\NormalFont\ShortTitle{Wisdom Of Solomon}

{\MT Wisdom of Solomon



\par }\PoetryChap{1}{\Q \VerseOne{1}{\SC{Love}} righteousness, ye that be judges of the earth:

\par }{\Q Think of the Lord with a good
{\ADD{heart}},

\par }{\Q And in simplicity of heart seek him.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}For he will be found of them that tempt him not;

\par }{\Q And showeth himself unto such as do not distrust him.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}For froward thoughts separate from God:

\par }{\Q And his power, when it is tried, reproveth the unwise.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{4}For into a malicious soul wisdom shall not enter:

\par }{\Q Nor dwell in the body that is subject unto sin.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}For the holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit,

\par }{\Q And remove from thoughts that are without understanding,

\par }{\Q And will not abide when unrighteousness cometh in.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{6}For wisdom is a loving spirit;

\par }{\Q And will not acquit a blasphemer of his words:

\par }{\Q For God is witness of his reins,

\par }{\Q And a true beholder of his heart,

\par }{\Q And a hearer of his tongue.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}For the Spirit of the Lord filleth the world:

\par }{\Q And that which containeth all things hath knowledge of the voice.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{8}Therefore he that speaketh unrighteous things cannot be hidden:

\par }{\Q Neither shall vengeance, when it punisheth, pass by him.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}For inquisition shall be made into the counsels of the ungodly:

\par }{\Q And the sound of his words shall come unto the Lord

\par }{\Q For the manifestation of his wicked deeds.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}For the ear of jealousy heareth all things:

\par }{\Q And the noise of murmurings is not hidden.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{11}Therefore beware of murmuring, which is unprofitable;

\par }{\Q And refrain your tongue from backbiting:

\par }{\Q For there is no word so secret, that shall go for nought:

\par }{\Q And the mouth that belieth slayeth the soul.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{12}Seek not death in the error of your life:

\par }{\Q And pull not upon yourselves destruction with the works of your hands.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}For God made not death:

\par }{\Q Neither hath he pleasure in the destruction of the living.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}For he created all things, that they might have their being:

\par }{\Q And the generations of the world were healthful;

\par }{\Q And there is no poison of destruction in them,

\par }{\Q Nor the kingdom of death upon the earth


\par }{\Q \VS{15}(For righteousness is immortal),


\par }{\Q \VS{16}But ungodly men with their works and words called it to them:

\par }{\Q For when they thought to have it their friend,

\par }{\Q They consumed to nought, and made a covenant with it,

\par }{\Q Because they are worthy to take part with it.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{2}{\Q \VerseOne{1}For
{\ADD{the ungodly}} said, reasoning with themselves,
{\ADD{but}} not aright,

\par }{\Q Our life is short and tedious,

\par }{\Q And in the death of a man there is no remedy:

\par }{\Q Neither was there any man known to have returned from the grave.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}For we are born at all adventure:

\par }{\Q And we shall be hereafter as though we had never been:

\par }{\Q For the breath in our nostrils is as smoke,

\par }{\Q And a little spark in the moving of our heart:


\par }{\Q \VS{3}Which being extinguished, our body shall be turned to ashes,

\par }{\Q And our spirit shall vanish as the soft air,


\par }{\Q \VS{4}And our name shall be forgotten in time,

\par }{\Q And no man shall have our works in remembrance,

\par }{\Q And our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud,

\par }{\Q And shall be dispersed as a mist,

\par }{\Q That is driven away with the beams of the sun,

\par }{\Q And overcome with the heat thereof.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{5}For our time is a very shadow that passeth away;

\par }{\Q And after our end there is no returning:

\par }{\Q For it is fast sealed, so that no man cometh again.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{6}Come on therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are present:

\par }{\Q And let us speedily use the creatures like as in youth.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments:

\par }{\Q And let no flower of the spring pass by us.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they be withered:


\par }{\Q \VS{9}Let none of us go without his part of our voluptuousness:

\par }{\Q Let us leave tokens of our joyfulness in every place:

\par }{\Q For this is our portion, and our lot is this.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{10}Let us oppress the poor righteous man,

\par }{\Q Let us not spare the widow,

\par }{\Q Nor reverence the ancient gray hairs of the aged.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}Let our strength be the law of justice:

\par }{\Q For that which is feeble is found to be nothing worth.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{12}Therefore let us lie in wait for the righteous; because he is not for our turn,

\par }{\Q And he is clean contrary to our doings:

\par }{\Q He upbraideth us with our offending the law,

\par }{\Q And objecteth to our infamy the transgressings of our education.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}He professeth to have the knowledge of God:

\par }{\Q And he calleth himself the child of the Lord.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}He was made to reprove our thoughts.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}He is grievous unto us even to behold:

\par }{\Q For his life is not like other men’s,

\par }{\Q His ways are of another fashion.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}We are esteemed of him as counterfeits:

\par }{\Q He abstaineth from our ways as from filthiness:

\par }{\Q He pronounceth the end of the just to be blessed,

\par }{\Q And maketh his boast that God is his father.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{17}Let us see if his words be true:

\par }{\Q And let us prove what shall happen in the end of him.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}For if the just man be the son of God, he will help him,

\par }{\Q And deliver him from the hand of his enemies.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}Let us examine him with despitefulness and torture,

\par }{\Q That we may know his meekness,

\par }{\Q And prove his patience.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}Let us condemn him with a shameful death:

\par }{\Q For by his own saying he shall be respected.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{21}Such things they did imagine, and were deceived:

\par }{\Q For their own wickedness hath blinded them.


\par }{\Q \VS{22}As for the mysteries of God, they knew them not:

\par }{\Q Neither hoped they for the wages of righteousness,

\par }{\Q Nor discerned a reward for blameless souls.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{23}For God created man to be immortal,

\par }{\Q And made him to be an image of his own eternity.


