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30 El premio de los buenos
es la vida misma,
y el premio de los sabios
es el aprecio de la gente.

31 Si aquí en la tierra
los buenos reciben su recompensa,
¡con más razón reciben su merecido
los malvados y los pecadores!

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30 The fruit of justice is a tree of life,
    and one who takes lives is a sage.[a]
31 If the just are recompensed on the earth,
    how much more the wicked and the sinner![b](A)

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Footnotes

  1. 11:30 Most translations emend Hebrew “wise person” in colon B on the basis of the Greek and Syriac translations to “violence” (similar in spelling), because the verb “to take a life” is a Hebrew idiom for “to kill” (as also in English). The emendation is unnecessary, however, for the saying deliberately plays on the odd meaning: the one who takes lives is not the violent but the wise person, for the wise have a profound influence upon life. There is a similar wordplay in 29:10.
  2. 11:31 The saying is not about life after death; “on the earth” means life in the present world. The meaning is that divine judgment is exercised on all human action, even the best. The thought should strike terror into the hearts of habitual wrongdoers.