underscores a sinister judgment. 2.1: Hades, see 1.14n. 2.6–24: The ungodly move from the exhortation to enjoy life (vv. 6–9) to the counsel of exploiting their power over others (2.10–11), to opposing the righteous who are in conflict with their ideas (vv. 12–19), and finally with the counsel to brutally execute the just one who stood against them (v. 20). 10–20: These verses evoke the “suffering servant” of Isa 52.13-53.12; cf. especially vv. 19–20 and Isa 53.7–9. The term child (Gk “pais”) in vv. 13,18 can also be translated as “servant.” 21–24: The mistake in the reasoning of the ungodly is found in their opening judgment on the meaning of human life. God has created human beings not arbitrarily but for immortality. The devil's envy, likely a reference to the serpent in the garden of Eden (Gen 3).

3.1–4.20: In defense of virtue and justice. In three diptychs the author contrasts the reality of immortal life for the righteous with the mere appearance of power in the life of the ungodly.

3.1–13a: The first diptych: the just are in the hand of God. The first diptych counters the final judgment of the wicked against the just who are tested with a shameful death (2.12–20). Only from the perspective of the ungodly is the death of the virtuous considered a tragedy. In reality, they had been tested by God and found worthy (cf. Deut 8.2–5; Ps 17.3). 1: Souls, the author repeatedly emphasizes the primacy of the soul in constituting human identity (1.4,11; 2.22; 3.13; 4.14; 7.27; 8.10; 9.15; 10.16; 15.8,11). The hand of God alludes to the power of God. 4: Immortality rather than bodily resurrection reflects Greek influence (1.15; 2.23; 4.1; 6.18–19; 8.13,17; 12.1; 15.3; cf. 2 Esd 2.45; 7.13,96; 8.54; 4 Macc 9.22). 6: Like gold in the furnace, cf. Zech 13.9; Ps 66.10; Prov 17.3; Sir 2.5; like a sacrificial burnt offering, cf. Gen 8.21. 7–8: Shine forth … govern, in apocalyptic literature the glory of the virtuous is often described as starlike brilliance (e.g., Dan 12.3; Matt 13.43) and as rulership (e.g., Dan 7.27). 9: Grace and mercy, his elect, in Wisdom, the reward of immortality is fashioned more from the covenantal promises to Israel than from Greek philosophy. 10–13a: The connection between the way one sins and the way one is punished is a principle which will be applied in the plague narrative of the Exodus from Egypt (11.16; 12.23–27; 14.30–31). A similar relationship appears in several psalms of lament (e.g., Pss 7.15–16; 9.15; 35.8; 37.14–15; 141.10). Foolish wives and accursed offspring, these concluding images of judgment introduce the next diptych which contrasts the apparent lack of fruit of the virtuous with the apparent abundant fruit of the ungodly.

3.13b–4.6: The second diptych: the moral strength of the virtuous. This central diptych counters the argument of the ungodly, who declared their might to be their law of right and what is weak to be useless (2.10–11). 13b–15: Blessed is the barren woman.. the eunuch. The lack of children was often considered a grave misfortune if not a curse (cf. Gen 30.23; 1 Sam 1.4–8). The eunuch was barred from both the priesthood and the assembly of the Lord (cf. Lev 21.20; Deut 23.2). Wisdom overturns these judgments on the basis of virtue. The virtuous barren woman will have much fruit at the time of God's visitation (cf. Isa 54.1), and the eunuch who has avoided evil will have a place in the Temple (cf. Isa 56.3–4). 16–19: In contrast, children of adulterers will have a grievous end. The illicit gains of injustice are ephemeral (cf. Job 20). 4.1: Childlessness with virtue, cf. Sir 16.3; Prov 10.7. Memory, traditionally associated with blessing and transcendence of death (cf. 8.13; Ps 112.6: Prov 10.7; Sir 44.8–15; 2 Esd 12.47). 3-5: Cf. Sir 23.22–27. For the imagery, cf. Job 15.32–34; Ps 1.4–5; Ezek 17.9; 31.10–14; Dan 4.14.

