Wisdom of Solomon 7

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

7 I also am mortal like everyone else,
a descendant of the first-formed child of earth,
and in the womb of a mother I was molded into flesh,^(A)
2 within the period of ten months, compacted with blood,
from the seed of a man and the pleasure of marriage.
³ And when I was born, I began to breathe the common air
and fell upon the kindred earth;
my first sound was a cry, as is true of all.^(B)
4 I was nursed with care in swaddling cloths.^(C)
5 For no king has had a different beginning of existence;
⁶ there is for all one entrance into life and one way out.^(D)

⁷ Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me;
I called on God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.^(E)
8 I preferred her to scepters and thrones,
and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her.^(F)
9 Neither did I liken to her any priceless gem,
because all gold is but a little sand in her sight,
and silver will be accounted as clay before her.^(G)
10 I loved her more than health and beauty,
and I chose to have her rather than light
because her radiance never ceases.^(H)
11 All good things came to me along with her,
and in her hands uncounted wealth.^(I)
12 I rejoiced in them all because wisdom leads them,
but I did not know that she was their mother.
¹³ I learned without guile, and I impart without grudging;
I do not hide her wealth,^(J)
14 for it is an unfailing treasure for mortals;
those who get it obtain friendship with God,
commended for the gifts that come from instruction.^(K)

¹⁵ May God grant me to speak with judgment
and to have thoughts worthy of what I have received,
for he is the guide even of wisdom
and the corrector of the wise.^(L)
16 For both we and our words are in his hand,
as are all understanding and skill in crafts.^(M)
17 For it is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists,
to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements,^(N)
18 the beginning and end and middle of times,
the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons,
¹⁹ the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars,^(O)
20 the natures of animals and the tempers of wild animals,
the powers of spirits^[a] and the thoughts of human beings,
the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots;^(P)
21 I learned both what is secret and what is manifest,
²² for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.

There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy,
unique, manifold, subtle,
agile, clear, unpolluted,
distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen,
²³ irresistible, beneficent, humane,
steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,
all-powerful, overseeing all,
and penetrating through all spirits
that are intelligent, pure, and altogether subtle.^(Q)
24 For wisdom is more mobile than any motion;
because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.^(R)
25 For she is a breath of the power of God
and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;
therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.^(S)
26 For she is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of his goodness.^(T)
27 Although she is but one, she can do all things,
and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;
in every generation she passes into holy souls
and makes them friends of God and prophets,^(U)
28 for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.
²⁹ She is more beautiful than the sun
and excels every constellation of the stars.
Compared with the light she is found to be more radiant,^(V)
30 for it is succeeded by the night,
but against wisdom evil does not prevail.