3
1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
And no torment shall touch them.
2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died;
And their departure was accounted to be their hurt,
3 And their journeying away from us to be their ruin:
But they are in peace.
4 For even if in the sight of men they be punished,
Their hope is full of immortality;
5 And having borne a little chastening, they shall receive great good;
Because God made trial of them, and found them worthy of himself.
6 As gold in the furnace he proved them,
And as a whole burnt offering he accepted them.
7 And in the time of their visitation they shall shine forth,
And as sparks among stubble they shall run to and fro.
8 They shall judge nations, and have dominion over peoples;
And the Lord shall reign over them for evermore.
9 They that trust on him shall understand truth,
And * the faithful shall abide with him in love;
Because grace and mercy are to his chosen.
10 But the ungodly shall be requited even as they reasoned,
They which lightly regarded † the righteous man, and revolted from the Lord;
11 (For he that setteth at nought wisdom and discipline is miserable;)
And void is their hope and their toils unprofitable,
And useless are their works:
12 Their wives are foolish, and wicked are their children;
13 Accursed is their begetting.
Because happy is the barren that is undefiled,
She who hath not conceived in transgression;
She shall have fruit when God visiteth souls.
14 And happy is the eunuch which hath wrought no lawless deed with his hands,
Nor imagined wicked things against the Lord;
For there shall be given him for his faithfulness ‡ a peculiar favour,
And a lot in the sanctuary of the Lord more delightsome than wife or children.
15 For good labours have fruit of great renown;
And the root of understanding cannot fail.
16 But children of adulterers shall not come to maturity,
And the seed of an unlawful bed shall vanish away.
17 For if they live long, they shall be held in no account,
And at the last their old age shall be without honour.
18 And if they die quickly, they § shall have no hope,
Nor in the day of decision shall they have consolation.
19 For ** the end of an unrighteous generation is alway grievous.
* 3:9 Or, they that are faithful through love shall abide with him † 3:10 Or, that which is righteous ‡ 3:14 Or, the grace of God’s chosen Gr. a chosen grace. § 3:18 Some authorities read have ** 3:19 Gr. the ends...are grievous.