1But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and no torment will touch them.
2In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died.
Their departure was considered a disaster,
3and their travel away from us ruin,
but they are in peace.
4For even if in the sight of men they are punished,
their hope is full of immortality.
5Having borne a little chastening, they will receive great good;
because God tested them, and found them worthy of Himself.
6He tested them like gold in the furnace,
and He accepted them as a whole burnt offering.
7In the time of their visitation they will shine.
They will run back and forth like sparks among stubble.
8They will judge nations and have dominion over peoples.
The Lord will reign over them forever.
9Those who trust Him will understand truth.
The faithful will live with Him in love,
because grace and mercy are with His chosen ones.
10But the ungodly will be punished even as their reasoning deserves,
those who neglected righteousness and revolted from the Lord;
11for he who despises wisdom and discipline is miserable.
Their hope is void and their toils unprofitable.
Their works are useless.
12Their wives are foolish and their children are wicked.
13Their descendants are cursed.
For the barren woman who is undefiled is happy,
she who has not conceived in transgression.
She will have fruit when God examines souls.
14So is the eunuch which has done no lawless deed with his hands,
nor imagined wicked things against the Lord;
for a precious gift will be given to him for his faithfulness,
and a delightful inheritance in the Lord’s sanctuary.
15For good labors have fruit of great renown.
The root of understanding can’t fail.
16But children of adulterers will not come to maturity.
The seed of an unlawful union will vanish away.
17For if they live long, they will not be esteemed,
and in the end, their old age will be without honor.
18If they die young, they will have no hope,
nor consolation in the day of judgment.
19For the end of an unrighteous generation is always grievous.
1Justorum autem animæ in manu Dei sunt, et non tangent illos tormentum mortis. 2Visi sunt oculis insipientium mori, et æstimata est afflictio exitus illorum, 3et quod a nobis est iter exterminium; illi autem sunt in pace: 4etsi coram hominibus tormenta passi sunt, spes illorum immortalitate plena est. 5In paucis vexati sunt, in multis bene disponentur, quoniam Deus tentavit eos, et invenit illos dignos se. 6Tamquam aurum in fornace probavit illos, et quasi holocausti hostiam accepit illos, et in tempore erit respectus illorum. 7Fulgebunt justi et tamquam scintillæ in arundineto discurrent. 8Judicabunt nationes, et dominabuntur populis, et regnabit Dominus illorum in perpetuum. 9Qui confidunt in illo intelligent veritatem, et fideles in dilectione acquiescent illi, quoniam donum et pax est electis ejus. 10Impii autem secundum quæ cogitaverunt correptionem habebunt: qui neglexerunt justum, et a Domino recesserunt. 11Sapientiam enim et disciplinam qui abjicit infelix est: et vacua est spes illorum, et labores sine fructu, et inutilia opera eorum. 12Mulieres eorum insensatæ sunt, et nequissimi filii eorum. 13Maledicta creatura eorum, quoniam felix est sterilis; et incoinquinata, quæ nescivit thorum in delicto, habebit fructum in respectione animarum sanctarum; 14et spado qui non operatus est per manus suas iniquitatem, nec cogitavit adversus Deum nequissima: dabitur enim illi fidei donum electum, et sors in templo Dei acceptissima. 15Bonorum enim laborum gloriosus est fructus, et quæ non concidat radix sapientiæ. 16Filii autem adulterorum in inconsummatione erunt, et ab iniquo thoro semen exterminabitur. 17Et si quidem longæ vitæ erunt, in nihilum computabuntur, et sine honore erit novissima senectus illorum: 18et si celerius defuncti fuerint, non habebunt spem, nec in die agnitionis allocutionem. 19Nationis enim iniquæ diræ sunt consummationes.