Wisdom of Solomon, 5

1. Then shall the righteous man stand in great boldness before the face of such as have afflicted him, and made no account of his labours.

1. Then the just man will stand with confidence facing those who oppressed him, making light of his labors.

2. When they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the strangeness of his salvation, so far beyond all that they looked for.

2. Seeing him they will be seized with a terrible fear, amazed to find him unexpectedly saved. Stricken with remorse and distress,

3. And they repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit shall say within themselves, This was he, whom we had sometimes in derision, and a proverb of reproach:

3. they will groan and say,

4. We fools accounted his life madness, and his end to be without honour:

4. "He is the one we mocked, the one we reproached, fools that we were! We considered his life foolishness, and his death, the supreme humiliation,

5. How is he numbered among the children of God, and his lot is among the saints!

5. but see: he is counted among the sons of God and is given his lot with the holy angels!

6. Therefore have we erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the sun of righteousness rose not upon us.

6. How far have we wandered from the truth! The light of the upright did not enlighten us nor did its sun rise for us.

7. We wearied ourselves in the way of wickedness and destruction: yea, we have gone through deserts, where there lay no way: but as for the way of the Lord, we have not known it.

7. We trod the paths of injustice and death, traveling, more than enough, through trackless deserts, but we were unable to know the Lord's ways.

8. What hath pride profited us? or what good hath riches with our vaunting brought us?

8. What good has our pride been? What profit in the wealth we boasted about?

9. All those things are passed away like a shadow, and as a post that hasted by;

9. All that has passed away like a shadow, like a fleeting rumor.

10. And as a ship that passeth over the waves of the water, which when it is gone by, the trace thereof cannot be found, neither the pathway of the keel in the waves;

10. Like a ship cutting the sea, leaving no trace of its course, and the mark of its keel - not seen in its wake;

11. Or as when a bird hath flown through the air, there is no token of her way to be found, but the light air being beaten with the stroke of her wings and parted with the violent noise and motion of them, is passed through, and therein afterwards no sign where she went is to be found;

11. like a bird flying across the sky leaving no trace of its flight; it beats the light air with its pinions, cleaving a way by the force of its wings but without a sign of its passing;

12. Or like as when an arrow is shot at a mark, it parteth the air, which immediately cometh together again, so that a man cannot know where it went through:

12. or like an arrow shot at a target, with the displaced air closing in on itself and no one knowing what way it passed.

13. Even so we in like manner, as soon as we were born, began to draw to our end, and had no sign of virtue to shew; but were consumed in our own wickedness.

13. It is the same for us; scarcely born we have disappeared. What sign of virtue are we able to show, spent as we are in our own wickedness?"

14. For the hope of the ungodly is like dust that is blown away with the wind; like a thin froth that is driven away with the storm; like as the smoke which is dispersed here and there with a tempest, and passeth away as the remembrance of a guest that tarrieth but a day.

14. The hope of the godless is like chaff blown in the wind, like a light frost melted in the storm, like smoke dispersed by the wind; it fades like the memory of a guest of a single day.

15. But the righteous live for evermore; their reward also is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the most High.

15. But the upright live forever, their reward is with the Lord, and the Most High has them in his care.

16. Therefore shall they receive a glorious kingdom, and a beautiful crown from the Lord's hand: for with his right hand shall he cover them, and with his arm shall he protect them.

16. This is why they receive, from the hands of the Lord, a royal crown, a splendid diadem. He will shelter them with his hand and his arm will be their shield.

17. He shall take to him his jealousy for complete armour, and make the creature his weapon for the revenge of his enemies.

17. God's jealous love will display his weapon; he will arm all creation to punish his enemies.

18. He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate, and true judgment instead of an helmet.

18. He will put on justice as his breastplate and right judgment as his helmet,

19. He shall take holiness for an invincible shield.

19. invincible holiness will be his shield,

20. His severe wrath shall he sharpen for a sword, and the world shall fight with him against the unwise.

20. implacable anger his sword, and the universe will march with him against the foolish.

21. Then shall the right aiming thunderbolts go abroad; and from the clouds, as from a well drawn bow, shall they fly to the mark.

21. Well-aimed bolts of lightning will strike the target; the clouds will be a curved bow shooting arrows.

22. And hailstones full of wrath shall be cast as out of a stone bow, and the water of the sea shall rage against them, and the floods shall cruelly drown them.

22. The hailstones of his fury will rain on them, the ocean will rage against them and the rivers engulf them without mercy.

23. Yea, a mighty wind shall stand up against them, and like a storm shall blow them away: thus iniquity shall lay waste the whole earth, and ill dealing shall overthrow the thrones of the mighty.

23. A powerful wind will rise against them and blow them away like straw. In this way lawlessness will bring the whole earth to ruin, and evildoing topple the thrones of the mighty.