USB ~ Wisdom 2

1 For, not thinking rightly, they said among themselves:† “Brief and troubled is our lifetime; a there is no remedy for our dying, nor is anyone known to have come back from Hades.

2 For by mere chance were we born, and hereafter we shall be as though we had not been; Because the breath in our nostrils is smoke, and reason a spark from the beating of our hearts,

3 And when this is quenched, our body will be ashes and our spirit will be poured abroad like empty air. b

4 Even our name will be forgotten in time, and no one will recall our deeds. So our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud, and will be dispersed like a mist Pursued by the sun’s rays and overpowered by its heat.

5 For our lifetime is the passing of a shadow; and our dying cannot be deferred because it is fixed with a seal; and no one returns. c

6 Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are here, and make use of creation with youthful zest. d

7 Let us have our fill of costly wine and perfumes, and let no springtime blossom pass us by;

8 let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither.

9 Let no meadow be free from our wantonness; everywhere let us leave tokens of our merriment, for this is our portion, and this our lot. e

10 Let us oppress the righteous poor; let us neither spare the widow nor revere the aged for hair grown white with time. f

11 But let our strength be our norm of righteousness; for weakness proves itself useless.

12 † Let us lie in wait for the righteous one, because he is annoying to us; he opposes our actions, Reproaches us for transgressions of the law† and charges us with violations of our training. g

13 He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the LORD. h

14 To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, i

15 Because his life is not like that of others, and different are his ways.

16 He judges us debased; he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure. He calls blest the destiny of the righteous and boasts that God is his Father. j

17 Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him in the end. k

18 For if the righteous one is the son of God, God will help him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. l

19 With violence and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience.

20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him.” m

21 These were their thoughts, but they erred; for their wickedness blinded them, n

22 † And they did not know the hidden counsels of God; neither did they count on a recompense for holiness nor discern the innocent souls’ reward. o

23 For God formed us to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made us. p

24 But by the envy† of the devil, death entered the world, and they who are allied with him experience it. q

Footnotes

†. 2:1-20 In this speech the wicked deny survival after death and indeed invite death by their evil deeds.

†. 2:12-5:23 From 2:12 to 5:23 the author draws heavily on Is 52-62, setting forth his teaching in a series of characters or types taken from Isaiah and embellished with additional details from other texts. The description of the “righteous one” in 2:12-20 seems to undergird the New Testament passion narrative.

†. 2:12 Law: the law of Moses; “training” has the same meaning.

†. 2:22 This verse announces the subject of the next section.

†. 2:24 Envy: perhaps because Adam was in the image of God or because Adam had control over all creation. Devil: the first biblical text to equate the serpent of Gn 3 with the devil.

2:1 Jb 14:1; 7:9.
2:3 Jb 7:9; Jas 4:14.
2:5 Ps 144:4.
2:6 Is 22:13; 1 Cor 15:32.
2:9 Jer 13:25.
2:10 Ex 22:21-23; Lv 19:32.
2:12 Hos 8:1.
2:13 Mt 27:43; Jn 8:55; 10:36-39.
2:14 Mt 9:4.
2:16 Jer 6:30.
2:17 Gn 37:20.
2:18 Ps 22:9; Is 42:1; Mt 27:43; Jn 5:18.
2:20 Jas 5:6.
2:21 Rom 1:21.
2:22 Ps 18:24-25; Prv 11:18; Mt 11:25.
2:23 Gn 1:26-27; Is 54:16 LXX.
2:24 Gn 3:1-24; Rom 5:12.