4.7–20: The third diptych: early death of a virtuous youth. The final diptych counters the first argument of the ungodly (2.1–9). 7–10: The virtuous youth who dies early is better off than the ungodly who reach old age; cf. Isa 57.1–2. 11: They were caught up, an allusion to Enoch, taken up by God (Gen 5.24, cf. Sir 44.16; Heb 11.5). Gen. Rab. 25.1 claims that the purpose of Enoch's removal was to preserve his character. 12: Roving desire, see 15.5–6; Eccl 6.9; 11.9; Sir 18.30–19.3. 16–19: The righteous will condemn the ungodly, an allusion to Daniel, a holy youth who confounds the wicked elders and saves Susanna (Sus 45–62). 18: The Lord will laugh, cf. Ps 2.4; Prov 1.26. 18.b–19: For similar threats see Isa 13.6–16; 24.17–23; 66.24; Jer 15.7–9. 20: Their lawless deeds will convict them, a parallel to the conclusion of the second diptych in which the children of the ungodly witness against their parents (4.6).

5.1–14: The confession of the ungodly. The sudden unexpected appearance of the just before their oppressors elicits from the ungodly an admission of their folly; cf. Isa 52.13–53.12. The use of an imaginary monologue, here and in 2.1–20, is a device common in diatribe. 5: The children of God, the ungodly had mocked the claim of the just to be God's child (2.18). 6–14: Admission of guilt by the wicked. 6: The metaphor of path or way for conduct is common in wisdom literature (e.g., Job 22.15; Ps 1.1; Prov 4.14-19). 9–14: The ephemeral existence of the ungodly; cf. Job 20.4–29; Ps 1.4–5; 2 Esd 7.61; Jas 4.14. 10–11: A ship … a bird, cf. Prov 30.18–19.

5.15–23: The final judgment. In contrast to the ungodly whose life is dispersed into nothingness, the righteous live forever in the presence of the Lord. 16: Crown … diadem, the reward of the just is often depicted as royal; cf. Prov 4.9; Isa 28.5. 17–22: For the image of God taking zeal as armor see Isa 59.17–19, but that God will arm all creation (v. 20) is unusual; cf. Sir 39.28–31. Creation's collaboration with God will be a major theme in chs 11–19.

6.1–21 Address to kings: “learn wisdom.” This exhortation parallels the opening exhortation for rulers to love righteousness (1.1–15). Death is the result of injustice (1.16). The idea of rulers needing instruction in order to rule with justice is a familiar theme both in Greek philosophical treaties (e.g., Plato, The Republic; Plutarch, To an Uneducated Ruler) and in biblical texts; cf. 1 Kings 3.1–28, where King Solomon asks for a discerning mind in order to rule justly. 1: An apostrophe, see 1.1n. 3: Political authority is granted by God (cf. Prov 8.15–16; Jer 27.5–7; Dan 2.37–38; 4.17. 4–6: For God's judgment against the mighty, cf. 1 Sam 2.3–5; Job 34.24–30; Ps 2; Isa 2.11–17; Jer 25.15–29; Sir 10.8–18. 12–16: Wisdom is found by those who seek her, because she seeks out those who are worthy (v. 16, cf. Prov 8.17; Sir 6.27). The figure of Wisdom occurs frequently in late Israelite and early Jewish literature, especially Prov 1.20–33; 8; 9.1–6; Job 28.12–28; Sir 1.1–27; 4.11–19; 6.18–37; 14.20–15.10; 24; Bar 3.9–4.4. 17–20: The exhortation concludes with a literary form called a “sorites” in Greek, a logical chain-syllogism, which consists of a series of statements readily acceptable but leading to a surprise conclusion. Each statement picks up the last key element from the previous one. The surprise conclusion here is that the desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom. 21: This concluding exhortation to honor wisdom introduces the second major section of the book, which focuses primarily on the attributes of wisdom.

