I. The Reward of Righteousness
Chapter 1
Exhortation to Righteousness, the Key to Life
1 Love righteousness, you who judge the earth;(A)
think of the Lord in goodness,
and seek him in integrity of heart;(B)
2 Because he is found by those who do not test him,
and manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him.(C)
3 For perverse counsels separate people from God,
and his power, put to the proof, rebukes the foolhardy;(D)
4 Because into a soul that plots evil wisdom does not enter,
nor does she dwell in a body under debt of sin.(E)
5 For the holy spirit of discipline flees deceit
and withdraws from senseless counsels
and is rebuked when unrighteousness occurs.(F)
6 For wisdom is a kindly spirit,
yet she does not acquit blasphemous lips;
Because God is the witness of the inmost self(G)
and the sure observer of the heart
and the listener to the tongue.(H)
7 For the spirit of the Lord fills the world,(I)
is all-embracing, and knows whatever is said.
8 Therefore those who utter wicked things will not go unnoticed,
nor will chastising condemnation pass them by.(J)
9 For the devices of the wicked shall be scrutinized,
and the sound of their words shall reach the Lord,
for the chastisement of their transgressions;
10 Because a jealous ear hearkens to everything,(K)
and discordant grumblings are not secret.
11 Therefore guard against profitless grumbling,
and from calumny withhold your tongues;
For a stealthy utterance will not go unpunished,
and a lying mouth destroys the soul.
12 Do not court death by your erring way of life,
nor draw to yourselves destruction by the works of your hands.
13 Because God did not make death,(L)
nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.
14 For he fashioned all things that they might have being,
and the creatures of the world are wholesome;
There is not a destructive drug among them
nor any domain of Hades on earth,
15 For righteousness is undying.(M)
The Wicked Reject Immortality and Righteousness Alike
16 It was the wicked who with hands and words invited death,
considered it a friend, and pined for it,
and made a covenant with it,
Because they deserve to be allied with it.(N)
Footnotes
- 1:1–6:21
- 1:1
- 1:4
- 1:5
- 1:11
- 1:12
- 1:14
- 1:15
Cross references
- 1:1 : 1 Chr 29:17; Ps 2:10; Is 26:9.
- 1:1–2 : Sir 1:25.
- 1:2 : 1 Chr 28:9.
- 1:3 : Is 59:2.
- 1:4 : Sir 15:7–8; Rom 7:14.
- 1:5 : Is 63:10.
- 1:6 : Jer 17:10.
- 1:6–7 : Jer 23:24–25.
- 1:7 : Wis 12:1.
- 1:8 : Prv 19:5.
- 1:10–11 : Nm 14:27–28.
- 1:13–14 : Ez 18:32; 33:11; 2 Pt 3:9.
- 1:15 : Is 51:6–8.
- 1:16 : Is 28:15.
