⁶ For wisdom is a kindly spirit,
but will not free blasphemers from the guilt of their words;
because God is witness of their inmost feelings,
and a true observer of their hearts, and a hearer of their tongues.
⁷ Because the spirit of the Lord has filled the world,
and that which holds all things together knows what is said,
⁸ therefore those who utter unrighteous things will not escape notice,
and justice, when it punishes, will not pass them by.
⁹ For inquiry will be made into the counsels of the ungodly,
and a report of their words will come to the Lord,
to convict them of their lawless deeds;
¹⁰ because a jealous ear hears all things,
and the sound of grumbling does not go unheard.
¹¹ Beware then of useless grumbling,
and keep your tongue from slander;
because no secret word is without result,^[a]
and a lying mouth destroys the soul.

¹² Do not invite death by the error of your life,
or bring on destruction by the works of your hands;
¹³ because God did not make death,
and he does not delight in the death of the living.
¹⁴ For he created all things so that they might exist;
the generative forces^[b] of the world are wholesome,
and there is no destructive poison in them,
and the dominion^[c] of Hades is not on earth.
¹⁵ For righteousness is immortal.

⁶ “Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that exist,
and make use of the creation to the full as in youth.
⁷ Let us take our fill of costly wine and perfumes,
and let no flower of spring pass us by.
⁸ Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither.
⁹ Let none of us fail to share in our revelry;
everywhere let us leave signs of enjoyment,
because this is our portion, and this our lot.
¹⁰ Let us oppress the righteous poor man;
let us not spare the widow
or regard the gray hairs of the aged.
¹¹ But let our might be our law of right,
for what is weak proves itself to be useless.

¹² “Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,
because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;
he reproaches us for sins against the law,
and accuses us of sins against our training.
¹³ He professes to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a child^[a] of the Lord.
¹⁴ He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;
¹⁵ the very sight of him is a burden to us,
because his manner of life is unlike that of others,
and his ways are strange.
¹⁶ We are considered by him as something base,
and he avoids our ways as unclean;
he calls the last end of the righteous happy,
and boasts that God is his father.
¹⁷ Let us see if his words are true,
and let us test what will happen at the end of his life;
¹⁸ for if the righteous man is God’s child, he will help him,
and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.
¹⁹ Let us test him with insult and torture,
so that we may find out how gentle he is,
and make trial of his forbearance.
²⁰ Let us condemn him to a shameful death,
for, according to what he says, he will be protected.”