Jul 12 - Wisdom 16-19
Wisdom
1Because of this, and by means of things similar to these, they were allowed to endure fitting torments, and they were exterminated by a multitude of beasts2Instead of these torments, you administered your people kindly, giving them a desire for a new taste from your delights, and preparing quails for their food3so that, even those desiring food, because of those things which were sent and revealed to them, were now turned away from a necessary desire. Yet these, after a brief time, having become weak, tasted a new food4For it was necessary, though they are without excuse, for them to unexpectedly come upon the ruin of exercising tyranny, yet this was as if to show them how their enemies were being exterminated5And so, when fierce beasts overcame them in anger, they were exterminated by the bites of perverse snakes6But your anger did not continue forever, though they were troubled for a short time for their correction, they have a sign of salvation as a remembrance of the commandment of your law7For he who turned to it was not healed by what he saw, but by you, the Savior of all8Yet in this you revealed to our enemies that you are he who delivers from all evil9For they were killed by the biting of locusts and flies, and there was found no remedy for their life, because they deserved to be destroyed by such things10But not even the teeth of venomous serpents conquered your sons, for your mercy came to them and healed them11For, in remembrance of your words, they were examined and were quickly saved, for forgetfulness is not engraved into your altar so that they would be unable to obtain your help12And, indeed, neither an herb, nor a poultice, healed them, but your word, O Lord, which heals all13For it is you, O Lord, who holds the power of life and death; you both lead to the threshold of death and you restore14Yet man, indeed, kills his own soul through malice, and when his spirit goes forth, it will not be returned, nor will he call back his soul when it has been received15But it is impossible to escape your hand16For the impious, having refused to know you, have been scourged by the strength of your arm, enduring persecution by unusual waters, and by hailstorms, and by rain storms, and being consumed by fire17For there was something extraordinary in water, which extinguishes all things; it has prevailed more than fire; for the world is the defender of the just18Indeed, at a certain time, the fire was subdued, so as not to burn away the animals, which were sent against the impious; and so that, in seeing this, they might know that they are suffering persecution by the judgment of God19And, at another time, fire burned, beyond its own power, in the midst of water, and it flared up from all around, so as to destroy the nations of an unjust land20Instead of these things, you nourished your people with the food of angels, and, having prepared bread from heaven, you served them without labor that which holds within itself every delight and the sweetness of every flavor21For your nature showed your sweetness, which you hold within your sons, and serving the will of each one, it was converted to what each one preferred22But snow and ice held back the strength of fire, and did not melt, so that they might know that fire, burning in the hail and flashing in the rain, destroyed the fruits of the enemies23Yet it was also the case, so that the just might be nourished, that fire had even been deprived of its own power24For the creature serving you, the Creator, grows red hot in the midst of the conflict against the unjust, and yet it subsides for the benefit of those who trust in you25Because of this, and at that time, having been transfigured in all things, your grace was diligently serving as the nursemaid of all things, according to the will of those who long for you26so that your sons, whom you loved, O Lord, might know that it is not the fruits of nature which feed men, but your word, which preserves those who believe in you27For that which could not be destroyed by fire, was immediately melted when warmed by a few rays of the sun28so that it might be clear to all that it is right to come before the sun to bless you, and to adore you at the dawning of the light29For the hope of the ungrateful will melt away like the winter’s ice and will disperse like overflowing water
1For your judgments, O Lord, are great, and your words are indescribable. Therefore, undisciplined souls have wandered astray2For, while they managed to convince the unjust, so as to obtain dominion over the holy nation, they themselves were fettered with chains of darkness and of endless night, enclosed in their houses, fugitives of everlasting providence, lying in ruins3And, while they thought to escape notice in their secret sins, they were scattered under a dark veil of oblivion, being horribly afraid, and having been disturbed with great astonishment4For neither did the cave which enclosed them preserve them from fear, because descending noises disturbed them, and the sorrowful persons appearing to them intensified their fear5And, indeed, even fire had no strength to provide them light, nor could the clear flames of the stars illuminate that horrible night6Yet there appeared to them a sudden fire, filled with fear; and, having been struck with the fear of that face which is unseen, they considered those things which they did see to be worse7and, having been ridiculed, the illusions were removed from their arts along with their contemptuous rebuke of glorious wisdom8Indeed, those who promised to drive away fears and disturbances from a languishing soul, though they were filled with derision, were themselves languishing in fear9And, even if nothing unnatural disturbed them, yet being agitated by the passing of animals and the hissing of snakes, they died of fear, denying what they themselves saw even in the air, which no one thinks to be able to escape10For, while there may be apprehension with wickedness, it gives testimony to condemnation, for a troubled conscience always forecasts harshness11For fear is nothing else but unfaithfulness to thinking helpful things12And, while expectation is driven from within, the cause of this is supposing that one is great in knowledge, and as a result, conflict excels13Yet those who were truly powerless that night, being overcome by both the vilest and the deepest hell, were sleeping the same sleep14sometimes stirred up by the fear of unnatural things, other times sinking down in disgrace of soul, for a sudden and unexpected fear overcame them15Then, if any among them had fallen away, he was kept in a prison without bars which had been left open16For if a farmer, or a shepherd, or a worker in a field of labor were suddenly overcome, he endured an inescapable necessity17For they were all bound together with one chain of darkness. Or if there were a whistling wind, or the sweet sound of birds among the thick tree branches, or the force of water rushing excessively18or the strong noise of rocks crashing down, or the scattering of playful animals having been seen, or the strong voice of bellowing beasts, or the resounding of the highest mountain echo, these things made them sink down because of fear19For the whole world was enlightened with a clear light, and none were being hindered in their labors20But then, the heavy night was placed over the sun for them, an image of that darkness which was about to overcome them. Yet they were more grievous to themselves than was the darkness
