Wisdom 2
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
2 For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves,
“Short and sorrowful is our life,
and there is no remedy when a life comes to its end,
and no one has been known to return from Hades.
2 For we were born by mere chance,
and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been,
for the breath in our nostrils is smoke,
and reason is a spark kindled by the beating of our hearts;
3 when it is extinguished, the body will turn to ashes,
and the spirit will dissolve like empty air.
4 Our name will be forgotten in time,
and no one will remember our works;
our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud,
and be scattered like mist
that is chased by the rays of the sun
and overcome by its heat.
5 For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow,
and there is no return from our death,
because it is sealed up and no one turns back.
6 “Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that exist,
and make use of the creation to the full as in youth.
7 Let us take our fill of costly wine and perfumes,
and let no flower of spring pass us by.
8 Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither.
9 Let none of us fail to share in our revelry;
everywhere let us leave signs of enjoyment,
because this is our portion, and this our lot.
10 Let us oppress the righteous poor man;
let us not spare the widow
or regard the gray hairs of the aged.
11 But let our might be our law of right,
for what is weak proves itself to be useless.
12 “Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,
because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;
he reproaches us for sins against the law,
and accuses us of sins against our training.
13 He professes to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a child[a] of the Lord.
14 He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;
15 the very sight of him is a burden to us,
because his manner of life is unlike that of others,
and his ways are strange.
16 We are considered by him as something base,
and he avoids our ways as unclean;
he calls the last end of the righteous happy,
and boasts that God is his father.
17 Let us see if his words are true,
and let us test what will happen at the end of his life;
18 for if the righteous man is God’s child, he will help him,
and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.
19 Let us test him with insult and torture,
so that we may find out how gentle he is,
and make trial of his forbearance.
20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death,
for, according to what he says, he will be protected.”
Error of the Wicked
21 Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray,
for their wickedness blinded them,
22 and they did not know the secret purposes of God,
nor hoped for the wages of holiness,
nor discerned the prize for blameless souls;
23 for God created us for incorruption,
and made us in the image of his own eternity,[b]
24 but through the devil’s envy death entered the world,
and those who belong to his company experience it.
Footnotes
- Wisdom 2:13 Or servant
- Wisdom 2:23 Other ancient authorities read nature
Wisdom 2
Good News Translation
Wicked Thinking
2 Wicked people are wrong when they say to themselves,
Our life is short and full of sorrow, and when its end comes, there is no escape. No one has ever been known to come back from the world of the dead. 2 We were born by chance, and after life is over, we will be as if we had never been born at all. Our breath is no more than a puff of smoke; our mind is nothing more than a spark thrown off by the beating of our heart. 3 When that spark dies, our body will crumble into ashes, and our breath will become part of the empty air. 4 In time, no one will remember anything we ever did, and even our names will be forgotten. Our lives will pass away like the traces of clouds and vanish like fog in the heat of the sun. 5 Our time on earth is like a passing shadow. There is no escape from the day of our death; it is fixed, and no one can postpone it.
6 (A)The wicked say,
Come on, then, let's enjoy the good things of life, and live in this world the way we did when we were young and free of care! 7 Let's drink the most expensive wines and use the finest perfumes. Let's not miss a single flower in the springtime! 8 Before the roses wither, let's pick them and wear them in our hair! 9 Let's all join in and leave signs everywhere of our carefree revelry! Life owes us that much!
10 We'll oppress the poor, even if they are righteous. We'll show no respect for widows or old people. 11 We'll call ourselves right if we are strong enough to get what we want. No one ever got anywhere by being weak! 12 Righteous people are nothing but a nuisance, so let's look for chances to get rid of them. They are against what we do; they accuse us of breaking the Law of Moses and violating the traditions of our ancestors. 13 They claim to know God, and they call themselves the Lord's children. 14 We can't stand the sight of people like that; what they are contradicts our whole way of thinking. 15 They are not like other people; they have strange ways. 16 They think that our moral standards are so corrupt that everything we do should be avoided. They boast of having God for their Father, and believe that when all is said and done, only the righteous will be happy. 17 But we'll see if that's true! Let's see what will happen when it's time for them to die! 18 If the righteous really are God's children, God will save them from their enemies. 19 So let's put them to the test. We'll be cruel to them, and torment them; then we'll find out how calm and reasonable they are! We'll find out just how much they can stand! 20 We'll condemn them to a shameful death. After all, they say that God will protect them.
21 That is how evil people think, but they are wrong. They are blinded by their own wickedness. 22 They have never known God's secrets, never hoped for the rewards of a holy and blameless life. 23 (B)When God created us, he did not intend for us to die; he made us like himself. 24 It was the Devil's jealousy that brought death into the world, and those who belong to the Devil are the ones who will die.
