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
Sapientia 1
Biblia Sacra Vulgata
1 Diligite justitiam, qui judicatis terram. Sentite de Domino in bonitate, et in simplicitate cordis quaerite illum:
2 quoniam invenitur ab his qui non tentant illum, apparet autem eis qui fidem habent in illum.
3 Perversae enim cogitationes separant a Deo; probata autem virtus corripit insipientes.
4 Quoniam in malevolam animam non introibit sapientia, nec habitabit in corpore subdito peccatis.
5 Spiritus enim sanctus disciplinae effugiet fictum, et auferet se a cogitationibus quae sunt sine intellectu, et corripietur a superveniente iniquitate.
6 Benignus est enim spiritus sapientiae, et non liberabit maledicum a labiis suis: quoniam renum illius testis est Deus, et cordis illius scrutator est verus, et linguae ejus auditor.
7 Quoniam spiritus Domini replevit orbem terrarum, et hoc quod continet omnia, scientiam habet vocis.
8 Propter hoc qui loquitur iniqua non potest latere, nec praeteriet illum corripiens judicium.
9 In cogitationibus enim impii interrogatio erit; sermonum autem illius auditio ad Deum veniet, ad correptionem iniquitatum illius.
10 Quoniam auris zeli audit omnia, et tumultus murmurationum non abscondetur.
11 Custodite ergo vos a murmuratione quae nihil prodest, et a detractione parcite linguae: quoniam sermo obscurus in vacuum non ibit, os autem quod mentitur occidit animam.
12 Nolite zelare mortem in errore vitae vestrae, neque acquiratis perditionem in operibus manuum vestrarum.
13 Quoniam Deus mortem non fecit, nec laetatur in perditione vivorum.
14 Creavit enim ut essent omnia, et sanabiles fecit nationes orbis terrarum: et non est in illis medicamentum exterminii, nec inferorum regnum in terra.
15 Justitia enim perpetua est, et immortalis.
16 Impii autem manibus et verbis accersierunt illam, et aestimantes illam amicam, defluxerunt; et sponsiones posuerunt ad illam, quoniam digni sunt qui sint ex parte illius.
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.