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Wisdom 3
New Catholic Bible
Wisdom 3
New Catholic Bible
For the Righteous—Life Eternal[a]
Chapter 3
Their Hope Is Full of Immortality[b]
1 [c]But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and no torment can overtake them.
2 From the viewpoint of the foolish, they seemed to be dead,
and their passing away was reckoned as a misfortune,
3 and their departure from us as their ruin.
But they are at peace.[d]
4 Although in the eyes of others they were chastised,
their hope is full of immortality.
5 Having endured a slight chastisement, they will receive great blessings,
because God tested them
and found them worthy to be with him.[e]
6 He put them to the proof like gold in a furnace,
and he accepted them as a sacrificial burnt offering.[f]
7 In the time of their visitation[g] they will shine brightly
and spread like sparks among the stubble.
8 They will judge nations and have dominion over peoples,
and the Lord will be their King forever.
9 Those who trust in him will understand truth,
and the faithful will dwell with him in love,
because grace and mercy are reserved for his holy ones,
and he shows concern for his elect.
10 However, the godless will receive a punishment in accord with their reasoning,
for they had no concern for the righteous
and rebelled against the Lord.
11 Those who despise wisdom and discipline are wretched:
vain is their hope, unprofitable are their labors,
and worthless are their achievements.
12 Their wives are foolish and their children depraved;
their lineage is accursed.
Better Is Virtue than Offspring[h]
13 Blessed is the barren woman who is undefiled,
who has not experienced a sinful union;
she will bear fruit at the visitation of souls.
14 Blessed also is the eunuch whose hands have committed no iniquity
and who has never harbored any wicked thoughts against the Lord;
he shall receive a special grace for his faithfulness
and a more illustrious share in the temple of the Lord.
15 For the fruit of good works is glorious,
and the root of understanding is ever fruitful.
16 But the children of adulterers will never see maturity,
and the offspring of an unlawful union will disappear.
17 Even should they achieve a long life, they will be regarded as of no account,
and in the end their old age will be without honor.
18 But if they die young, they will have no hope,
nor any consolation on the day of judgment,
19 for the fate of a wicked generation is harsh.
Footnotes
- Wisdom 3:1 Longevity, posterity, and success—those grand realities in which the ancients strove to decipher the signs of divine recompense—are found to be valueless. The scale of values is reversed: true happiness is life with God, starting from the present and moving into an unimaginable eternity. The destiny of human beings is enlightened by a new day.
- Wisdom 3:1 Influenced by Greek thought, the author speaks of immortality, though still not arriving at the idea of a resurrection of the body.
- Wisdom 3:1 The Liturgy applies these verses to martyrs.
- Wisdom 3:3 Peace: this word here refers to a state without evil (see Job 3:17f; Isa 57:2) where there is security or happiness under God’s protection and in intimacy with him (see vv. 1, 9).
- Wisdom 3:5 Trials and sufferings purify the righteous (Tob 12:13; 2 Mac 6:12-17; 7:32-33; Pss 66:10; 119:75; Prov 3:11-12; 1 Cor 11:32; Heb 12:11).
- Wisdom 3:6 Sacrificial burnt offering: the allusion is to the sacrifice in which the victim was offered to God and completely consumed by fire to show total dedication to him (Lev 1:1ff).
- Wisdom 3:7 Visitation: a biblical term for an intervention of God (see Isa 10:3) that is used here to designate God’s judgment of the righteous (probably immediately after death). In Wis 14:11, it is used to designate the judgment of the wicked. See also verse 13.
- Wisdom 3:13 Up to this time, the entire hope of human beings lay in their children, who could perpetuate one’s name and memory; apart from this, death appeared as the inexorable abyss that swallowed up everything. Hence, sterility was regarded as a curse, and eunuchs were excluded from the community (Deut 23:2). The Book of Wisdom overturns principles that were profoundly anchored, as Jesus will also do by affirming the new and exceptional value of those who are celibate for the kingdom of God (Mt 19:11f). The prize of a good life is no longer a posterity, but a future life.
Wisdom 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Wisdom 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 3
The Hidden Counsels of God[a]
A. On Suffering[b]
1 The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,(A)
and no torment shall touch them.
2 They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
3 and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.(B)
4 For if to others, indeed, they seem punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
5 Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.(C)
6 As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings[c] he took them to himself.(D)
7 In the time of their judgment[d] they shall shine
and dart about as sparks through stubble;(E)
8 They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord shall be their King forever.(F)
9 Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,(G)
and his care is with the elect.
10 But the wicked shall receive a punishment to match their thoughts,[e]
since they neglected righteousness and forsook the Lord.
11 For those who despise wisdom and instruction are doomed.(H)
Vain is their hope, fruitless their labors,
and worthless their works.(I)
12 Their wives are foolish and their children wicked,
accursed their brood.(J)
B. On Childlessness[f]
13 Yes, blessed is she who, childless and undefiled,
never knew transgression of the marriage bed;
for she shall bear fruit at the judgment of souls.[g]
14 So also the eunuch whose hand wrought no misdeed,
who held no wicked thoughts against the Lord—
For he shall be given fidelity’s choice reward[h]
and a more gratifying heritage in the Lord’s temple.(K)
15 For the fruit of noble struggles is a glorious one;
and unfailing is the root of understanding.[i](L)
16 But the children of adulterers[j] will remain without issue,
and the progeny of an unlawful bed will disappear.(M)
17 For should they attain long life, they will be held in no esteem,
and dishonored will their old age be in the end;
18 Should they die abruptly, they will have no hope
nor comfort in the day of scrutiny;
19 for dire is the end of the wicked generation.(N)
Footnotes
- 3:1–4:19 The central section of chaps. 1–6. The author begins by stating that immortality is the reward of the righteous, and then in the light of that belief comments on three points of the traditional discussion of the problem of retribution (suffering, childlessness, early death) each of which was often seen as a divine punishment.
- 3:1–12 The author affirms that, for the righteous, sufferings are not punishments but purification and opportunities to show fidelity, whereas for the wicked suffering is truly a punishment.
- 3:6 Offerings: the image is that of the burnt offering, in which the victim is completely consumed by fire.
- 3:7 Judgment: the Greek episkopē is God’s loving judgment of those who have been faithful to him; the same word is used in 14:11 for the punishment of the wicked at God’s judgment. Cf. also v. 13.
- 3:10 To match their thoughts: a fate as empty as that which they describe in 2:1–5.
- 3:13–4:6 The true fruit of life is not children but virtue which leads to immortality. The many children of the wicked will be a disappointing fruit.
- 3:13 See vv. 7–9.
- 3:14 Fidelity’s choice reward: cf. Is 56:1–8. More gratifying: better than sons and daughters; cf. Is 56:5.
- 3:15 Root of understanding: the root that is understanding (wisdom).
- 3:16 Adulterers: understood here as a type of sinners in general; cf. Is 57:3–5.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.