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
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
2 For they have said, reasoning with themselves, but not right: The time of our life is short and tedious, and in the end of a man there is no remedy, and no man hath been known to have returned from hell:
2 For we are born of nothing, and after this we shall be as if we had not been: for the breath in our nostrils is smoke: and speech a spark to move our heart,
3 Which being put out, our body shall be ashes, and our spirit shall be poured abroad as soft air, and our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud, and shall be dispersed as a mist, which is driven away by the beams of the sun, and overpowered with the heat thereof:
4 And our name in time shall be forgotten, and no man shall have any remembrance of our works.
5 For our time is as the passing of a shadow, and there is no going back of our end: for it is fast sealed, and no man returneth.
6 Come therefore, and let us enjoy the good things that are present, and let us speedily use the creatures as in youth.
7 Let us fill ourselves with costly wine, and ointments: and let not the flower of the time pass by us.
8 Let us crown ourselves with roses, before they be withered: let no meadow escape our riot.
9 Let none of us go without his part in luxury: let us everywhere leave tokens of joy: for this is our portion, and this our lot.
10 Let us oppress the poor just man, and not spare the widow, nor honour the ancient grey hairs of the aged.
11 But let our strength be the law of justice: for that which is feeble, is found to be nothing worth.
12 Let us therefore lie in wait for the just, because he is not for our turn, and he is contrary to our doings, and upbraideth us with transgressions of the law, and divulgeth against us the sins of our way of life.
13 He boasteth that he hath the knowledge of God, and calleth himself the son of God.
14 He is become a censurer of our thoughts.
15 He is grievous unto us, even to behold: for his life is not like other men's, and his ways are very different.
16 We are esteemed by him as triflers, and he abstaineth from our ways as from filthiness, and he preferreth the latter end of the just, and glorieth that he hath God for his father.
17 Let us see then if his words be true, and let us prove what shall happen to him, and we shall know what his end shall be.
18 For if he be the true son of God, he will defend him, and will deliver him from the hands of his enemies.
19 Let us examine him by outrages and tortures, that we may know his meekness and try his patience.
20 Let us condemn him to a most shameful death: for there shall be respect had unto him by his words.
21 These things they thought, and were deceived: for their own malice blinded them.
22 And they knew not the secrets of God, nor hoped for the wages of justice, nor esteemed the honour of holy souls.
23 For God created man incorruptible, and to the image of his own likeness he made him.
24 But by the envy of the devil, death came into the world:
25 And they follow him that are of his side.
Wisdom 2
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
2 For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves,
“Short and sorrowful is our life,
and there is no remedy when a man comes to his end,
and no one has been known to return from Hades.
2 Because we were born by mere chance,
and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been;
because the breath in our nostrils is smoke,
and reason is a spark kindled by the beating of our hearts.
3 When it is extinguished, the body will turn to ashes,
and the spirit will dissolve like empty air.
4 Our name will be forgotten in time,
and no one will remember our works;
our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud,
and be scattered like mist
that is chased by the rays of the sun
and overcome by its heat.
5 For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow,
and there is no return from our death,
because it is sealed up and no one turns back.
6 “Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that exist,
and make use of the creation to the full as in youth.
7 Let us take our fill of costly wine and perfumes,
and let no flower of spring pass by us.
8 Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither.
9 Let none of us fail to share in our revelry,
everywhere let us leave signs of enjoyment,
because this is our portion, and this our lot.
10 Let us oppress the righteous poor man;
let us not spare the widow
nor regard the gray hairs of the aged.
11 But let our might be our law of right,
for what is weak proves itself to be useless.
12 “Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,
because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;
he reproaches us for sins against the law,
and accuses us of sins against our training.
13 He professes to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a child[a] of the Lord.
14 He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;
15 the very sight of him is a burden to us,
because his manner of life is unlike that of others,
and his ways are strange.
16 We are considered by him as something base,
and he avoids our ways as unclean;
he calls the last end of the righteous happy,
and boasts that God is his father.
17 Let us see if his words are true,
and let us test what will happen at the end of his life;
18 for if the righteous man is God’s son, he will help him,
and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.
19 Let us test him with insult and torture,
that we may find out how gentle he is,
and make trial of his forbearance.
20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death,
for, according to what he says, he will be protected.”
Error of the Wicked
21 Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray,
for their wickedness blinded them,
22 and they did not know the secret purposes of God,
nor hope for the wages of holiness,
nor discern the prize for blameless souls;
23 for God created man for incorruption,
and made him in the image of his own eternity,[b]
24 but through the devil’s envy death entered the world,
and those who belong to his party experience it.
Footnotes
- Wisdom 2:13 Or servant
- Wisdom 2:23 Other ancient authorities read nature
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.