\par }{\Q \VS{24}Nevertheless through envy of the devil came death into the world:

\par }{\Q And they that are of his side do find it.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{3}{\Q \VerseOne{1}But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,

\par }{\Q And there shall no torment touch them.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die:

\par }{\Q And their departure is taken for misery,


\par }{\Q \VS{3}And their going from us to be utter destruction:

\par }{\Q But they are in peace.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}For though they be punished in the sight of men,

\par }{\Q Yet is their hope full of immortality.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{5}And having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded:

\par }{\Q For God proved them,

\par }{\Q And found them worthy for himself.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}As gold in the furnace hath he tried them,

\par }{\Q And received them as a burnt offering.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{7}And in the time of their visitation they shall shine,

\par }{\Q And run to and fro like sparks among the stubble.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the people,

\par }{\Q And their Lord shall reign forever.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}They that put their trust in him shall understand the truth:

\par }{\Q And such as be faithful in love shall abide with him:

\par }{\Q For grace and mercy is to his saints,

\par }{\Q And he hath care for his elect.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}But the ungodly shall be punished according to their own imaginations,

\par }{\Q Which have neglected the righteous, and forsaken the Lord.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{11}For whoso despiseth wisdom and nurture, he is miserable,

\par }{\Q And their hope is vain, their labors unfruitful,

\par }{\Q And their works unprofitable:


\par }{\Q \VS{12}Their wives are foolish,

\par }{\Q And their children wicked:


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{13}Their offspring is cursed.

\par }{\Q Wherefore blessed is the barren that is undefiled,

\par }{\Q Which hath not known the sinful bed:

\par }{\Q She shall have fruit in the visitation of souls.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{14}And
{\ADD{blessed is}} the eunuch, which with his hands hath wrought no iniquity,

\par }{\Q Nor imagined wicked things against God:

\par }{\Q For unto him shall be given the special gift of faith,

\par }{\Q And an inheritance in the temple of the Lord more acceptable to his mind.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}For glorious is the fruit of good labors:

\par }{\Q And the root of wisdom shall never fall away.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{16}As for the children of adulterers, they shall not come to their perfection,

\par }{\Q And the seed of an unrighteous bed shall be rooted out.


\par }{\Q \VS{17}For though they live long, yet shall they be nothing regarded:

\par }{\Q And their last age shall be without honor.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}Or, if they die quickly, they have no hope,

\par }{\Q Neither comfort in the day of trial.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}For horrible is the end of the unrighteous generation.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{4}{\Q \VerseOne{1}Better it is to have no children, and to have virtue:

\par }{\Q For the memorial thereof is immortal:

\par }{\Q Because it is known with God, and with men.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}When it is present, men take example at it;

\par }{\Q And when it is gone, they desire it:

\par }{\Q It weareth a crown, and triumpheth forever,

\par }{\Q Having gotten the victory, striving for undefiled rewards.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{3}But the multiplying brood of the ungodly shall not thrive,

\par }{\Q Nor take deep rooting from bastard slips,

\par }{\Q Nor lay any fast foundation.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}For though they flourish in branches for a time;

\par }{\Q Yet standing not fast, they shall be shaken with the wind,

\par }{\Q And through the force of winds they shall be rooted out.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}The imperfect branches shall be broken off,

\par }{\Q Their fruit unprofitable, not ripe to eat,

\par }{\Q Yea, meet for nothing.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}For children begotten of unlawful beds

\par }{\Q Are witnesses of wickedness against their parents in their trial.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}But though the righteous be prevented with death,

\par }{\Q Yet shall he be in rest.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{8}For honorable age is not that which standeth in length of time,

\par }{\Q Nor that is measured by number of years.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}But wisdom is the gray hair unto men,

\par }{\Q And an unspotted life is old age.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}He pleased God, and was beloved of him:

\par }{\Q So that living among sinners he was translated.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}Yea, speedily was he taken away, lest that wickedness should alter his understanding,

\par }{\Q Or deceit beguile his soul.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}For the bewitching of naughtiness doth obscure things that are honest;

\par }{\Q And the wandering of concupiscence doth undermine the simple mind.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}He, being made perfect in a short time, fulfilled a long time:


\par }{\Q \VS{14}For his soul pleased the Lord;

\par }{\Q Therefore hastened he
{\ADD{to take him away}} from among the wicked.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}This the people saw, and understood not,

\par }{\Q Neither laid they up this in their minds,

\par }{\Q That his grace and mercy is with his saints,

\par }{\Q And that he hath respect unto his chosen.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{16}Thus the righteous that is dead shall condemn the ungodly which are living;

\par }{\Q And youth that is soon perfected the many years and old age of the unrighteous.


\par }{\Q \VS{17}For they shall see the end of the wise,

\par }{\Q And shall not understand what God in his counsel hath decreed of him,

\par }{\Q And to what end the Lord hath set him in safety.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}They shall see him, and despise him;

\par }{\Q But God shall laugh them to scorn;

\par }{\Q And they shall hereafter be a vile carcass,

\par }{\Q And a reproach among the dead for evermore.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}For he shall rend them, and cast them down headlong, that they shall be speechless;

\par }{\Q And he shall shake them from the foundation;

\par }{\Q And they shall be utterly laid waste,

\par }{\Q And be in sorrow;

\par }{\Q And their memorial shall perish.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}And when they cast up the account of their sins, they shall come with fear:

\par }{\Q And their own iniquities shall convince them to their face.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{5}{\Q \VerseOne{1}Then shall the righteous man stand in great boldness

\par }{\Q Before the face of such as have afflicted him,

\par }{\Q And made no account of his labors.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}When they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear,

\par }{\Q And shall be amazed at the strangeness of his salvation,

\par }{\Q So far beyond all that they looked for.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}And they repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit

\par }{\Q Shall say within themselves,

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q This was he, whom we had sometimes in derision,

\par }{\Q And a proverb of reproach:


\par }{\Q \VS{4}We fools accounted his life madness,

\par }{\Q And his end to be without honor:


\par }{\Q \VS{5}How is he numbered among the children of God,

\par }{\Q And his lot is among the saints!


\par }{\Q \VS{6}Therefore have we erred from the way of truth,

\par }{\Q And the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us,

\par }{\Q And the sun of righteousness rose not upon us.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}We wearied ourselves in the way of wickedness and destruction:

\par }{\Q Yea, we have gone through deserts, where there lay no way:

\par }{\Q But as for the way of the Lord, we have not known it.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{8}What hath pride profited us?

\par }{\Q Or what good hath riches with
{\ADD{our}} vaunting brought us?


