Wisdom of Solomon 13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Foolishness of Nature Worship
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;(A)
2 but 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.(B)
3 If 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.(C)
4 And 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.(D)
5 For from the greatness and beauty of created things
comes a corresponding perception of their Creator.(E)
6 Yet these people are little to be blamed,
for perhaps they go astray
while seeking God and desiring to find him.(F)
7 For while they live among his works, they keep searching
and trust in what they see because the things that are seen are beautiful.(G)
8 Yet again, not even they are to be excused,(H)
9 for if they had the power to know so much
that they could investigate the world,
how did they not more quickly find the Lord of these things?
The Foolishness of Idolatry
10 But 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.(I)
11 A 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(J)
12 and burn the cast-off pieces of his work
to prepare his food and eat his fill.(K)
13 But 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;[b]
he forms it in the likeness of a human being
14 or 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;(L)
15 then he makes a suitable niche for it
and sets it in the wall and fastens it there with iron.(M)
16 He 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.(N)
17 When he prays about possessions and his marriage and children,
he is not ashamed to address a lifeless thing.(O)
For health he appeals to a thing that is weak;
18 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;(P)
19 for money-making and work and success with his hands,
he asks strength of a thing whose hands have no strength.
Wisdom 13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 13
Digression on False Worship
A. Nature Worship[a]
1 Foolish by nature were all who were in ignorance of God,
and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing the one who is,[b]
and from studying the works did not discern the artisan;(A)
2 Instead either fire, or wind, or the swift air,
or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water,
or the luminaries of heaven, the governors[c] of the world, they considered gods.(B)
3 Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods,
let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these;
for the original source of beauty fashioned them.(C)
4 Or if they were struck by their might and energy,
let them realize from these things how much more powerful is the one who made them.(D)
5 For from the greatness and the beauty of created things
their original author, by analogy, is seen.
6 But yet, for these the blame is less;[d]
For they have gone astray perhaps,
though they seek God and wish to find him.
7 For they search busily among his works,
but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair.
8 But again, not even these are pardonable.
9 For if they so far succeeded in knowledge
that they could speculate about the world,
how did they not more quickly find its Lord?
B. Idolatry[e]
10 But wretched are they, and in dead things are their hopes,
who termed gods things made by human hands:
Gold and silver, the product of art, and images of beasts,
or useless stone, the work of an ancient hand.(E)
The Carpenter and Wooden Idols
11 A carpenter may cut down a suitable tree(F)
and skillfully scrape off all its bark,
And deftly plying his art
produce something fit for daily use,(G)
12 And use the scraps from his handiwork
in preparing his food, and have his fill;
13 Then the good-for-nothing refuse from these remnants,
crooked wood grown full of knots,
he takes and carves to occupy his spare time.(H)
This wood he models with mindless skill,
and patterns it on the image of a human being
14 or makes it resemble some worthless beast.
When he has daubed it with red and crimsoned its surface with red stain,
and daubed over every blemish in it,(I)
15 He makes a fitting shrine for it
and puts it on the wall, fastening it with a nail.(J)
16 Thus he provides for it lest it fall down,
knowing that it cannot help itself;
for, truly, it is an image and needs help.(K)
17 But when he prays about his goods or marriage or children,(L)
he is not ashamed to address the thing without a soul.
For vigor he invokes the powerless;
18 for life he entreats the dead;
For aid he beseeches the wholly incompetent;
for travel, something that cannot even walk;
19 For profit in business and success with his hands
he asks power of a thing with hands utterly powerless.
Footnotes
- 13:1–9 The author holds a relatively benign view of the efforts of the philosophers to come to know God from various natural phenomena. This is not a question of proving the existence of God in scholastic style. The author thinks that the beauty and might of the world should have pointed by analogy (v. 5) to the Maker. Instead, those “in ignorance of God” remained fixed on the elements (v. 2, three named, along with the stars). His Greek counterparts are not totally blameless; they should have gone further and acknowledged the creator of nature’s wonders (vv. 4–5). Cf. Rom 1:18–23; Acts 17:27–28.
- 13:1 One who is: this follows the Greek translation of the sacred name for God in Hebrew; cf. Ex 3:14.
- 13:2 Governors: the sun and moon (cf. Gn 1:16).
- 13:6 The blame is less: the greater blame is incurred by those mentioned in v. 10; 15:14–16.
- 13:10–19 The second digression is an example of the polemic against idolatry (cf. Is 44:9–20; Jer 10:3–9; Ps 135:15–18). Whether the idols be of wood or clay, they were made by human beings and have become the source of evil.
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