6.22–11.1: Praise of the wisdom of God.  

6.22–25: I will tell you, for the first time the author speaks in the first person and continues to do so through ch 9, promising to reveal to readers the mysteries of wisdom. 22: Beginning of creation, see Prov 8.22–31.

7.1–9.18: The implied author speaks in the persona of King Solomon and describes his life and search for wisdom.

7.1–8.21: The concentric framework of Solomon's narrative:

A. Birth and mortality of Solomon (7.1–6)

B. Wisdom is greater than any other good (7.7–12)

C. God knows wisdom and imparts knowledge (7.13–22a)

D. Eulogy of wisdom (7.22b–8.1)

C’. Solomon desires wisdom (8.2–9)

B’. Wisdom grants fame and success (8.10–16)

A’. As a child, Solomon recognizes that only God is the giver of wisdom (8.17–21).

7.1–6 : Solomon acknowledges his solidarity with all humanity and offers a hopeful project in life that is the antithesis to that of the ungodly (2.1–20). 2: Ten months, implying lunar months, for a gestation period of forty weeks; compacted with blood, cf. Job 10.10; Ps 139.13–16. 7–14: Based on 1 Kings 3.4–14; 2 Chr 1.6–12. 8–9: Priceless gem, cf. Job 28.12–19; Prov 2.4; 3.14–16. 12: She was their mother, cf. Prov 7.24; 8.32; Sir 15.2. 14: Friendship with God, cf. vv. 27–28; “friend of God” is one of the highest epithets that could be given to a person (Abraham, 2 Chr 20.7; Moses, Ex 33.11). 15–22a: Divine wisdom is associated not only with virtue but with all philosophical and scientific knowledge; cf. 1 Kings 4.29–34.

7.22b–8.1: Eulogy of wisdom, a presentation of the qualities of wisdom with two sets of lists. 7.22b–24 consists of twenty-one attributes (three sets of seven), mostly derived from Stoic philosophy highlighting the pervasiveness of wisdom in the cosmos. 7.25–8.1 includes a list of five metaphors, derived primarily from Greek philosophy, that illustrate the intimate relationship between God and wisdom: breath, emanation, reflection, mirror, image. 25: Breath, see 11.20; Sir 24.3. Emanation or effluence, cf. Cicero, The Nature of the Gods 2.79; Sir 1.9; 24.23–33. 26: Mirror, cf. 2 Cor 3.18; Philo, Quest. in Gen. 1.57. 27–28: Friends of God, see 7.14n. 7.29–8.1: For wisdom's excellence over the constellations and light itself, cf. 7.10,26.

8.2–16: The extended metaphor of Solomon pursuing wisdom to be his bride. The erotic metaphor for wisdom has a precedent in Prov 9.1–6; Sir 51.13–22. A more explicitly erotic version of Sir 51 occurs in 11QPs^a. Cf. also the relationship of God and Israel as husband and wife (Isa 62.4–5; Hos 2.14–23). 4: Associate in his works, cf. Prov 8.22–31. 5–9: Four conditional sentences highlight wisdom's superiority over common values to be pursued. 7: The values wisdom embodies include the four cardinal virtues: self-control, prudence, justice, courage; see Plato, Republic 443D–E, 444D). 13: I shall have immortality, cf. 3.4; 4.1; 6.18–19.

8.17–21: God is the giver of the gift of wisdom. 17: Immortality, see 8.13n. 18: Friendship, see 7.14n. 19–20: A good soul … or rather, being good, the preexistence of the soul championed in Greek thought is reflected here, but greater emphasis is placed on the moral disposition of the person. Cf. Philo, Giants 6–14; 2 En. 23.4–5. 21. Unless God gave her to me, cf. Sir 1.1.