\par }{\Q \VS{9}All those things are passed away like a shadow,

\par }{\Q And as a post that hastened by;


\par }{\Q \VS{10}And as a ship that passeth over the waves of the water,

\par }{\Q Which when it is gone by, the trace thereof cannot be found,

\par }{\Q Neither the pathway of the keel in the waves:


\par }{\Q \VS{11}Or as when a bird hath flown through the air,

\par }{\Q There is no token of her way to be found,

\par }{\Q But the light air being beaten with the stroke of her wings,

\par }{\Q And parted with the violent noise and motion of them,

\par }{\Q Is passed through, and therein afterward no sign where she went is to be found;


\par }{\Q \VS{12}Or like as when an arrow is shot at a mark,

\par }{\Q It parteth the air, which immediately cometh together again,

\par }{\Q So that a man cannot know where it went through:


\par }{\Q \VS{13}Even so we in like manner, as soon as we were born, began to draw to our end,

\par }{\Q And had no sign of virtue to show;

\par }{\Q But were consumed in our own wickedness.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{14}For the hope of the ungodly is like dust that is blown away with the wind;

\par }{\Q Like a thin froth that is driven away with the storm;

\par }{\Q Like as the smoke which is dispersed here and there with a tempest,

\par }{\Q And passeth away as the remembrance of a guest that tarrieth but a day.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{15}But the righteous live for evermore;

\par }{\Q Their reward also is with the Lord,

\par }{\Q And the care of them is with the most High.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}Therefore shall they receive a glorious kingdom,

\par }{\Q And a beautiful crown from the Lord’s hand:

\par }{\Q For with his right hand shall he cover them,

\par }{\Q And with his arm shall he protect them.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{17}He shall take to him his jealousy for complete armor,

\par }{\Q And make the creature his weapon for the revenge of
{\ADD{his}} enemies.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate,

\par }{\Q And true judgment instead of a helmet.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}He shall take holiness for an invincible shield.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}His severe wrath shall he sharpen for a sword,

\par }{\Q And the world shall fight with him against the unwise.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{21}Then shall the right aiming thunderbolts go abroad;

\par }{\Q And from the clouds, as from a well drawn bow, shall they fly to the mark.


\par }{\Q \VS{22}And hailstones full of wrath shall be cast
{\ADD{as}} out of a stone bow,

\par }{\Q And the water of the sea shall rage against them,

\par }{\Q And the floods shall cruelly drown them.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{23}Yea, a mighty wind shall stand up against them,

\par }{\Q And like a storm shall blow them away:

\par }{\Q Thus iniquity shall lay waste the whole earth,

\par }{\Q And ill dealing shall overthrow the thrones of the mighty.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{6}{\Q \VerseOne{1}Hear therefore, O ye kings, and understand;

\par }{\Q Learn, ye that be judges of the ends of the earth.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}Give ear, ye that rule the people,

\par }{\Q And glory in the multitude of nations.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}For power is given you of the Lord,

\par }{\Q And sovereignty from the Highest,

\par }{\Q Who shall try your works, and search out your counsels.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}Because, being ministers of his kingdom, ye have not judged aright,

\par }{\Q Nor kept the law,

\par }{\Q Nor walked after the counsel of God;


\par }{\Q \VS{5}Horribly and speedily shall he come upon you:

\par }{\Q For a sharp judgment shall be to them that be in high places.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}For mercy will soon pardon the meanest:

\par }{\Q But mighty men shall be mightily tormented.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}For he which is Lord over all shall fear no man’s person,

\par }{\Q Neither shall he stand in awe of any man’s greatness:

\par }{\Q For he hath made the small and great,

\par }{\Q And careth for all alike.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}But a sore trial shall come upon the mighty.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{9}Unto you therefore, O kings, do I speak,

\par }{\Q That ye may learn wisdom, and not fall away.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}For they that keep holiness holily shall be judged holy:

\par }{\Q And they that have learned such things shall find what to answer.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}Wherefore set your affection upon my words;

\par }{\Q Desire them, and ye shall be instructed.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{12}Wisdom is glorious, and never fadeth away:

\par }{\Q Yea, she is easily seen of them that love her,

\par }{\Q And found of such as seek her.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{13}She preventeth them that desire her,

\par }{\Q In making herself first known unto them.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}Whoso seeketh her early shall have no great travail:

\par }{\Q For he shall find her sitting at his doors.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}To think therefore upon her is the perfection of wisdom:

\par }{\Q And whoso watcheth for her shall quickly be without care.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}For she goeth about seeking such as are worthy of her,

\par }{\Q Showeth herself favorably unto them in the ways,

\par }{\Q And meeteth them in every thought.


\par }{\Q \VS{17}For the very true beginning of her is the desire of discipline;

\par }{\Q And the care of discipline is love;


\par }{\Q \VS{18}And love is the keeping of her laws;

\par }{\Q And the giving heed unto her laws is the assurance of incorruption;


\par }{\Q \VS{19}And incorruption maketh us near unto God:


\par }{\Q \VS{20}Therefore the desire of wisdom bringeth to a kingdom.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{21}If your delight be then in thrones and scepters, O ye kings of the people,

\par }{\Q Honor wisdom, that ye may reign for evermore.


\par }{\Q \VS{22}As for wisdom, what she is, and how she came up, I will tell you,

\par }{\Q And will not hide mysteries from you:

\par }{\Q But will seek her out from the beginning of her nativity,

\par }{\Q And bring the knowledge of her into light,

\par }{\Q And will not pass over the truth.


\par }{\Q \VS{23}Neither will I go with consuming envy;

\par }{\Q For such a man shall have no fellowship with wisdom.


\par }{\Q \VS{24}But the multitude of the wise is the welfare of the world:

\par }{\Q And a wise king is the upholding of the people.


