Wisdom of Solomon 11

1 Εὐωδώσε τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν ἐν χειρὶ προφήτου ἁγίου.

2 Διώδευσαν ἔρημον ἀοίκητον, καὶ ἐν ἀβάτοις ἔπηξαν σκηνάς.

3 Ἀντέστησαν πολεμίοις, καὶ ἠμύναντο ἐχθρούς.

4 Ἐδίψησαν καὶ ἐπεκαλέσαντό σε, καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς ἐκ πέτρας ἀκροτόμου ὕδωρ, καὶ ἴαμα δίψης ἐκ λίθου σκληροῦ.

5 Διʼ ὧν γὰρ ἐκολάσθησαν οἱ ἐχθροὶ αὐτῶν, διὰ τούτων αὐτοὶ ἀποροῦντες εὐεργετήθησαν.

6 Ἀντὶ μὲν πηγῆς ἀεννάου ποταμοῦ αἵματι λυθρώδει ταραχθέντες

7 εἰς ἔλεγχον νηπιοκτόνου διατάγματος, ἔδωκας αὐτοῖς δαψιλὲς ὕδωρ ἀνελπίστως·

8 δείξας διὰ τοῦ τότε δίψους πῶς τοὺς ὑπεναντίους ἐκόλασας.

9 Ὅτε γὰρ ἐπειράσθησαν, καίπερ ἐν ἐλέει παιδευόμενοι, ἔγνωσαν πῶς ἐν ὀργῇ κρινόμενοι ἀσεβεῖς ἐβασανίζοντο.

10 Τούτους μὲν γὰρ ὡς πατὴρ νουθεντῶν ἐδοκίμασας, ἐκείνους δὲ ὡς ἀπότομος βασιλεὺς καταδικάζων ἐξήτασας.

11 Καὶ ἀπόντες δὲ καὶ παρόντες ὁμοίως ἐτρύχοντο.

12 Διπλῆ γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἔλαβε λύπη, καὶ στεναγμὸς μνημῶν τῶν παρελθουσῶν.

13 Ὅτε γὰρ ἤκουσαν διὰ τῶν ἰδίων κολάσεων εὐεργετουμένους αὐτοὺς, ᾔσθοντο τοῦ Κυρίου.

14 Τὸν γὰρ ἐν ἐκθέσει πάλαι ῥιφέντα ἀπεῖπον χλευάζοντες, ἐπὶ τέλει τῶν ἐκβάσεων ἐθαύμασαν, οὐχ ὅμοια δικαίοις διψήσαντες.

15 Ἀντὶ δὲ λογισμῶν ἀσυνέτων ἀδικίας αὐτῶν, ἐν οἷς πλανηθέντες ἐθρήσκευον ἄλογα ἑρπετὰ καὶ κνώδαλα εὐτελῆ, ἐπαπέστειλας αὐτοῖς πλῆθος ἀλόγων ζώων εἰς ἐκδίκησιν,

16 ἵνα γνῶσιν ὅτι διʼ ὧν τις ἁμαρτάνει, διὰ τούτων κολάζεται.

17 Οὐ γὰρ ἠπόρει ἡ παντοδύναμός σου χεὶρ κτίσασα τὸν κόσμον ἐξ ἀμόρφου ὕλης, ἐπιπέμψαι αὐτοῖς πλῆθος ἄρκων, ἢ θρασεῖς λέοντας,

18 ἢ νεοκτίστους θυμοῦ πλήρεις θῆρας ἀγνώστους, ἤτοι πυρπνόον φυσῶντας ἆσθμα, ἢ βρόμους λικμωμένους καπνοῦ, ἢ δεινοὺς ἀπʼ ὀμμάτων σπινθῆρας ἀστράπτοντας·

19 ὧν οὐ μόνον ἡ βλάβη ἠδύνατο συνεκτρίψαι αὐτοὺς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ ὄψις ἐκφοβήσασα διολέσαι.

