Wisdom 3
The souls of the just are in God's hand, and they are at peace despite appearing to suffer in the eyes of the foolish. Those who trust in God will understand the truth and rest in him, while the impious will be chastised according to their thoughts. The righteous will be rewarded, and their good works will bear fruit, whereas the wicked will be punished and their labors will be useless. The iniquities of the people will ultimately lead to a dreadful result.
But the souls of the just are in the hand of God and no torment of death will touch themIn the eyes of the foolish, they seemed to die, and their departure was considered an afflictionand their going away from us, a banishment. Yet they are in peaceAnd though, in the sight of men, they suffered torments, their hope is full of immortalityTroubled in few things, in many things they will be well compensated, because God has tested them and found them worthy of himselfLike gold in the furnace, he has proved them, and as a holocaust victim, he has received them, and in the time of their visitatiothey will shine, and they will dash about like sparks among stubbleThey will judge the nations and they will rule over the people, and their Lord will reign foreverThose who trust in him, will understand the truth, and those who are faithful in love will rest in him, because grace and peace is for his electBut the impious will be chastised according to their thoughts, for they have neglected the just and have retreated from the LordFor whoever abandons wisdom and instruction is unhappy, and their hope is empty, and their labors without fruit, and their works uselessTheir wives are foolish and their sons are wicked; the things that serve them are accursedTherefore, fertile is the barren and undefiled, who has not known transgressions in bed; she will bear fruit by caring for holy soulsAnd fertile is the celibate, who has not wrought iniquity with his hands, nor thought wickedness against God; for to him will be given a special gift of faith and a very welcome place in the temple of the LordFor the fruit of good labors is glorious and the root of wisdom shall never perishBut the sons of adulterers will not reach completion, and the offspring of a sinful bed will be banishedAnd if they live long, they will be counted as nothing, and their last years of old-age will be without honorAnd if they die quickly, they will have no hope, nor words of comfort on the day of reckoningFor the iniquities of the people have a dreadful result
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