\par }{\Q \VS{25}Receive therefore instruction through my words,

\par }{\Q And it shall do you good.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{7}{\Q \VerseOne{1}I myself also am a mortal man, like to all,

\par }{\Q And the offspring of him that was first made of the earth,


\par }{\Q \VS{2}And in my mother’s womb was fashioned to be flesh

\par }{\Q In the time of ten months, being compacted in blood,

\par }{\Q Of the seed of man, and the pleasure that came with sleep.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}And when I was born, I drew in the common air,

\par }{\Q And fell upon the earth, which is of like nature,

\par }{\Q And the first voice which I uttered was crying, as all others do.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}I was nursed in swaddling clothes, and that with cares.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}For there is no king that had any other beginning of birth.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}For all men have one entrance into life, and the like going out.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{7}Wherefore I prayed, and understanding was given me:

\par }{\Q I called
{\ADD{upon God}}, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}I preferred her before scepters and thrones,

\par }{\Q And esteemed riches nothing in comparison of her.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}Neither compared I unto her any precious stone,

\par }{\Q Because all gold in respect of her is as a little sand,

\par }{\Q And silver shall be counted as clay before her.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}I loved her above health and beauty,

\par }{\Q And chose to have her instead of light:

\par }{\Q For the light that cometh from her never goeth out.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{11}All good things together came to me with her,

\par }{\Q And innumerable riches in her hands.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}And I rejoiced in
{\ADD{them}} all, because wisdom goeth before them:

\par }{\Q And I knew not that she was the mother of them.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{13}I learned diligently, and do communicate
{\ADD{her}} liberally:

\par }{\Q I do not hide her riches.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}For she is a treasure unto men that never faileth:

\par }{\Q Which they that use become the friends of God,

\par }{\Q Being commended for the gifts that come from learning.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{15}God hath granted me to speak as I would,

\par }{\Q And to conceive as is meet for the things that are given me:

\par }{\Q Because it is he that leadeth unto wisdom,

\par }{\Q And directeth the wise.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}For in his hand are both we and our words;

\par }{\Q All wisdom also, and knowledge of workmanship.


\par }{\Q \VS{17}For he hath given me certain knowledge of the things that are,

\par }{\Q Namely, to know how the world was made, and the operation of the elements:


\par }{\Q \VS{18}The beginning, ending, and midst of the times:

\par }{\Q The alterations of the turning
{\ADD{of the sun}}, and change of seasons:


\par }{\Q \VS{19}The circuits of years, and positions of stars:


\par }{\Q \VS{20}The natures of living creatures, and the furies of wild beasts:

\par }{\Q The violence of winds, and the reasonings of men:

\par }{\Q The diversities of plants, and the virtues of roots:


\par }{\Q \VS{21}And all such things as are either secret or manifest,
{\ADD{them}} I know.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{22}For wisdom, which is the worker of all things, taught me:

\par }{\Q For in her is an understanding spirit, holy,

\par }{\Q One only, manifold, subtle,

\par }{\Q Lively, clear, undefiled,

\par }{\Q Plain, not subject to hurt, loving the thing that is good, quick,

\par }{\Q Which cannot be letted, ready to do good,

\VS{23}kind to man,

\par }{\Q Steadfast, sure, free from care,

\par }{\Q Having all power, overseeing all things,

\par }{\Q And going through all understanding,

\par }{\Q Pure, and most subtle, spirits.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{24}For wisdom is more moving than any motion:

\par }{\Q She passeth and goeth through all things by reason of her pureness.


\par }{\Q \VS{25}For she is the breath of the power of God,

\par }{\Q And a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty:

\par }{\Q Therefore can no defiled thing fall into her.


\par }{\Q \VS{26}For she is the brightness of the everlasting light,

\par }{\Q The unspotted mirror of the power of God,

\par }{\Q And the image of his goodness.


\par }{\Q \VS{27}And being but one, she can do all things:

\par }{\Q And remaining in herself, she maketh all things new:

\par }{\Q And in all ages entering into holy souls,

\par }{\Q She maketh them friends of God, and prophets.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{28}For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom.


\par }{\Q \VS{29}For she is more beautiful than the sun,

\par }{\Q And above all the order of stars:

\par }{\Q Being compared with the light, she is found before it.


\par }{\Q \VS{30}For after this cometh night:

\par }{\Q But vice shall not prevail against wisdom.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{8}{\Q \VerseOne{1}{\ADD{Wisdom}} reacheth from one end to another mightily;

\par }{\Q And sweetly doth she order all things.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{2}I loved her, and sought
{\ADD{her}} out from my youth,

\par }{\Q I desired to make
{\ADD{her}} my spouse,

\par }{\Q And I was a lover of her beauty.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}In that she is conversant with God, she magnifieth her nobility:

\par }{\Q Yea, the Lord of all things himself loved her.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}For she is privy to the mysteries of the knowledge of God,

\par }{\Q And a lover of his works.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{5}If riches be a possession to be desired in this life;

\par }{\Q What is richer than wisdom, that worketh all things?


\par }{\Q \VS{6}And if prudence work;

\par }{\Q Who of all that are is a more cunning workman than she?


\par }{\Q \VS{7}And if a man love righteousness,

\par }{\Q Her labors are virtues:

\par }{\Q For she teacheth temperance and prudence,

\par }{\Q Justice and fortitude:

\par }{\Q Which are such things, as men can have nothing more profitable in their life.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}If a man desire much experience,

\par }{\Q She knoweth things of old, and conjectureth
{\ADD{aright}} what is to come:

\par }{\Q She knoweth the subtleties of speeches, and can expound dark sentences:

\par }{\Q She foreseeth signs and wonders,

\par }{\Q And the events of seasons and times.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{9}Therefore I purposed to take her to me to live with me,

\par }{\Q Knowing that she would be a counselor of good things,

\par }{\Q And a comfort in cares and grief.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}For her sake I shall have estimation among the multitude,

\par }{\Q And honor with the elders, though I be young.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}I shall be found of a quick conceit in judgment,

\par }{\Q And shall be admired in the sight of great men.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}When I hold my tongue, they shall bide my leisure,

\par }{\Q And when I speak, they shall give good ear unto me:

\par }{\Q If I talk much, they shall lay their hands upon their mouth.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{13}Moreover by the means of her I shall obtain immortality,

\par }{\Q And leave behind me an everlasting memorial to them that come after me.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}I shall set the people in order,

\par }{\Q And the nations shall be subject unto me.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}Horrible tyrants shall be afraid when they do but hear of me;

\par }{\Q I shall be found good among the multitude, and valiant in war.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}After I am come into my house, I will repose myself with her:

\par }{\Q For her conversation hath no bitterness:

\par }{\Q And to live with her hath no sorrow,

\par }{\Q But mirth and joy.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{17}Now when I considered these things in myself,

\par }{\Q And pondered them in my heart,

\par }{\Q How that to be allied unto wisdom is immortality;


\par }{\Q \VS{18}And great pleasure it is to have her friendship;

\par }{\Q And in the works of her hands are infinite riches;

\par }{\Q And in the exercise of conference with her, prudence;

\par }{\Q And in talking with her, a good report;

\par }{\Q I went about seeking how to take her to me.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{19}For I was a witty child,

\par }{\Q And had a good spirit.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}Yea rather, being good, I came into a body undefiled.