9.1–18: Solomon prays to God for wisdom. The prayer builds on 1 Kings 3.6–9 and 2 Chr 1.8–10 where Solomon speaks with God in a dream and in a vision. It is composed in an elegant concentric structure:

A. Address to judges: “love righteousness” (1.1–15)

B. The erroneous reasoning of the ungodly (1.16–2.24)

C. In defense of virtue and justice (3.1–4.20)

The just are in the hand of God (3.1–13a)

The moral strength of the virtuous (3.13b–4.6)

The early death of a virtuous youth (4.7–20)

B’. The confession of the ungodly and the final judgment (5.1–23)

A’. Address to kings: “learn wisdom” (6.1–21)

1: By your word; cf. Gen 1.3, etc.; Sir 42.15. 2–3: Cf. Gen 1.28; 2.7. 4: By your throne, personified wisdom is intimately bound to God; cf. v. 10; Prov 8.27–30; Sir 24.4. 5–6: Solomon's weakness as a motive for his plea for wisdom; cf. 7.1–7; 14.17. 7–8: King … judge, cf. 1 Kings 1.28–40; 3.7; for his responsibility to build a temple, cf. 2 Sam 7.13; 1 Kings 5.19; Sir 47.13. On the earthly temple as a copy of the heavenly temple, see Heb 8.5. 9–11: Cf. Solomon's petition with wisdom's self-description in Prov 8.4–21,27–30. 12: My father, King David; 2 Sam 12.24. 13: Cf. Isa 40.12–14; Sir 1.2–6; Bar 3.29–31. 15–17: That the perishable body weighs down the soul was a common Greek notion (cf. Plato, Phaedr. 81C) and reiterates Solomon's acknowledgment of human weakness. The five rhetorical questions in vv. 13–17 emphasizing the limits of human knowledge and ability are all undone by the gift of God's wisdom and spirit. 18: Saved by wisdom, a perspective found here for the first time in scripture and developed in the following chapters (cf. Wis 10.4); normally God is the savior (cf. Ex 14.30; Deut 33.29; 1 Sam 17.37; 2 Chr 32.22). Although wisdom is the savior of the righteous ancestors in ch 10, God returns as the protagonist who saves Israel in the latter part of the book (cf. Wis 16.7).

10.1–11.1: Wisdom saves the righteous ancestors. As examples of wisdom's power to save, the author provides seven loose contrasts in which the righteous were saved through wisdom whereas the wicked perished for lack of wisdom. Names are not provided in order to engage the reader in identifying the various personages. 1–2: The first-formed father, Adam, is not called righteous, for he was saved by wisdom from his transgression; this does not exactly appear in Gen 2–3. 3: Cain (Gen 4.1–16). 4: The sin of Cain in killing his brother is named as the cause of the flood; cf. Gen 6.11. The righteous man, Noah; cf. Gen 6–9. 5: The nations … confusion, at the tower of Babel, Gen 11.1–9. The righteous man, Abraham, cf. Gen 15.6; compassion for his child, Isaac, Gen 22.1–19. 6: A righteous man, though in Gen 19 Lot is not presented in exemplary fashion, the author interprets the two angels who save him as the work of wisdom. The ungodly … the Five Cities, Sodom, Gomorrah, and the other cities of the Plain; Gen 19.1–29. 7: A pillar of salt, Lot's wife; Gen 19.26. 10–12: Jacob. Several events from Jacob's life are alluded to: flight from his brother Esau, Gen 27.41–45; Jacob's vision of the ladder at Bethel, the kingdom of God, Gen 28.10–17; Jacob's prosperity despite his oppressors, Laban and his sons, Gen 30.25–31.54; Jacob's wrestling with an angel in arduous contest at Peniel, Gen 32.22–32. 13–14: Joseph. Several events from Joseph's life are singled out from the lengthy narrative: being sold by his brothers, Gen 37.28; the unsuccessful seduction by Potiphar's wife (delivered from sin), Gen 39.6–20; being liberated from the prison, Gen 41.1–43; and Joseph's rise to power (scepter of a kingdom), Gen 41.37–57. 15–21: A holy people, Israel. A nation of oppressors, Egypt, when it oppressed the Israelites (Ex 1.8–14). The final contrast is more complex than the previous in that the righteous consists of the entire people of Israel and their singular leader, Moses. 16: Servant of the Lord, a frequent title for Moses (e.g., Ex 14.31; Num 12.7; Deut 34.5). 17: Shelter … starry flame, Ex 13.21–22. 18–19: The Red Sea, the only proper name mentioned in the book, Ex 14–15. 20: Plundered the ungodly, Ex 11.2; 12.35–36; sang hymns, Ex 15.1–21. 11.1: By the holy prophet, with this final reference to wisdom prospering the righteous through the hand of Moses, wisdom recedes into the background.

