Wisdom of Solomon
3:1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall
no torment touch them.
3:2 In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is
taken for misery,
3:3 And their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace.
3:4 For though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full
of immortality.
3:5 And having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for
God proved them, and found them worthy for himself.
3:6 As gold in the furnace hath he tried them, and received them as a burnt
offering.
3:7 And in the time of their visitation they shall shine, and run to and fro
like sparks among the stubble.
3:8 They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the people, and
their Lord shall reign for ever.
3:9 They that put their trust in him shall understand the truth: and such as
be faithful in love shall abide with him: for grace and mercy is to his
saints, and he hath care for his elect.
3:10 But the ungodly shall be punished according to their own imaginations,
which have neglected the righteous, and forsaken the Lord.
3:11 For whoso despiseth wisdom and nurture, he is miserable, and their hope
is vain, their labours unfruitful, and their works unprofitable:
3:12 Their wives are foolish, and their children wicked:
3:13 Their offspring is cursed. Wherefore blessed is the barren that is
undefiled, which hath not known the sinful bed: she shall have fruit in
the visitation of souls.
3:14 And blessed is the eunuch, which with his hands hath wrought no
iniquity, nor imagined wicked things against God: for unto him shall be
given the special gift of faith, and an inheritance in the temple of the
Lord more acceptable to his mind.
3:15 For glorious is the fruit of good labours: and the root of wisdom shall
never fall away.
3:16 As for the children of adulterers, they shall not come to their
perfection, and the seed of an unrighteous bed shall be rooted out.
3:17 For though they live long, yet shall they be nothing regarded: and their
last age shall be without honour.
3:18 Or, if they die quickly, they have no hope, neither comfort in the day
of trial.
3:19 For horrible is the end of the unrighteous generation.