\par }{\Q \VS{21}Nevertheless, when I perceived that I could not otherwise obtain her, except God gave her me;

\par }{\Q And that was a point of wisdom also to know whose gift she was;

\par }{\Q I prayed unto the Lord, and besought him,

\par }{\Q And with my whole heart I said,


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{9}{\Q \VerseOne{1}O God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy,

\par }{\Q Who hast made all things with thy word,


\par }{\Q \VS{2}And ordained man through thy wisdom,

\par }{\Q That he should have dominion over the creatures which thou hast made,


\par }{\Q \VS{3}And order the world according to equity and righteousness,

\par }{\Q And execute judgment with an upright heart:


\par }{\Q \VS{4}Give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne;

\par }{\Q And reject me not from among thy children:


\par }{\Q \VS{5}For I thy servant and son of thy handmaid

\par }{\Q Am a feeble person, and of a short time,

\par }{\Q And too young for the understanding of judgment and laws.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{6}For though a man be never so perfect among the children of men,

\par }{\Q Yet if thy wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{7}Thou hast chosen me to be a king of thy people,

\par }{\Q And a judge of thy sons and daughters:


\par }{\Q \VS{8}Thou hast commanded me to build a temple upon thy holy mount,

\par }{\Q And an altar in the city wherein thou dwellest,

\par }{\Q A resemblance of the holy tabernacle, which thou hast prepared from the beginning.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}And wisdom was with thee: which knoweth thy works,

\par }{\Q And was present when thou madest the world,

\par }{\Q And knew what was acceptable in thy sight,

\par }{\Q And right in thy commandments.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}O send her out of thy holy heavens,

\par }{\Q And from the throne of thy glory,

\par }{\Q That being present she may labor with me,

\par }{\Q That I may know what is pleasing unto thee.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}For she knoweth and understandeth all things,

\par }{\Q And she shall lead me soberly in my doings,

\par }{\Q And preserve me in her power.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}So shall my works be acceptable,

\par }{\Q And then shall I judge thy people righteously,

\par }{\Q And be worthy to sit in my father’s seat.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{13}For what man is he that can know the counsel of God?

\par }{\Q Or who can think what the will of the Lord is?


\par }{\Q \VS{14}For the thoughts of mortal men are miserable,

\par }{\Q And our devices are but uncertain.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}For the corruptible body presseth down the soul,

\par }{\Q And the earthy tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}And hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon earth,

\par }{\Q And with labor do we find the things that are before us:

\par }{\Q But the things that are in heaven who hath searched out?


\par }{\Q \VS{17}And thy counsel who hath known, except thou give wisdom,

\par }{\Q And send thy Holy Spirit from above?


\par }{\Q \VS{18}For so the ways of them which lived on the earth were reformed,

\par }{\Q And men were taught the things that are pleasing unto thee,

\par }{\Q And were saved through wisdom.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{10}{\Q \VerseOne{1}She preserved the first formed father of the world,

\par }{\Q That was created alone,

\par }{\Q And brought him out of his fall,


\par }{\Q \VS{2}And gave him power to rule all things.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{3}But when the unrighteous went away from her in his anger,

\par }{\Q He perished also in the fury wherewith he murdered his brother.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}For whose cause the earth being drowned with the flood, wisdom again preserved it,

\par }{\Q And directed the course of the righteous in a piece of wood of small value.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}Moreover, the nations in their wicked conspiracy being confounded,

\par }{\Q She found out the righteous, and preserved him blameless unto God,

\par }{\Q And kept him strong against his tender compassion toward his son.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{6}When the ungodly perished, she delivered the righteous man,

\par }{\Q Who fled from the fire which fell down upon the five cities.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}Of whose wickedness, even to this day the waste land that smoketh is a testimony,

\par }{\Q And plants bearing fruit that never come to ripeness:

\par }{\Q And a standing pillar of salt is a monument of an unbelieving soul.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}For regarding not wisdom,

\par }{\Q They got not only this hurt, that they knew not the things which were good;

\par }{\Q But also left behind them to the world a memorial of their foolishness:

\par }{\Q So that in the things wherein they offended they could not so much as be hidden.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}But wisdom delivered from pain those that attended upon her.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{10}When the righteous fled from his brother’s wrath,

\par }{\Q She guided him in right paths, showed him the kingdom of God,

\par }{\Q And gave him knowledge of holy things,

\par }{\Q Made him rich in his travails,

\par }{\Q And multiplied
{\ADD{the fruit of}} his labors.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}In the covetousness of such as oppressed him she stood by him,

\par }{\Q And made him rich.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}She defended him from his enemies,

\par }{\Q And kept him safe from those that lay in wait,

\par }{\Q And in a sore conflict she gave him the victory;

\par }{\Q That he might know that godliness is stronger than all.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{13}When the righteous was sold, she forsook him not,

\par }{\Q But delivered him from sin:

\par }{\Q She went down with him into the pit,


\par }{\Q \VS{14}And left him not in bonds,

\par }{\Q Till she brought him the scepter of the kingdom,

\par }{\Q And power against those that oppressed him:

\par }{\Q As for them that had accused him, she showed them to be liars,

\par }{\Q And gave him perpetual glory.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{15}She delivered the righteous people and blameless seed

\par }{\Q From the nation that oppressed them.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{16}She entered into the soul of the servant of the Lord,

\par }{\Q And withstood dreadful kings in wonders and signs;


\par }{\Q \VS{17}Rendered to the righteous a reward of their labors,

\par }{\Q Guided them in a marvelous way,

\par }{\Q And was unto them for a cover by day,

\par }{\Q And a light of stars in the night season;


\par }{\Q \VS{18}Brought them through the Red Sea,

\par }{\Q And led them through much water:


\par }{\Q \VS{19}But she drowned their enemies,

\par }{\Q And cast them up out of the bottom of the deep.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}Therefore the righteous spoiled the ungodly,

\par }{\Q And praised thy holy name, O Lord,

\par }{\Q And magnified with one accord thy hand, that fought for them.


