Wisdom 8:20-9:12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
20 or rather, being noble, I attained an unblemished body.
21 And knowing that I could not otherwise possess her unless God gave it—
and this, too, was prudence, to know whose gift she is—
I went to the Lord and besought him,(A)
and said with all my heart:
Chapter 9
Solomon’s Prayer[a]
1 [b]God of my ancestors, Lord of mercy,(B)
you who have made all things by your word(C)
2 And in your wisdom have established humankind
to rule the creatures produced by you,(D)
3 And to govern the world in holiness and righteousness,
and to render judgment in integrity of heart:(E)
4 Give me Wisdom, the consort at your throne,
and do not reject me from among your children;(F)
5 For I am your servant, the child of your maidservant,
a man weak and short-lived
and lacking in comprehension of judgment and of laws.(G)
6 Indeed, though one be perfect among mortals,
if Wisdom, who comes from you, be lacking,
that one will count for nothing.(H)
7 You have chosen me king over your people
and magistrate over your sons and daughters.(I)
8 You have bid me build a temple on your holy mountain
and an altar in the city that is your dwelling place,
a copy of the holy tabernacle which you had established from of old.(J)
9 Now with you is Wisdom, who knows your works
and was present when you made the world;
Who understands what is pleasing in your eyes
and what is conformable with your commands.(K)
10 Send her forth from your holy heavens
and from your glorious throne dispatch her
That she may be with me and work with me,
that I may know what is pleasing to you.(L)
11 For she knows and understands all things,
and will guide me prudently in my affairs
and safeguard me by her glory;(M)
12 Thus my deeds will be acceptable,
and I will judge your people justly
and be worthy of my father’s throne.(N)
Footnotes
- 9:1–18 The author presents his version of Solomon’s prayer (1 Kgs 3:6–9; 2 Chr 1:8–10).
- 9:1–2 The author identifies Wisdom with the word of God just as he again identifies Wisdom with the spirit of God in v. 17. All three are alternate ways of expressing God’s activity in relationship with the world and its inhabitants.
Wisdom 8:20-9:12
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
20 or rather, being good, I entered an undefiled body.
21 But I perceived that I would not possess wisdom unless God gave her to me—
and it was a mark of insight to know whose gift she was—
so I appealed to the Lord and implored him,
and with my whole heart I said:
Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom
9 “O God of my ancestors and Lord of mercy,
who have made all things by your word,
2 and by your wisdom have formed humankind
to have dominion over the creatures you have made,
3 and rule the world in holiness and righteousness,
and pronounce judgment in uprightness of soul,
4 give me the wisdom that sits by your throne,
and do not reject me from among your servants.
5 For I am your servant[a] the son of your serving girl,
a man who is weak and short-lived,
with little understanding of judgment and laws;
6 for even one who is perfect among human beings
will be regarded as nothing without the wisdom that comes from you.
7 You have chosen me to be king of your people
and to be judge over your sons and daughters.
8 You have given command to build a temple on your holy mountain,
and an altar in the city of your habitation,
a copy of the holy tent that you prepared from the beginning.
9 With you is wisdom, she who knows your works
and was present when you made the world;
she understands what is pleasing in your sight
and what is right according to your commandments.
10 Send her forth from the holy heavens,
and from the throne of your glory send her,
that she may labor at my side,
and that I may learn what is pleasing to you.
11 For she knows and understands all things,
and she will guide me wisely in my actions
and guard me with her glory.
12 Then my works will be acceptable,
and I shall judge your people justly,
and shall be worthy of the throne[b] of my father.
Footnotes
- Wisdom 9:5 Gk slave
- Wisdom 9:12 Gk thrones
Wisdom 8:20-9:12
Good News Translation
20 Still, I realized that I would never receive Wisdom unless God gave her to me—and knowing that only God could give her to me was itself a sign of understanding. So I prayed, begging the Lord with all my heart:
Solomon Prays for Wisdom
9 (A) God of my ancestors, merciful Lord, by your word you created everything. 2 By your Wisdom you made us humans to rule all creation, 3 to govern the world with holiness and righteousness, to administer justice with integrity. 4 Give me the Wisdom that sits beside your throne; give me a place among your children. 5 I am your slave, as was my mother before me. I am only human. I am not strong, and my life will be short. I have little understanding of the Law or of how to apply it. 6 Even if someone is perfect, he will be thought of as nothing without the Wisdom that comes from you. 7 You chose me over everyone else to be the king of your own people, to judge your sons and daughters. 8 You told me to build a temple on your sacred mountain, an altar in Jerusalem, the city you chose as your home. It is a copy of that temple in heaven, which you prepared at the beginning. 9 Wisdom is with you and knows your actions; she was present when you made the world. She knows what pleases you, what is right and in accordance with your commands. 10 Send her from the holy heavens, down from your glorious throne, so that she may work at my side, and I may learn what pleases you. 11 She knows and understands everything, and will guide me intelligently in what I do. Her glory will protect me. 12 Then I will judge your people fairly, and be worthy of my father's throne. My actions will be acceptable.
Wisdom 8:20-9:12
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
20 And whereas I was more good, I came to a body undefiled.
21 And as I knew that I could not otherwise be continent, except God gave it, and this also was a point of wisdom, to know whose gift it was: I went to the Lord, and besought him, and said with my whole heart:
9 God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things with thy word,
2 And by thy wisdom hast appointed man, that he should have dominion over the creature that was made by thee,
3 That he should order the world according to equity and justice, and execute justice with an upright heart:
4 Give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne, and cast me not off from among thy children:
5 For I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid, a weak man, and of short time, and falling short of the understanding of judgment and laws.
6 For if one be perfect among the children of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded.
7 Thou hast chosen me to be king of thy people, and a judge of thy sons and daughters.
8 And hast commanded me to build a temple on thy holy mount, and an altar in the city of thy dwelling place, a resemblance of thy holy tabernacle, which thou hast prepared from the beginning:
9 And thy wisdom with thee, which knoweth thy works, which then also was present when thou madest the world, and knew what was agreeable to thy eyes, and what was right in thy commandments.
10 Send her out of thy holy heaven, and from the throne of thy majesty, that she may be with me, and may labour with me, that I may know what is acceptable with thee:
11 For she knoweth and understandeth all things, and shall lead me soberly in my works, and shall preserve me by her power.
12 So shall my works be acceptable, and I shall govern thy people justly, and shall be worthy of the throne of my father.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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?)