11.2–19.22: The Exodus and divine providence. Wisdom recedes into the background, while God is the protagonist who rewards the righteous and thwarts the godless. The proposition from the first part of the book, that God will “arm creation to repel his enemies” (5.17–23) is confirmed throughout this section. The section also exhibits the principle that the sins of the godless contain the seeds of their own punishment. Reflections on divine mercy and the source of idolatry are prominent themes. The entire reflection is ultimately folded into direct praise to God for the providential care of the just (10.20–21; 11.17–26; 19.22).

11.1–14: First contrast: plague of the Nile and water from the rock. 1: Holy prophet, Moses; cf. Deut 18:15; 34:10. 5–9: Through the very things, the inherent relationship between sin and punishment. The Egyptians drowned the Israelite infants in the Nile (11.7; cf. Ex 1.22) and were punished by the Nile becoming undrinkable (11.6; cf. Ex 7.14–24). In turn the Israelites received abundant water (Ex 17.1–7; Num 20.2–13). 8–10: The thirst of the righteous as divine pedagogy (cf. 3.3–7; Deut 8.2–5).

11.15–16.1–4: Second contrast: plague of irrational creatures versus the gift of quails. 11.15–16: Egyptian gods were often depicted with animal features; hence the plague of various animals (Ex 8.1–19; 9.1–7). Two theological reflections interrupt the contrast, which resumes in 16.1.

11.17–12.27: First theological reflection: the power and mercy of God. The reflection contrasts the manner in which God punishes: Egyptians are punished so that they repent (11.17–12.2), the Canaanites are punished moderately (12.3–18), the Israelites are punished mildly so that they learn to be merciful (12.19–22), and finally the Egyptians are punished so as to recognize the true God (12.23–27).

11.17–12.2: The moderation of God toward Egyptians. 17: Formless matter, a term borrowed from Greek philosophy (see Plato, Timaeus 50D-E); cf. the “formless void” of Gen 1.2). 20: Measure … number … weight, see Plato, Philebus 55E, Republic 602D. 12.1–2: Your immortal spirit is in all things, cf. 7.24–25; 15.11; Gen 2.7.

12.3–18: The moderation of God toward Canaanites, as an example of God's moderation toward sinners. 2: The purpose of punishment is rehabilitation; cf. 11.23. 4–8: Their detestable practices, see Lev 18.21–29; Deut 12.31; 18.10–12. 8: Wasps, see Ex 23.28; Deut 7.20; Josh 24.12. 13: Any god besides you, see Deut 32.39; Isa 44.6; cf. Ex 20.3.

12.19–22: Israel is to be merciful and to trust. 19: The manner of God's punishment of others and of Israel is a lesson to be emulated and grounds for hope.

12.23–27: The sins and punishments of Egypt. The very animals worshiped by the Egyptians became the instruments of the plagues; see 11.15–16n.; 15.18–19. 27: The true God, cf. Ex 12.31–32.

13.1–15.19: Second theological reflection: false worship. Three critiques: of philosophers who worship the natural world (13.1–9); of the worship of idols (13.10–15.13); of the enemies of Israel who worship both idols and odious animals (15.14–19).