\par }{\Q \VS{21}For wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb,

\par }{\Q And made the tongues of them that cannot speak eloquent.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{11}{\Q \VerseOne{1}She prospered their works in the hand of the holy prophet.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}They went through the wilderness that was not inhabited,

\par }{\Q And pitched tents in places where there lay no way.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}They stood against their enemies, and were avenged of their adversaries.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}When they were thirsty, they called upon thee,

\par }{\Q And water was given them out of the flinty rock,

\par }{\Q And their thirst was quenched out of the hard stone.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}For by what things their enemies were punished,

\par }{\Q By the same they in their need were benefited.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}For instead of a fountain of a perpetual running river

\par }{\Q Troubled with foul blood,


\par }{\Q \VS{7}For a manifest reproof of that commandment, whereby the infants were slain,

\par }{\Q Thou gavest unto them abundance of water by a means which they hoped not for:


\par }{\Q \VS{8}Declaring by that thirst then how

\par }{\Q Thou hadst punished their adversaries.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{9}For when they were tried, albeit but in mercy chastised,

\par }{\Q They knew how the ungodly were judged in wrath and tormented,

\par }{\Q Thirsting in another manner than the just.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}For these thou didst admonish and try, as a father:

\par }{\Q But the others, as a severe king, thou didst condemn and punish.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}Whether they were absent or present, they were vexed alike.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}For a double grief came upon them,

\par }{\Q And a groaning for the remembrance of things past.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}For when they heard by their own punishments the other to be benefited,

\par }{\Q They had some feeling of the Lord.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}For whom they rejected with scorn, when he was long before thrown out at the casting forth
{\ADD{of the infants}},

\par }{\Q Him in the end, when they saw what came to pass, they admired.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{15}But for the foolish devices of their wickedness,

\par }{\Q Wherewith being deceived they worshiped serpents void of reason, and vile beasts,

\par }{\Q Thou didst send a multitude of unreasonable beasts upon them for vengeance:


\par }{\Q \VS{16}That they might know, that wherewithal a man sinneth, by the same shall he be punished.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{17}For thy Almighty hand,

\par }{\Q That made the world of matter without form,

\par }{\Q Wanted not means to send among them a multitude of bears, or fierce lions,


\par }{\Q \VS{18}Or unknown wild beasts, full of rage, newly created,

\par }{\Q Breathing out either a fiery vapor,

\par }{\Q Or filthy scents of scattered smoke,

\par }{\Q Or shooting horrible sparkles out of their eyes:


\par }{\Q \VS{19}Whereof not only the harm might dispatch them at once,

\par }{\Q But also the terrible sight utterly destroy them.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}Yea, and without these might they have fallen down with one blast,

\par }{\Q Being persecuted of vengeance,

\par }{\Q And scattered abroad through the breath of thy power:

\par }{\Q But thou hast ordered all things in measure and number and weight.


\par }{\Q \VS{21}For thou canst show thy great strength at all times when thou wilt;

\par }{\Q And who may withstand the power of thine arm?


\par }{\Q \VS{22}For the whole world before thee is as a little grain of the balance,

\par }{\Q Yea, as a drop of the morning dew that falleth down upon the earth.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{23}But thou hast mercy upon all; for thou canst do all things,

\par }{\Q And winkest at the sins of men, because they should amend.


\par }{\Q \VS{24}For thou lovest all the things that are,

\par }{\Q And abhorrest nothing which thou hast made:

\par }{\Q For never wouldest thou have made anything, if thou hadst hated it.


\par }{\Q \VS{25}And how could anything have endured, if it had not been thy will?

\par }{\Q Or been preserved, if not called by thee?


\par }{\Q \VS{26}But thou sparest all: for they are thine, O Lord, thou lover of souls.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{12}{\Q \VerseOne{1}For thine incorruptible Spirit is in all things.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}Therefore chastenest thou them by little and little that offend,

\par }{\Q And warnest them by putting them in remembrance wherein they have offended,

\par }{\Q That leaving their wickedness they may believe on thee, O Lord.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}For it was thy will to destroy by the hands of our fathers

\par }{\Q Both those old inhabitants of thy holy land,


\par }{\Q \VS{4}Whom thou hatedst for doing

\par }{\Q Most odious works of witchcrafts, and wicked sacrifices;


\par }{\Q \VS{5}And also those merciless murderers of children,

\par }{\Q And devourers of man’s flesh, and the feasts of blood,


\par }{\Q \VS{6}With their priests out of the midst of their idolatrous crew,

\par }{\Q And the parents, that killed with their own hands souls destitute of help:


\par }{\Q \VS{7}That the land, which thou esteemedst above all other,

\par }{\Q Might receive a worthy colony of God’s children.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{8}Nevertheless even those thou sparedst as men,

\par }{\Q And didst send wasps, forerunners of thy host,

\par }{\Q To destroy them by little and little.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}Not that thou wast unable to bring the ungodly under the hand of the righteous in battle,

\par }{\Q Or to destroy them at once with cruel beasts, or with one rough word:


\par }{\Q \VS{10}But executing thy judgments upon them by little and little, thou gavest them place of repentance,

\par }{\Q Not being ignorant that they were a naughty generation,

\par }{\Q And that their malice was bred in them,

\par }{\Q And that their cogitation would never be changed.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}For it was a cursed seed from the beginning;

\par }{\Q Neither didst thou for fear of any man give them pardon for those things wherein they sinned.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}For who shall say, What hast thou done?

\par }{\Q Or who shall withstand thy judgment?

\par }{\Q Or who shall accuse thee for the nations that perish, whom thou hast made?

\par }{\Q Or who shall come to stand against thee, to be revenged for the unrighteous men?