20 Καὶ χωρὶς δὲ τούτων, ἑνὶ πνεύματι πεσεῖν ἐδύναντο ὑπὸ τῆς δίκης διωχθέντες, καὶ λικμηθέντες ὑπὸ πνεύματος δυνάμεώς σου· ἀλλὰ πάντα μέτρῳ καὶ ἀριθμῷ καὶ σταθμῷ διέταξας.

21 Τὸ γὰρ μεγάλως ἰσχύειν πάρεστί σοι πάντοτε, καὶ κράτει βραχίονός σου τις ἀντιστήσεται;

22 Ὅτι ὡς ῥοπὴ ἐκ πλαστίγγων ὅλος ὁ κόσμος ἐναντίον σου, καὶ ὡς ῥανὶς δρόσον ὀρθρινὴ κατελθοῦσα ἐπὶ γῆν.

23 Ἐλεεῖς δὲ πάντας, ὅτι πάντα δύνασαι, καὶ παρορᾷς ἁμαρτήματα ἀνθρώπων εἰς μετάνοιαν.

24 Ἀγαπᾷς γὰρ τὰ ὄντα πάντα, καὶ οὐδὲν βδελύσσῃ ὧν ἐποίησας, οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν μισῶν τι κατεσκεύασας.

25 Πῶς δὲ ἔμεινεν ἄν τι εἰ μὴ σὺ ἐθέλησας; ἢ τὸ μὴ κληθὲν ὑπὸ σοῦ διετηρήθη;

26 Φείδῃ δὲ πάντων, ὅτι σά ἐστι, δέσποτα φιλόψυχε.

1 She prospered their works in the hand of the holy prophet.

2 They went through the wilderness that was not inhabited, and pitched tents in places where there lay no way.

3 They stood against their enemies, and were avenged of their adversaries.

4 When they were thirsty, they called upon thee, and water was given them out of the flinty rock, and their thirst was quenched out of the hard stone.

5 For by what things their enemies were punished, by the same they in their need were benefited.

6 For instead of a fountain of a perpetual running river troubled with foul blood,

7 for a manifest reproof of that commandment, whereby the infants were slain, thou gavest unto them abundance of water by a means which they hoped not for:

8 declaring by that thirst then how thou hadst punished their adversaries.

9 For when they were tried, albeit but in mercy chastised, they knew how the ungodly were judged in wrath and tormented, thirsting in another manner than the just.

10 For these thou didst admonish and try, as a father: but the others, as a severe king, thou didst condemn and punish.

11 Whether they were absent or present, they were vexed alike.

12 For a double grief came upon them, and a groaning for the remembrance of things past.

13 For when they heard by their own punishments the other to be benefited, they had some feeling of the Lord.

14 For whom they rejected with scorn, when he was long before thrown out at the casting forth of the infants , him in the end, when they saw what came to pass, they admired.

15 But for the foolish devices of their wickedness, wherewith being deceived they worshipped serpents void of reason, and vile beasts, thou didst send a multitude of unreasonable beasts upon them for vengeance:

16 that they might know, that wherewithal a man sinneth, by the same shall he be punished.

17 For thy Almighty hand, that made the world of matter without form, wanted not means to send among them a multitude of bears, or fierce lions,

18 or unknown wild beasts, full of rage, newly created, breathing out either a fiery vapour, or filthy scents of scattered smoke, or shooting horrible sparkles out of their eyes:

19 whereof not only the harm might dispatch them at once, but also the terrible sight utterly destroy them.

20 Yea, and without these might they have fallen down with one blast, being persecuted of vengeance, and scattered abroad through the breath of thy power: but thou hast ordered all things in measure and number and weight.

21 For thou canst shew thy great strength at all times when thou wilt; and who may withstand the power of thine arm?

22 For the whole world before thee is as a little grain of the balance, yea, as a drop of the morning dew that falleth down upon the earth.

23 But thou hast mercy upon all; for thou canst do all things, and winkest at the sins of men, because they should amend.

24 For thou lovest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which thou hast made: for never wouldest thou have made any thing, if thou hadst hated it.

25 And how could any thing have endured, if it had not been thy will? or been preserved, if not called by thee?

26 But thou sparest all: for they are thine, O Lord, thou lover of souls.