Wisdom 5

Wycliffe Bible

5 Then just men shall stand in great steadfastness against them that anguished them, and which took away their travails. [Then shall stand rightwise men in great steadfastness against them that anguished them, and that took away the travails of them.]

² They shall see (it), and shall be disturbed (or troubled) with horrible dread, and they shall wonder in the suddenty of their health (or of their deliverance) unhoped (for); [Seeing they shall be disturbed with horrible dread, and shall marvel in the suddenness of the unhoped (for) health,]

³ and they shall wail for anguish of spirit, and they shall say, doing penance within themselves, and wailing for the anguish of spirit, These men it be, which we had sometime into scorn, and into likeness of upbraiding. [wailing for anguish of spirit, saying, within themselves penance doing, and for anguish of spirit wailing, These be, whom we had sometime into scorn, and into likeness of reproof.]

⁴ We mad men guessed their life madness, and the end of them without honour; [We unwise esteemed the life of them madness, and the end of them without worship;]

⁵ how therefore be they reckoned among the sons of God, and their part is among (the) saints! [how then be they counted among the sons of God, and among saints the lot of them is?]

⁶ Therefore we erred from the way of truth, and the light of rightfulness [or of rightwiseness] shined not to us, and the sun of understanding rose not up to (or on) us.

⁷ We were made weary in the way of wickedness and of perdition; and we went hard ways. But we knew not the way of the Lord; [Weary we be in the way of wickedness, and of perdition; and we have gone hard ways. The way forsooth of the Lord we knew not;]

⁸ what profited pride to us, either what brought the boast of riches to us? [what profited to us pride, or boast of riches what gave it to us?] (what hath riches and all our boasting brought us?)

⁹ All those things passed as (a) shadow, and as a messenger before running. [All those things passed as shadow, and as a messenger running before.]

¹⁰ And as a ship, that passeth through the flowing water, of [the] which when it hath passed, it is not to find a step [or a step is not to find], neither the path of the bottom thereof in (the) waves.

¹¹ Either as a bird, that flyeth over in the air, of which no proof is found of the way thereof, but only the sound of wings beating (the) light wind, and carving the air by the might of (the) way, and with wings moved together it flew over, and after this no sign is found of the way thereof. [Or as a bird, that over-flyeth in the air, of the which none evidence is found of his way, but only the sound of wings beating the light wind, and cutting by force the air of the way, and together stirred the wings over-flyeth, and after that no sign is found of his way.]

¹² Either as an arrow shot out into a place ordained, the air is parted, and is closed again anon (or at once), (so) that the passing thereof be not known. [Or as an arrow sent out into the ordained place, the air divided continually is reclosed in it, that the passing of it be unknown.]

¹³ Right so we born ceased anon (or at once) to be, and soothly we might show no sign of virtue; but we were wasted in our malice. They that sinned, said such things in hell (or in the grave).

¹⁴ For the hope of a wicked man [or the unpious] is as the flower of a briar, [or (a) thistle-down], which is taken away of (or by) the wind, and as small froth [or foam] which is scattered abroad of (or by) a tempest, and as smoke which is spread abroad of (or by) (the) wind, and as the mind of a guest of one day, that passeth forth.

¹⁵ But just men shall live without end, and the meed of them is with the Lord; and the thought of them is with the Highest. [Rightwise men forsooth into without end shall live, and with the Lord is the mead of them; and the thought of them with the Highest.]

¹⁶ Therefore they shall take of (or from) the hand of the Lord the realm of fairness, and a diadem of comeliness; for he shall govern them with his right hand, and he shall defend them with his holy arm. [Therefore they shall take the realm of worship, and the diadem of fairness of (or from) the hand of the Lord; for with his right hand he shall cover them, and with his holy arm defend them.]

¹⁷ And his fervent love shall take armour, and he shall arm the creature to the vengeance of (his) enemies. [And the jealousy of him shall take armour, and arm creature to the venging of enemies.]

¹⁸ He shall clothe rightfulness for an habergeon (or a breastplate), and he shall take certain doom for a basinet (or a helmet); [He shall clothe for the breastplate rightwiseness, and he shall take for the helmet certain doom;]

¹⁹ he shall take a shield that may not be overcome, equity, either evenness; [he shall take the shield unquenchable equity;]

²⁰ forsooth he shall whet hard wrath into a spear, and the world shall fight with him against unwitty (or unwitting) men. [he shall sharpen forsooth hard wrath into a spear, and the roundness of (the) earth’s shall fight with him against the unwise.]

²¹ Straight sendings-out of lightnings shall go, and as the sides of a rainbow, when the bow of clouds is crooked, they shall be destroyed; and they shall skip into a certain place. [The sendings-out of lightnings shall go even right, and as at the teasing the bow of clouds bent, they shall be out-lawed; and to a certain place they shall leap in.]

²² And full hailstones shall be sent from a stony wrath, and the water of the sea shall wax white against them, and (the) floods shall run (al)together hard.

²³ The spirit of virtue shall stand against them, and as the whirling of wind it shall depart them; and the wickedness of them shall bring all the land to desert, and malice shall destroy the seats of mighty men. Wisdom is better than strengths (or strongholds), and a prudent man doeth more than a strong man [or Better is wisdom than strengths, and a man prudent more than a strong man].