\par }{\Q \VS{13}For neither is there any God but thou that careth for all,

\par }{\Q To whom thou mightest show that thy judgment is not unright.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{14}Neither shall king or tyrant be able to set his face against thee for any whom thou hast punished.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}Forsomuch then as thou art righteous thyself, thou orderest all things righteously:

\par }{\Q Thinking it not agreeable with thy power

\par }{\Q To condemn him that hath not deserved to be punished.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}For thy power is the beginning of righteousness,

\par }{\Q And because thou art the Lord of all, it maketh thee to be gracious unto all.


\par }{\Q \VS{17}For when men will not believe that thou art of a full power, thou showest thy strength,

\par }{\Q And among them that know it thou makest their boldness manifest.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}But thou, mastering thy power, judgest with equity,

\par }{\Q And orderest us with great favor:

\par }{\Q For thou mayest use power when thou wilt.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{19}But by such works hast thou taught thy people

\par }{\Q That the just man should be merciful,

\par }{\Q And hast made thy children to be of a good hope

\par }{\Q That thou givest repentance for sins.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}For if thou didst punish the enemies of thy children, and the condemned to death, with such deliberation,

\par }{\Q Giving them time and place whereby they might be delivered from their malice:


\par }{\Q \VS{21}With how great circumspection didst thou judge thine own sons,

\par }{\Q Unto whose fathers thou hast sworn, and made covenants of good promises?


\par }{\Q \VS{22}Therefore, whereas thou dost chasten us, thou scourgest our enemies a thousand times more,

\par }{\Q To the intent that, when we judge, we should carefully think of thy goodness,

\par }{\Q And when we ourselves are judged, we should look for mercy.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{23}Wherefore, whereas men have lived dissolutely and unrighteously,

\par }{\Q Thou hast tormented them with their own abominations.


\par }{\Q \VS{24}For they went astray very far in the ways of error,

\par }{\Q And held them for gods, which even among the beasts of their enemies were despised,

\par }{\Q Being deceived, as children of no understanding.


\par }{\Q \VS{25}Therefore unto them, as to children without the use of reason,

\par }{\Q Thou didst send a judgment to mock them.


\par }{\Q \VS{26}But they that would not be reformed by that correction, wherein he dallied with them,

\par }{\Q Shall feel a judgment worthy of God.


\par }{\Q \VS{27}For, look, for what things they grudged, when they were punished,

\par }{\Q That is, for them whom they thought to be gods;
{\ADD{now}} being punished in them,

\par }{\Q When they saw it, they acknowledged him to be the true God, whom before they denied to know;

\par }{\Q And therefore came extreme damnation upon them.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{13}{\Q \VerseOne{1}Surely vain are all men by nature, who are ignorant of God,

\par }{\Q And could not out of the good things that are seen know him that is:

\par }{\Q Neither by considering the works did they acknowledge the workmaster;


\par }{\Q \VS{2}But deemed either fire, or wind, or the swift air,

\par }{\Q Or the circle of the stars, or the violent water,

\par }{\Q Or the lights of heaven, to be the gods which govern the world.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}With whose beauty if they being delighted took them to be gods;

\par }{\Q Let them know how much better the Lord of them is:

\par }{\Q For the first author of beauty hath created them.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}But if they were astonished at their power and virtue,

\par }{\Q Let them understand by them, how much mightier he is that made them.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{5}For by the greatness and beauty of the creatures

\par }{\Q Proportionably the maker of them is seen.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}But yet for this they are the less to be blamed:

\par }{\Q For they peradventure err,

\par }{\Q Seeking God, and desirous to find him.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}For being conversant in his works they search
{\ADD{him}} diligently,

\par }{\Q And believe their sight: because the things are beautiful that are seen.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}Howbeit neither are they to be pardoned.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}For if they were able to know so much,

\par }{\Q That they could aim at the world;

\par }{\Q How did they not sooner find out the Lord thereof?


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{10}But miserable are they, and in dead things is their hope,

\par }{\Q Who called them gods, which are the works of men’s hands,

\par }{\Q Gold and silver, to show art in,

\par }{\Q And resemblances of beasts,

\par }{\Q Or a stone good for nothing, the work of an ancient hand.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}Now a carpenter that felleth timber, after he hath sawn down a tree meet for the purpose,

\par }{\Q And taken off all the bark skillfully round about,

\par }{\Q And hath wrought it handsomely,

\par }{\Q And made a vessel thereof fit for the service of man’s life;


\par }{\Q \VS{12}And after spending the refuse of his work to dress his meat, hath filled himself;


\par }{\Q \VS{13}And taking the very refuse among those which served to no use,

\par }{\Q Being a crooked piece of wood, and full of knots,

\par }{\Q Hath carved it diligently when he had nothing else to do,

\par }{\Q And formed it by the skill of his understanding,

\par }{\Q And fashioned it to the image of a man;


\par }{\Q \VS{14}Or made it like some vile beast,

\par }{\Q Laying it over with vermilion, and with paint coloring it red,

\par }{\Q And coloring every spot therein;


\par }{\Q \VS{15}And when he had made a convenient room for it,

\par }{\Q Set it in a wall, and made it fast with iron:


\par }{\Q \VS{16}For he provided for it that it might not fall,

\par }{\Q Knowing that it was unable to help itself;

\par }{\Q For it is an image, and hath need of help.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{17}Then maketh he prayer for his goods, for his wife and children,

\par }{\Q And is not ashamed to speak to that which hath no life.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}For health he calleth upon that which is weak:

\par }{\Q For life prayeth to that which is dead:

\par }{\Q For aid humbly beseecheth that which hath least means to help:

\par }{\Q And for a good journey he asketh of that which cannot set a foot forward:


\par }{\Q \VS{19}And for gaining and getting, and for good success of his hands,

\par }{\Q Asketh ability to do of him, that is most unable to do anything.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{14}{\Q \VerseOne{1}Again, one preparing himself to sail, and about to pass through the raging waves,

\par }{\Q Calleth upon a piece of wood more rotten than the vessel that carrieth him.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}For verily desire of gain devised that,

\par }{\Q And the workman built it by his skill.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}But thy providence, O Father, governeth it:

\par }{\Q For thou hast made a way in the sea,

\par }{\Q And a safe path in the waves;


\par }{\Q \VS{4}Showing that thou canst save from all danger:

\par }{\Q Yea, though a man went to sea without art.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}Nevertheless thou wouldest not that the works of thy wisdom should be idle,