13.1–9: The natural world. 1: Although Platonists considered the Supreme Being (the one who exists) as separate from the material creator, for Jews the Supreme Being is the same as the artisan of creation. 2–5: Fire, wind, air … luminaries … the elements of nature and the luminaries in the sky; see Deut 4.19; 17.3; 2 Kings 17.16; Job 31.26–28. 6–9: Worshipers of nature receive the least blame because they continue seeking God within the cosmos which is God's creation.

13.10–15.13: Polemic against idolatry. Idolatry is more blameworthy because idolaters worship human-made artifacts. For other critiques against idolatry see Pss 97.7; 115.3–8; 135.15–18; Isa 2.8–20; 40.18–20; 44.9–20; 45.16–20; 46.5–7; Jer 10.1–16; Hab 2.18; Bar 6.8–73. The criticism is simplistic, since no pagans regarded themselves as worshiping a piece of wood, stone, or metal. The satire is aimed at a Jewish audience and is similar to comments about idols in some Greco-Roman writers (Horace, Satires 1.8.1–7; Sophocles, according to Strom. 5.14.113.1–2).

13.10–19: The critique notes both the substance for the making of idols and the form into which they are made. 11: Cf. Isa 40.18–20; Jer 10.3–5. 17–19: Cf. Ps 115.3–8.

14.1–11: During travels on ship, safety comes from God and not from wooden idols. 2: Wisdom was the artisan, see 9.9–11. 3: Your providence, cf. 17.2; 4 Macc 9.24. O Father, cf. Isa 64.8. 6–7: Arrogant giants, see Gen 6.1–5; Sir 16.7; Bar 3.26–28. Took refuge on a raft, Noah's ark; blessed is the wood, referring to the ark. 11: Visitation, God's judgment upon the idols, cf. 3.7, Ex 12.12; Isa 2.18–20.

14.12–31: The origin and consequences of idolatry. The idea that human beings could be elevated to divine status occurs in Egypt and Mesopotamia and became common in the Greco-Roman world. 12: Fornication, a metaphor for worshiping other gods; see Jer 3.6–8; Ezek 16.15–43; Hos 4.11–19, cf. Ex 34.15–17. 15–21: Two examples provide the origins of idolatry: a statue in memory of a dead child (vv. 15–16) and of a king made as a representation for subjects in distant lands (vv. 17–21). 22–31: The consequences of idolatry are all sorts of vices. 23: Cf. 12.5; Lev 18.21. 25: See Hos 4.1–2. 31: The just penalty, cf. 11.16.

15.1–6: True worship of God brings righteousness and immortality. 1: The description of God's mercy alludes to Ex 34.6–7.

15.7–13: Clay idols. The critique is parallel to that of the carpenter (13.10–19). There is a progressive downgrade in the quality of all the substances used for idols: gold, silver, stone, wood, clay. 8: That souls were borrowed was a philosophical conception (cf. 15.16).

15.14–19: Enemies of Israel who worship idols and hateful animals. 14: Most foolish, the Egyptians who oppressed the Israelites (Ex 1.8–12). 18–19: Egyptian animal worship, see 11.15–16n. Romans, as well as Jews, criticized the practice, cf. Juvenal, Satire 15.1–11; Philo, Decalogue 76–80.

16.1–4: Second contrast resumes from 11.15–16. 1: Tormented, cf. 11.15 and Ex 8.1–15, the first plague of animals. Several of the plagues are combined for the second and third contrasts. 2–4: Instead … quails, the contrasting benefit to the righteous during the journey in the wilderness; cf. Num 11.31–34, where the Israelites’ demand for meat is criticized.

16.5–14. Third contrast: insects that kill versus the saving brazen serpent. 5: The third contrast uniquely begins with the suffering of the Israelites; see Num 21.5–6. 6: A symbol of deliverance, the serpent of bronze Moses was asked to make, Num 21.7–9. 9: In Ex 8.12–28 and 10.12–20 the Egyptians do not die from the insects, but Josephus (Ant 2.14.3) includes this detail. 12: Your word … heals all, the bronze serpent is not an idol, since it is God who heals, not the bronze object, cf. 16.7.

16.15–29: Fourth contrast: plague of storms versus the gift of manna. 16: The seventh plague was destruction by rains … hail … storms, and fire, Ex 9.22–26. 20: In contrast, the righteous received food of angels, the manna in the wilderness, see Ex 16.1–21; Num 11.6–9. The contrast emphasizes the forces of the universe which attack the ungodly but help the righteous, cf. 8.4–6; 16.17,24; 19.18–21. 21: To suit everyone's liking, a tradition reflected in b. Yoma 75a; Mekilta on Ex 16.23. 26: So that your children … might learn, cf. Deut 8.2–5.

17.1–18.4: Fifth contrast: plague of darkness versus a pillar of fire. The plague enslaves the unrighteous (Ex 10.21–23) because they had sinned by enslaving the Israelites. The description of terrors is reminiscent of the literary genre known as the “descent into Hades,” see Virgil, Aeneid 6. 17.7: The delusions of their magic art, see Ex 7.22; 8.7, 18–19; 9.11. 14: Hades, see 1.14n. 17.20–18.3: A brilliant light … a great light … a flaming pillar of fire, see Ex 13.21–22; cf. Num 9.15–16; Ps 78.14; 105.39. 18.4: The law was to be given to the world, see Isa 2.2–3; Mic 4.1–4; 2 Esd 7.20–24; 14.20–22.

18.5–25: Sixth contrast: destruction of children versus the blameless man who stops the destroyer. The death of the Egyptian firstborn is contrasted with the saving power of Aaron. 5: Wisdom connects Ex 1.15–22 with Ex 12.29–30; cf. Wis 11.6–14. One child, Moses. Flood, Ex 14.26–29. 9: The first Passover (Ex 12.1–28). 15: Your all-powerful word … a stern warrior, the destroyer in Ex 12.23 is the punishing side of God. If … leaped from heaven, from the royal throne is a reference to wisdom (cf. 9.10), this would be the only example of wisdom having a punishing role. 20: The experience of death by the righteous, cf. the punishment for rebellion in the wilderness in Num 16.23–35. 21–25: The blameless man, Aaron, who saves the Israelites in Num 16.41–50. 24: See Ex 28.15–28. On the symbolism of the high priest's vestments, see Josephus, Ant. 3.7.7; Philo, Moses 2.117–26.

19.1–12: Seventh contrast: the strange death versus the extraordinary deliverance at the Red Sea. The final contrast sets the drowning of Pharaoh's army against the deliverance of the Israelites (Ex 14.1–31). 3: Foolish decision, cf. Ex 14.5–9. 6–12: A recapitulation of several plagues and blessings highlighting the way the cosmos thwarts the unjust and helps the righteous. 6: The whole creation … fashioned anew, see 5.17–23; 16.24. 7: Cloud, Ex 13.21. 10–12: See 16.1–4; cf. Ex 8.1–19.

19.13–22. Final theological reflection: the debilitating consequences of injustice; the transforming power of the cosmos; concluding doxology praising God. 13–17: Hatred of strangers, a new argument is introduced to justify the punishments. Egypt had welcomed Joseph and the Israelites as guests whom they enslaved, see Gen 46–47; Ex 1; righteous man, Lot; see 10.6n. 18–21: The analogy of musical harmony is used to explain the transformative capacity of the cosmos; see Plato, Republic 7.12.530; Cicero, The Nature of the Gods 3.39.92. Three of the four elements of Greek philosophy are present—earth (land), water, and fire. Air is perhaps represented through music. 19: Land animals, water creatures, an unusual depiction of the Israelites passing through the sea, 20: Fire, cf. 16,17–23.

22:A final doxology praising God, reaches back to the righteous who sang hymns to God and praised God's defending hand, 10.20–21. The entire history of deliverance from Egypt is engulfed into a single voice of praise to God for thwarting injustice and helping righteousness.

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