Wisdom 2

¹For the ungodly said, reasoning with themselves, but not aright, Our life is short and tedious, and in the death of a man there is no remedy: neither was there any man known to have returned from the grave.

²For we are born at all adventure: and we shall be hereafter as though we had never been: for the breath in our nostrils is as smoke, and a little spark in the moving of our heart:

³Which being extinguished, our body shall be turned into ashes, and our spirit shall vanish as the soft air,

⁴And our name shall be forgotten in time, and no man shall have our works in remembrance, and our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud, and shall be dispersed as a mist, that is driven away with the beams of the sun, and overcome with the heat thereof.

⁵For our time is a very shadow that passeth away; and after our end there is no returning: for it is fast sealed, so that no man cometh again.

⁶Come on therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are present: and let us speedily use the creatures like as in youth.

⁷Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments: and let no flower of the spring pass by us:

⁸Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they be withered:

⁹Let none of us go without his part of our voluptuousness: let us leave tokens of our joyfulness in every place: for this is our portion, and our lot is this.

¹⁰Let us oppress the poor righteous man, let us not spare the widow, nor reverence the ancient gray hairs of the aged.

¹¹Let our strength be the law of justice: for that which is feeble is found to be nothing worth.

¹²Therefore let us lie in wait for the righteous; because he is not for our turn, and he is clean contrary to our doings: he upbraideth us with our offending the law, and objecteth to our infamy the transgressings of our education.

¹³He professeth to have the knowledge of God: and he calleth himself the child of the Lord.

¹⁴He was made to reprove our thoughts.

¹⁵He is grievous unto us even to behold: for his life is not like other men’s, his ways are of another fashion.

¹⁶We are esteemed of him as counterfeits: he abstaineth from our ways as from filthiness: he pronounceth the end of the just to be blessed, and maketh his boast that God is his father.

¹⁷Let us see if his words be true: and let us prove what shall happen in the end of him.

¹⁸For if the just man be the son of God, he will help him, and deliver him from the hand of his enemies.

¹⁹Let us examine him with despitefulness and torture, that we may know his meekness, and prove his patience.

²⁰Let us condemn him with a shameful death: for by his own saying he shall be respected.

²¹Such things they did imagine, and were deceived: for their own wickedness hath blinded them.

²²As for the mysteries of God, they knew them not: neither hoped they for the wages of righteousness, nor discerned a reward for blameless souls.

²³For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity.

²⁴Nevertheless through envy of the devil came death into the world: and they that do hold of his side do find it.

Wisdom 2

¹For 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:

²For 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,

³Which 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:

⁴And our name in time shall be forgotten, and no man shall have any remembrance of our works.

⁵For 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:

⁶Come, therefore, and let us enjoy the good things that are present, and let us speedily use the creatures as in youth.

⁷Let us fill ourselves with costly wine, and ointments: and let not the flower of the time pass by us.

⁸Let us crown ourselves with roses, before they be withered: let no meadow escape our riot.

⁹Let none of us go without his part in luxury: let us every where leave tokens of joy: for this is our portion, and this our lot.

¹⁰Let us oppress the poor just man, and not spare the widow, nor honour the ancient grey hairs of the aged.

¹¹But let our strength be the law of justice: for that which is feeble is found to be nothing worth.

¹²Let 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.

¹³He boasteth that he hath the knowledge of God, and calleth himself the son of God.

¹⁴He is become a censurer of our thoughts.

¹⁵He is grievous unto us, even to behold: for his life is not like other men's, and his ways are very different.

¹⁶We 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.

¹⁷Let 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.

¹⁸For if he be the true son of God, he will defend him, and will deliver him from the hands of his enemies.

¹⁹Let us examine him by outrages and tortures, that we may know his meekness, and try his patience.

²⁰Let us condemn him to a most shameful death: for there shall be respect had unto him by his words.

²¹These things they thought, and were deceived: for their own malice blinded them.

²²And they knew not the secrets of God, nor hoped for the wages of justice, nor esteemed the honour of holy souls.

²³For God created man incorruptible, and to the image of his own likeness he made him.

²⁴But by the envy of the devil, death came into the world:

²⁵And they follow him that are of his side.