Wisdom of Solomon 14:15-17

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹⁵ For a father, consumed with grief at an untimely bereavement,
made an image of his child, who had been suddenly taken from him;
he now honored as a god what was once a dead human being
and handed on to his dependents secret rites and initiations.^(A)
16 Then the ungodly custom, grown strong with time, was kept as a law,
and at the command of monarchs carved images were worshiped.^(B)
17 When people could not honor monarchs^[a] in their presence, since they lived at a distance,
they imagined their appearance far away
and made a visible image of the king whom they honored,
so that by their zeal they might flatter the absent one as though present.^(C)