Wisdom of Solomon 1
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Exhortation to Uprightness
1 Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth;
think of the Lord in goodness
and seek him with sincerity of heart,(A)
2 because he is found by those who do not put him to the test
and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him.(B)
3 For perverse thoughts separate people from God,
and when his power is tested, it exposes the foolish,(C)
4 because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul
or dwell in a body enslaved to sin.
5 For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit
and will leave foolish thoughts behind
and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness.(D)
6 For wisdom is a kindly spirit,
but it 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.(E)
7 Because the spirit of the Lord has filled the world
and that which holds all things together knows what is said,(F)
8 therefore those who utter unrighteous things will not escape notice,
and justice, when it punishes, will not pass them by.
9 For 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,
10 because a jealous ear hears all things,
and the sound of grumbling does not go unheard.(G)
11 Beware, 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.(H)
12 Do not court death by the error of your life
or bring on destruction by the works of your hands,(I)
13 because God did not make death,
and he does not delight in the destruction of the living.(J)
14 For 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.(K)
15 For righteousness is immortal.[d]
Life as the Ungodly See It
Wisdom 1
Common English Bible
Seek wisdom and justice
1 You who judge the earth, love what is right. Set your mind on the Lord in goodness. Seek him with a sincere heart.
2 Those who don’t put the Lord to the test will find him. He makes himself known to those who trust him. 3 Perverse reasoning separates people from God. His power exposes the foolish people who test him.
4 Wisdom will avoid a deceptive soul that plans evil. Wisdom won’t make her home in a body that is devoted to sin. 5 A holy, instructive spirit will flee deceit and leave when ignorant people start to plot. It is ashamed to be found in the presence of wrongdoing. 6 Wisdom is a spirit that wants only what is best for humans.
Wisdom won’t declare blasphemers to be innocent because their own words convict them. God is witness to their thoughts. Truth examines the heart and hears what is said. 7 The Lord’s Spirit fills the whole world. It holds everything together and knows what everyone says. 8 Therefore, those who utter unjust words don’t escape notice. Justice will expose them and not pass them by. 9 A proper inquiry will be made into the plots of ungodly people. News of their words will reach the Lord and make their lawless deeds known. 10 God’s ear listens intently to everything anyone says. Murmurings can’t be kept secret for long. 11 So guard against useless murmuring. Keep your tongue from speaking ill. Everything you say has some consequence, even if you think that you are speaking in private. A lying mouth destroys the soul.
12 Don’t seek death through the error of your ways. Don’t invite destruction on yourself by what you do. 13 God didn’t make death. God takes no delight in the ruin of anything that lives. 14 God created everything so that it might exist. The creative forces at work in the cosmos are life-giving. There is no destructive poison in them. The underworld[a] doesn’t rule on earth. 15 Doing what is right means living forever.
The deluded reasoning of unrighteous people
16 In spite of this, the ungodly called out to death by what they did and said. Thinking that death was their friend, they lost their resolve and made a treaty with death. Let them have each other: death and the ungodly belong together!
Footnotes
- Wisdom 1:14 Gk Hades
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible