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Wisdom 2
New Catholic Bible
Wisdom 2
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 2
1 These people said to themselves with deluded reasoning:
“Brief and burdensome is our life,
and there is no remedy when death summons,
nor has anyone been known to have returned[a] from the netherworld.
2 For we were born as the result of happenstance,
and afterward we shall be as though we had never existed.
The breath in our nostrils is merely a puff of smoke,
and our reason is a spark enkindled by the beating of our hearts.
3 Once it is extinguished, our body will turn to ashes,
and our spirit will melt away like empty air.
4 Our name will be forgotten with the passing of time,
and no one will remember our deeds.
Our life will pass away like the wisps of a cloud
and be scattered like mist
pursued by the rays of the sun
and overwhelmed by its heat.
5 For our lifetime is but a passing shadow,
and there is no way to recall our end
because it is sealed, and no one can bring it back.
A Challenge To Rejoice
6 “Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things of life,
and use creation fully, with youthful ardor.
7 Let us take our fill of expensive wine and perfumes
and allow no flower of spring to escape our notice;
8 let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither.[b]
9 Let none of us fail to share in our wanton doings;
let us leave traces of our revelry everywhere,
since this is our portion, this our lot.
Let Us Wait in Hiding for the Righteous Man[c]
10 “Let us oppress the righteous man who is in need;[d]
let us not spare the widow
or show respect for the venerable gray head of the aged.
11 Rather, let our might serve as the yardstick of justice,
for what is feeble has proved itself useless.
12 Let us wait in hiding for the righteous man,
for he inconveniences us and opposes our deeds.
He reproaches us for our sins against the law
and accuses us of failures in what we have been taught.
13 He claims to have knowledge of God
and refers to himself as a child of the Lord.
14 He has become for us a reproof to our manner of thinking,
and the very sight of him is a source of pain to us.
15 For his life is unlike that of others,
and his ways are just as different.[e]
16 He considers us to be counterfeit,
and he steers clear of our ways as unclean.
He proclaims the final end of the righteous as blessed,
and he boasts that God is his Father.
17 Let us see if what he says is true,
and let us probe what will happen at the conclusion of his life.
18 For if the righteous man is a child of God,[f] he will defend him
and deliver him from the power of his enemies.
19 Let us test him with insults and torments
so that we may be able to measure his gentleness
and ascertain the depths of his forbearance of evil.
20 Let us condemn him[g] to a shameful death,
since, according to his words, he will be protected.”
The Horrible Face of Death[h]
21 Such was their reasoning, but they were wrong,
for their own malice blinded them.
22 They did not discern the hidden plans of God,
or hope for the recompense of holiness
or recognize the reward destined for innocent souls.
23 For God created us to be immortal
and formed us in the image of his own nature.[i]
24 But as a result of the devil’s envy, death entered the world,
and those who follow him experience it.
Footnotes
- Wisdom 2:1 Known to have returned: another translation is: “known to have been delivered.” The author places on the lips of fools an entire philosophy of life: the little time allotted to humans on earth must be used in enjoyment because there is no hereafter. This theme is also found in Job 7:1-10; Ps 39:5-14; Lk 12:16-21; 1 Cor 15:32.
- Wisdom 2:8 Most Latin versions add: “let no meadow be free of our excesses.”
- Wisdom 2:10 The violence of those without a conscience crushes the righteous who entrust themselves to God. Already one seems to envisage the leader who hunts down Christ and all the poor that he represents. Yet, who is really the free person? Many even regard these verses as directly prophetic of Christ’s Passion (see Mt 27:41-44).
- Wisdom 2:10 The righteous man who is in need: the godless jeer that the righteous man is in need despite the promises of Scripture (see Tob 4:21; Pss 37:25; 112:3; Prov 3:9-10; 12:21).
- Wisdom 2:15 The author is here reproducing the opinion current in the world of his day that the Jewish people were set apart from all others by their belief and way of life.
