1 O God of the fathers, and Lord who keepest thy mercy, Who madest all things by thy word; 2 And by thy wisdom thou formedst man, That he should have dominion over the creatures that were made by thee, 3 And rule the world in holiness and righteousness, And execute judgement in uprightness of soul; 4 Give me wisdom, her that sitteth by thee on thy throne; And reject me not from among thy servants: 5 Because I am thy bondman and the son of thy handmaid, A man weak and short-lived, And of small power to understand judgement and laws. 6 For even if a man be perfect among the sons of men, [Yet ] if the wisdom that cometh from thee be not with him, he shall be held in no account. 7 Thou didst choose me before [my brethren ] to be king of thy people, And to do judgement for thy sons and daughters. 8 Thou gavest command to build a sanctuary in thy holy mountain, And an altar in the city of thy habitation, A copy of the holy tabernacle which thou preparedst aforehand from the beginning. 9 And with thee is wisdom, which knoweth thy works, And was present when thou wast making the world, And which understandeth what is pleasing in thine eyes, And what is right according to thy commandments. 10 Send her forth out of the holy heavens, And from the throne of thy glory bid her come, That being present with me she may toil [with me, ] And [that ] I may learn what is well-pleasing before thee. 11 For she knoweth all things and hath understanding [thereof, ] And in my doings she shall guide me in [ways of ] soberness, And she shall guard me in her glory. 12 And [so ] shall my works be acceptible, And I shall judge thy people righteously, And I shall be worthy of my father’s throne. 13 For what man shall know the counsel of God? Or who shall conceive what the Lord willeth? 14 For the thoughts of mortals are timorous, And our devices are prone to fail. 15 For a corruptible body weigheth down the soul, And the earthy frame lieth heavy on a mind that is full of cares. 16 And hardly do we divine the things that are on earth, And the things that are close at hand we find with labour; But the things that are in the heavens who [ever yet ] traced out? 17 And who [ever ] gained knowledge of thy counsel, except thou gavest wisdom, And sentest thy holy spirit from on high? 18 And it was thus that the ways of them which are on earth were corrected, And men were taught the things that are pleasing unto thee; And through wisdom were they saved.
Wisdom of Solomon · Revised Version with Apocrypha
Wisdom of Solomon 9 Revised Version with Apocrypha
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… that there was one to whom I might cleave, but that I was not yet one who could cleave unto Thee; for that the body which is corrupted presseth down the soul, and the earthly dwelling weigheth down the mind which thinketh upon many things. And most certain I was that Thy "invisible things from the creation of the world …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
For the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things." Many things certainly do I muse upon in this earthly tabernacle, because the one thing which is true among the many, or beyond the many, I cannot find.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
Hence that sentence of Scripture we quoted in a foregoing book, "For the corruptible body presseth down the soul." The word corruptible is added to show that the soul is burdened, not by any body whatsoever, but by the body such as it has become in consequence of sin.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)