Wisdom of Solomon 5

1Then the righteous man will stand with great boldness before those who afflicted him and those who disregarded his labors.

2When they see him, they will be shaken with dreadful fear, and they will be astonished at the unexpectedness of his salvation.

3They will say among themselves, repenting, and will groan because of anguish of spirit: “This is the one whom we once held in derision.”

4and as a proverb of reproach among fools. We considered his life madness, and his end dishonorable;

5How was he counted among the sons of God, and his lot is among the holy ones?

6So then we went astray from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness did not shine on us, and the sun did not rise for us.

7We were filled with paths of lawlessness and destruction, and we traveled through trackless deserts, but the way of the Lord we did not know.

8What did arrogance profit us? And what did wealth joined with boasting gain us?

9All those things passed away like a shadow, and like a report running past;

10like a ship passing through surging water, after it has gone by no trace can be found, nor the track of its keel in the waves;

11or like a bird flying through the air: no evidence of its path is found, though the light air, whipped by the stroke of its pinions and split by force with the whirring of moving wings, was traversed, and after that no sign of its passage was found in it.

12or like an arrow shot at a target: the air, once cut through, immediately closed up on itself, so that its path could not be known.

13So also we, once we were born, came to an end; and we had no sign of virtue to show, but were consumed in our wickedness.

14For the hope of the ungodly is like down carried by the wind, and like thin frost driven away by a storm, and like smoke dispersed by the wind, and passes by like the remembrance of a one-day guest.

15But the righteous live forever, and their reward is with the Lord, and their care is with the Most High.

16Therefore they will receive the kingdom of splendor and the crown of beauty from the hand of the Lord, because with his right hand he will shelter them, and with his arm he will defend them.

17He will take his zeal as full armor, and he will arm creation for defense against enemies;

18He will put on righteousness as a breastplate, and will place sincere judgment as a helmet;

19He will take holiness as an unconquerable shield,

20He will sharpen severe wrath into a sword, and the world will join battle with him against the senseless.

21Well-aimed bolts of lightning will go forth, and like from a well-drawn bow of clouds they will leap to the target,

22And hailstones full of stony wrath will be hurled, and the water of the sea will rage against them; and rivers will suddenly overwhelm them.

23A spirit of power will stand against them, and like a whirlwind it will winnow them away;