- Wisdom 2:18 The righteous and the poor (vv. 10-12) bear the name of child of God, a title applied to the whole people of Israel (Ex 4:22-23; Hos 11:1), to the king and Messiah (2 Sam 7:14; Ps 2:7), and finally, to Christ (Heb 1:3-4; 12:3) and, by extension, to all Christians who live in him.
- Wisdom 2:20 Him: i.e., the faithful Jew who was mocked and persecuted for his faith. Christian tradition sees in this verse a foreshadowing of Christ’s Passion, the innocent One hated by his enemies (see Heb 12:3; see also Mt 27:43).
- Wisdom 2:21 A mysterious adversary (in the juridic sense: “accuser”) for human beings—called here the devil (diabolos: the word that, in the Septuagint, translates the Hebrew for Satan; see Job 1:6)—is at work; for the first time, he is presented as the tempter of human beings.
- Wisdom 2:23 Nature: other translations: “eternity” or “likeness.”
Wisdom 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Wisdom 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 2
1 For, not thinking rightly, they said among themselves:[a]
“Brief and troubled is our lifetime;(A)
there is no remedy for our dying,
nor is anyone known to have come back from Hades.
2 For by mere chance were we born,
and hereafter we shall be as though we had not been;
Because the breath in our nostrils is smoke,
and reason a spark from the beating of our hearts,
3 And when this is quenched, our body will be ashes
and our spirit will be poured abroad like empty air.(B)
4 Even our name will be forgotten in time,
and no one will recall our deeds.
So our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud,
and will be dispersed like a mist
Pursued by the sun’s rays
and overpowered by its heat.
5 For our lifetime is the passing of a shadow;
and our dying cannot be deferred
because it is fixed with a seal; and no one returns.(C)
6 Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are here,
and make use of creation with youthful zest.(D)
7 Let us have our fill of costly wine and perfumes,
and let no springtime blossom pass us by;
8 let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither.
9 Let no meadow be free from our wantonness;
everywhere let us leave tokens of our merriment,
for this is our portion, and this our lot.(E)
10 Let us oppress the righteous poor;
let us neither spare the widow
nor revere the aged for hair grown white with time.(F)
11 But let our strength be our norm of righteousness;
for weakness proves itself useless.
12 [b]Let us lie in wait for the righteous one, because he is annoying to us;
he opposes our actions,
Reproaches us for transgressions of the law[c]
and charges us with violations of our training.(G)
13 He professes to have knowledge of God
and styles himself a child of the Lord.(H)
14 To us he is the censure of our thoughts;
merely to see him is a hardship for us,(I)
15 Because his life is not like that of others,
and different are his ways.
16 He judges us debased;
he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure.
He calls blest the destiny of the righteous
and boasts that God is his Father.(J)
17 Let us see whether his words be true;
let us find out what will happen to him in the end.(K)
18 For if the righteous one is the son of God, God will help him
and deliver him from the hand of his foes.(L)
19 With violence and torture let us put him to the test
that we may have proof of his gentleness
and try his patience.
20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death;
for according to his own words, God will take care of him.”(M)
21 These were their thoughts, but they erred;
for their wickedness blinded them,(N)
22 [d]And they did not know the hidden counsels of God;
neither did they count on a recompense for holiness
nor discern the innocent souls’ reward.(O)
23 For God formed us to be imperishable;
the image of his own nature he made us.(P)
24 But by the envy[e] of the devil, death entered the world,
and they who are allied with him experience it.(Q)
Footnotes
- 2:1–20 In this speech the wicked deny survival after death and indeed invite death by their evil deeds.
- 2:12–5:23 From 2:12 to 5:23 the author draws heavily on Is 52–62, setting forth his teaching in a series of characters or types taken from Isaiah and embellished with additional details from other texts. The description of the “righteous one” in 2:12–20 seems to undergird the New Testament passion narrative.
- 2:12 Law: the law of Moses; “training” has the same meaning.
- 2:22 This verse announces the subject of the next section.
- 2:24 Envy: perhaps because Adam was in the image of God or because Adam had control over all creation. Devil: the first biblical text to equate the serpent of Gn 3 with the devil.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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