Wisdom of Solomon 14:1-11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Folly of a Navigator Praying to an Idol
14 Again, one preparing to sail and about to voyage over raging waves
calls upon a piece of wood more fragile than the ship that carries him.(A)
2 For it was desire for gain that planned that vessel,
and wisdom was the artisan who built it,
3 but it is your providence, O Father, that steers its course,
because you have given it a path in the sea
and a safe way through the waves,(B)
4 showing that you can save from every danger,
so that even a person who lacks skill may put to sea.
5 It is your will that works of your wisdom should not be without effect;
therefore people trust their lives even to the smallest piece of wood,
and passing through the billows on a raft they come safely to land.(C)
6 For even in the beginning, when arrogant giants were perishing,
the hope of the world took refuge on a raft
and guided by your hand left to the world the seed of a new generation.(D)
7 For blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes.
8 But the idol made with hands is accursed, and so is the one who made it—
he for having made it, and the perishable thing because it was named a god.(E)
9 For equally hateful to God are the ungodly and their ungodliness,(F)
10 for what was done will be punished together with the one who did it.
11 Therefore there will be a visitation also upon the idols of the nations,
because, though part of what God created, they became an abomination,
stumbling blocks for human souls
and a trap for the feet of the foolish.(G)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.