1But your saints were your greatest light, and they heard your voice, but did not see your form. And because they themselves did not also suffer the same things, they praised you greatly2And those who were wounded before, gave thanks, because they were no longer being wounded, and because they had petitioned for this gift, that there would be this difference3Because of this, they had a burning column of fire as a guide on the unknown way, and you displayed a harmless sun of a good hospitality4The others, indeed, deserved to be deprived of the light and to endure a prison of darkness, who watched for an opportunity to imprison your sons, by whom the incorruptible light of the law was beginning to be given to future generations5When they thought to kill the babes of the just, one son having been exposed and set free, to their disgrace, you took away a multitude of their sons and destroyed them all together in a mighty water6For that night was known beforehand by our fathers, so that, knowing the truth of the oaths in which they had trusted, they might be more peaceful in their souls7Yet your people received not only the salvation of the just, but also the destruction of the unjust8For just as you wounded our adversaries, so also did you greatly esteem calling us forth9For the just children of goodness were secretly offering sacrifice, and in agreement they administered the law of justice, so that both good and bad would be able to receive justice, and so that you might now approve of their chanting to the father10On the other hand, a dissimilar voice was resounding from the enemies, and a lamentable wailing was heard for the children who were being cried over11But the same punishment afflicted the servant with the master, and the common man endured the same as the king12Therefore, all were the same, with one name for death, and the dead were innumerable. For neither were the living sufficient to bury the dead, because, with a single effort, their most illustrious nation was exterminated13For they would not believe anything because of the drugs; then truly, at the beginning, when the extermination of the firstborn happened, they pledged the people to belong to God14For, when a quiet silence surrounded all things, and when the course of the night was passing the middle of its journey15your almighty word from heaven leapt down from your royal throne, as a fierce warrior in the midst of the land of extermination16as a sharp sword carrying your unfeigned authority, and standing, filled all things with death, and, standing on the earth, reached all the way up to touch heaven17Then, incessant visions of nightmares disturbed them, and unexpected fears overcame them18And another was thrown down elsewhere half-alive; and so, by means of that which was dying, the cause of death was revealed19For the visions that disturbed them had forewarned of these things, lest they should perish and not know why they suffered these evils20Yet, at that time, the trial of death touched even the just, and there was a disturbance of the multitude in the wilderness, but your wrath did not continue for long21For a blameless man, prospering, is to be entreated for your people, bringing forth the shield of your service, through prayer and incense, making prayerful supplication, he withstands anger, and so establishes an end to the necessary difficulty, revealing that he is your servant22Yet he outlasted the disturbance, not by virtue of the body, nor by force of arms, but, with a word, he subdued those who were troubling him, commemorating the oaths and covenant of the parents23For when they were now fallen down dead by heaps one upon another, he stood between them and cut off their attack, and he divided those who controlled the path to the living24For, within the garment of shame which he held, the world was all together, and the great deeds of the parents were engraved on four orders of stones, and your majesty was engraved on the crown of his head25Yet he who was exterminating yielded even to those he frightened. For one trial of wrath was sufficient
1But the impious, all the way to the very end, were overcome by anger without mercy. Indeed, he knew beforehand even their future2Yet, seeing that they might have repented, so that they would be led by him and be sent forth with great concern, the just sought the impious, while regretting their deeds3For, while the just were still holding grief in their hands and weeping at the tombs of the dead, these others took upon themselves another senseless thought, and they cast out the legislators and pursued them as if they were fugitives4For a fitting necessity was leading them to this end, and they were losing the remembrance of those things which had happened, so that what was lacking in the sufferings of the conflict might be completed by the punishment5and so that your people, indeed, might wonderfully pass through, but these others might find a new death6For every creature according to its kind was fashioned again as from the beginning, diligently serving your teachings, so that your children would be preserved unharmed7For a cloud overshadowed their camp, and where water was before, dry land appeared, and in the Red Sea, a way without hindrance, and out of the great deep, a level field sprung up8through which the whole nation passed, protected by your hand, seeing your miracles and wonders9For they consumed food like horses, and they leapt about like lambs, praising you, O Lord, who had freed them10For they were still mindful of those things which had happened during the time of their sojourn, how, instead of cattle, the earth brought forth flies, and instead of fish, the river cast up a multitude of frogs11And, lastly, they saw a new kind of bird, when, being led by their desire, they demanded a feast of meat12For, to console their loss, the quail came up to them from the sea, and yet troubles overcame the sinners, though they were not without the evidence of what had happened before by the power of lightning, for they suffered justly according to their own wickedness13And indeed, they set up a more detestable inhospitality. Certainly, some have refused to receive unknown foreigners, but these others were drafting good guests into servitude14and not only foreigners, but also those who had been under their care, because they were reluctantly sheltering the outsiders15Yet whoever had sheltered them with gladness, by making use of the very same justice, they afflicted with the most severe sorrow16Yet they were struck with blindness, like someone brought before the gates of justice, so that they were suddenly covered with darkness, and each one was left searching for the threshold of his front door17For the elements in themselves are in the process of being changed, just as when the sound of a musical instrument is being altered in quality, yet each one keeps its own sound, from where it is considered to be and according to its fixed appearance18For the countryside was transformed by water, and things which were swimming, crossed over the land19Fire prevailed in the midst of water, beyond its own power, and the water forgot its quenching nature20On the other hand, the flames did not trouble the bodies of the mortal animals walking around, nor did they melt that good food, which is as easily melted as ice. For in all things, O Lord, you magnified your people, and honored them, and did not despise them, but at every time and in every place, you assisted them