Wisdom 9
Good News Translation
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.
13 Who can ever learn the will of God? 14 Human reason is not adequate for the task, and our philosophies tend to mislead us, 15 because our mortal bodies weigh our souls down. The body is a temporary structure made of earth, a burden to the active mind. 16 All we can do is make guesses about things on earth; we must struggle to learn about things that are close to us. Who, then, can ever hope to understand heavenly things? 17 No one has ever learned your will, unless you first gave him Wisdom, and sent your holy spirit down to him. 18 In this way people on earth have been set on the right path, have learned what pleases you, and have been kept safe by Wisdom.
Wisdom of Solomon 9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Prayer for Wisdom
9 “O God of my ancestors and Lord of mercy,
who have made all things by your word(A)
2 and by your wisdom have formed humankind
to have dominion over the creatures you have made(B)
3 and rule the world in holiness and righteousness
and pronounce judgment in uprightness of soul,(C)
4 give me the wisdom that sits by your throne,
and do not reject me from among your children.(D)
5 For I am your servant, the son of your female servant,
a man who is weak and short-lived,
with little understanding of judgment and laws,(E)
6 for even one who is perfect among humans
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.(F)
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.(G)
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.(H)
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.(I)
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[a] of my father.
13 For who can learn the counsel of God?
Or who can discern what the Lord wills?(J)
14 For the reasoning of mortals is worthless,
and our designs are likely to fail,
15 for a perishable body weighs down the soul,
and this earthy tent burdens the thoughtful[b] mind.(K)
16 We can hardly guess at what is on earth,
and what is at hand we find with labor,
but who has traced out what is in the heavens?
17 Who has learned your counsel
unless you have given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?(L)
18 And thus the paths of those on earth were set right,
and people were taught what pleases you
and were saved by wisdom.”(M)
Wisdom 9
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 9
Solomon’s Prayer[a]
1 [b]God of my ancestors, Lord of mercy,(A)
you who have made all things by your word(B)
2 And in your wisdom have established humankind
to rule the creatures produced by you,(C)
3 And to govern the world in holiness and righteousness,
and to render judgment in integrity of heart:(D)
4 Give me Wisdom, the consort at your throne,
and do not reject me from among your children;(E)
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.(F)
6 Indeed, though one be perfect among mortals,
if Wisdom, who comes from you, be lacking,
that one will count for nothing.(G)
7 You have chosen me king over your people
and magistrate over your sons and daughters.(H)
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.(I)
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.(J)
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.(K)
11 For she knows and understands all things,
and will guide me prudently in my affairs
and safeguard me by her glory;(L)
12 Thus my deeds will be acceptable,
and I will judge your people justly
and be worthy of my father’s throne.(M)
13 For who knows God’s counsel,
or who can conceive what the Lord intends?(N)
14 For the deliberations of mortals are timid,
and uncertain our plans.
15 [c]For the corruptible body burdens the soul
and the earthly tent weighs down the mind with its many concerns.(O)
16 Scarcely can we guess the things on earth,
and only with difficulty grasp what is at hand;
but things in heaven, who can search them out?(P)
17 Or who can know your counsel, unless you give Wisdom
and send your holy spirit from on high?(Q)
18 [d]Thus were the paths of those on earth made straight,
and people learned what pleases you,
and were saved by Wisdom.(R)
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.
- 9:15–17 Although the expressions in v. 15 draw on the language of Plato concerning the human condition, the conclusion is very biblical: God remains a mystery (Jb 38–39; Eccl 8:17; Is 40:12–14; Rom 11:33–34). The plight of humankind is clearly one of ignorance, unless the “holy spirit” is sent from God.
- 9:18 An announcement of the next section.
Wisdom 9
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition
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 judgement 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 servant-girl,
a man who is weak and short-lived,
with little understanding of judgement 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 labour 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.
13 For who can learn the counsel of God?
Or who can discern what the Lord wills?
14 For the reasoning of mortals is worthless,
and our designs are likely to fail;
15 for a perishable body weighs down the soul,
and this earthy tent burdens the thoughtful[c] mind.
16 We can hardly guess at what is on earth,
and what is at hand we find with labour;
but who has traced out what is in the heavens?
17 Who has learned your counsel,
unless you have given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?
18 And thus the paths of those on earth were set right,
and people were taught what pleases you,
and were saved by wisdom.’
Footnotes
- Wisdom 9:5 Gk slave
- Wisdom 9:12 Gk thrones
- Wisdom 9:15 Or anxious
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.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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: Anglicised Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, 1995 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.