Wisdom of Solomon · Clementine Vulgate
Wisdom of Solomon 1 Clementine Vulgate
1 [Diligite justitiam, qui judicatis terram. Sentite de Domino in bonitate, et in simplicitate cordis quærite illum:
1 Love righteousness, all you who are judges of the earth. Think of the Lord with a good mind. Seek him in singleness of heart,
2 quoniam invenitur ab his qui non tentant illum, apparet autem eis qui fidem habent in illum.
2 because he is found by those who don’t put him to the test, and is manifested to those who trust him.
3 Perversæ enim cogitationes separant a Deo; probata autem virtus corripit insipientes.
3 for crooked thoughts separate from God. His Power convicts when it is tested, and exposes the foolish;
4 Quoniam in malevolam animam non introibit sapientia, nec habitabit in corpore subdito peccatis.
4 because wisdom will not enter into a soul that devises evil, nor dwell in a body that is enslaved by sin.
5 Spiritus enim sanctus disciplinæ effugiet fictum, et auferet se a cogitationibus quæ sunt sine intellectu, et corripietur a superveniente iniquitate.
5 For a holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit, and will depart from thoughts that are without understanding, and will be ashamed when unrighteousness has come in.
6 Benignus est enim spiritus sapientiæ, et non liberabit maledicum a labiis suis: quoniam renum illius testis est Deus, et cordis illius scrutator est verus, et linguæ ejus auditor.
6 For wisdom is a spirit who loves man, and she will not hold a blasphemer guiltless for his lips, because God is witness of his inmost self, and is a true overseer of his heart, and a hearer of his tongue.
7 Quoniam spiritus Domini replevit orbem terrarum, et hoc quod continet omnia, scientiam habet vocis.
7 Because the spirit of the Lord has filled the world, and that which holds all things together knows what is said.
8 Propter hoc qui loquitur iniqua non potest latere, nec præteriet illum corripiens judicium.
8 Therefore no one who utters unrighteous things will be unseen; neither will Justice, when it convicts, pass him by.
9 In cogitationibus enim impii interrogatio erit; sermonum autem illius auditio ad Deum veniet, ad correptionem iniquitatum illius.
9 For in his counsels the ungodly will be searched out, and the sound of his words will come to the Lord to bring his lawless deeds to conviction;
10 Quoniam auris zeli audit omnia, et tumultus murmurationum non abscondetur.
10 because a jealous ear listens to all things, and the noise of murmurings is not hidden.
11 Custodite ergo vos a murmuratione quæ nihil prodest, et a detractione parcite linguæ: quoniam sermo obscurus in vacuum non ibit, os autem quod mentitur occidit animam.]
11 Beware then of unprofitable murmuring, and keep your tongue from slander; because no secret utterance will go on its way void, and a lying mouth destroys a soul.
12 [Nolite zelare mortem in errore vitæ vestræ, neque acquiratis perditionem in operibus manuum vestrarum.
12 Don’t court death in the error of your life. Don’t draw destruction upon yourselves by the works of your hands;
13 Quoniam Deus mortem non fecit, nec lætatur in perditione vivorum.
13 because God didn’t make death, neither does he delight when the living perish.
14 Creavit enim ut essent omnia, et sanabiles fecit nationes orbis terrarum: et non est in illis medicamentum exterminii, nec inferorum regnum in terra.
14 For he created all things that they might have being. The generative powers of the world are wholesome, and there is no poison of destruction in them, nor has Hades royal dominion upon earth;
15 Justitia enim perpetua est, et immortalis.
15 for righteousness is immortal,
16 Impii autem manibus et verbis accersierunt illam, et æstimantes illam amicam, defluxerunt; et sponsiones posuerunt ad illam, quoniam digni sunt qui sint ex parte illius.]
16 but ungodly men by their hands and their words summon death; deeming him a friend they pined away. They made a covenant with him, because they are worthy to belong with him.
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).
… to beware of offending Him, suppose that he can serve two masters; and let him disentangle the upright intention of his heart from all doubleness: for thus he will think of the Lord with a good heart, and in simplicity of heart will seek Him. Chapter XV
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
saith the Lord," and "The Spirit of the Lord filleth the world," if God partly contains and partly is contained?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
But the Spirit is believed to have been operating at the same time in Habakkuk and in Daniel at Babylon, and to have been at the prison with Jeremiah, and with Ezekiel at the Chebar. For the Spirit of the Lord filleth the world, and "whither shall I go from thy spirit?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 8 (1895)
For God did not create death, neither does He take delight in the destruction of living things.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 9 (1899)
… now detest and abhor such impiety, if ye keep clean for the Creator His own temple, if ye would that He should come and make His abode with you, "Think of the Lord with a good heart, and in simplicity of heart seek for Him." Mark well who it is to whom ye say, if so be ye do say …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)