\par }{\Q And therefore do men commit their lives to a small piece of wood,

\par }{\Q And passing the rough sea in a weak vessel are saved.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{6}For in the old time also, when the proud giants perished,

\par }{\Q The hope of the world governed by thy hand escaped in a weak vessel,

\par }{\Q And left to all ages a seed of generation.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}For blessed is the wood whereby righteousness cometh.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{8}But that which is made with hands is cursed, as well it, as he that made it:

\par }{\Q He, because he made it: and it, because, being corruptible, it was called God.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}For the ungodly and his ungodliness are both alike hateful unto God.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}For that which is made shall be punished together with him that made it.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}Therefore even upon the idols of the Gentiles shall there be a visitation:

\par }{\Q Because in the creature of God they are become an abomination,

\par }{\Q And stumbling blocks to the souls of men,

\par }{\Q And a snare to the feet of the unwise.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{12}For the devising of idols was the beginning of
{\ADD{spiritual}} fornication,

\par }{\Q And the invention of them the corruption of life.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}For neither were they from the beginning, neither shall they be forever.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}For by the vain glory of men they entered into the world,

\par }{\Q And therefore shall they come shortly to an end.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}For a father afflicted with untimely mourning,

\par }{\Q When he hath made an image of his child soon taken away,

\par }{\Q Now honored him as a god, which was then a dead man,

\par }{\Q And delivered to those that were under him ceremonies and sacrifices.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}Thus in process of time an ungodly custom grown strong was kept as a law,

\par }{\Q And graven images were worshiped by the commandments of kings.


\par }{\Q \VS{17}Whom men could not honor in presence, because they dwelt far off,

\par }{\Q They took the counterfeit of his visage from far,

\par }{\Q And made an express image of a king whom they honored,

\par }{\Q To the end that by this their forwardness they might flatter him that was absent, as if he were present.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{18}Also the singular diligence of the artificer

\par }{\Q Did help to set forward the ignorant to more superstition.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}For he, peradventure willing to please one in authority,

\par }{\Q Forced all his skill to make the resemblance of the best fashion.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}And so the multitude, allured by the grace of the work,

\par }{\Q Took him now for a god, which a little before was but honored as a man.


\par }{\Q \VS{21}And this was an occasion to deceive the world:

\par }{\Q For men, serving either calamity or tyranny,

\par }{\Q Did ascribe unto stones and stocks the incommunicable name.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{22}Moreover this was not enough for them, that they erred in the knowledge of God;

\par }{\Q But whereas they lived in the great war of ignorance,

\par }{\Q Those so great plagues called they peace.


\par }{\Q \VS{23}For while they slew their children in sacrifices, or used secret ceremonies,

\par }{\Q Or made revelings of strange rites;


\par }{\Q \VS{24}They kept neither lives nor marriages any longer undefiled:

\par }{\Q But either one slew another traitorously or grieved him by adultery.


\par }{\Q \VS{25}So that there reigned in all men without exception, blood, manslaughter, theft, and dissimulation,

\par }{\Q Corruption, unfaithfulness, tumults, perjury,


\par }{\Q \VS{26}Disquieting of good men, forgetfulness of good turns,

\par }{\Q Defiling of souls, changing of kind,

\par }{\Q Disorder in marriages, adultery, and shameless uncleanness.


\par }{\Q \VS{27}For the worshiping of idols not to be named

\par }{\Q Is the beginning, the cause, and the end, of all evil.


\par }{\Q \VS{28}For either they are mad when they be merry, or prophesy lies,

\par }{\Q Or live unjustly, or else lightly forswear themselves.


\par }{\Q \VS{29}For insomuch as their trust is in idols which have no life,

\par }{\Q Though they swear falsely, yet they look not to be hurt.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{30}Howbeit for both causes shall they be justly punished:

\par }{\Q Both because they thought not well of God, giving heed unto idols,

\par }{\Q And also unjustly swore in deceit, despising holiness.


\par }{\Q \VS{31}For it is not the power of them by whom they swear:

\par }{\Q But it is the just vengeance of sinners,

\par }{\Q That punisheth always the offense of the ungodly.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{15}{\Q \VerseOne{1}But thou, our God, art gracious and true,

\par }{\Q Long-suffering, and in mercy ordering all things.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}For if we sin, we are thine, knowing thy power:

\par }{\Q But we will not sin, knowing that we are counted thine.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}For to know thee is perfect righteousness:

\par }{\Q Yea, to know thy power is the root of immortality.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}For neither did the mischievous invention of men deceive us,

\par }{\Q Nor an image spotted with diverse colors,

\par }{\Q The painter’s fruitless labor;


\par }{\Q \VS{5}The sight whereof enticeth fools to lust after it,

\par }{\Q And so they desire the form of a dead image, that hath no breath.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{6}Both they that make them, they that desire them, and they that worship them,

\par }{\Q Are lovers of evil things, and are worthy to have such things to trust upon.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}For the potter, tempering soft earth,

\par }{\Q Fashioneth every vessel with much labor for our service:

\par }{\Q Yea, of the same clay he maketh

\par }{\Q Both the vessels that serve for clean uses,

\par }{\Q And likewise also all such as serve to the contrary:

\par }{\Q But what is the use of either sort, the potter himself is the judge.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}And employing his labors lewdly, he maketh a vain god of the same clay,

\par }{\Q Even he which a little before was made of earth himself,

\par }{\Q And within a little while after returneth to the same, out of the which he was taken,

\par }{\Q When his life which was lent him shall be demanded.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{9}Notwithstanding his care is, not that he shall have much labor,

\par }{\Q Nor that his life is short:

\par }{\Q But striveth to excel goldsmiths and silversmiths,

\par }{\Q And endeavoreth to do like the workers in brass,

\par }{\Q And counteth it his glory to make counterfeit things.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}His heart is ashes, his hope is more vile than earth,

\par }{\Q And his life of less value than clay:


\par }{\Q \VS{11}Forasmuch as he knew not his Maker,

\par }{\Q And him that inspired into him an active soul,

\par }{\Q And breathed in a living spirit.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}But they counted our life a pastime,

\par }{\Q And our time here a market for gain:

\par }{\Q For, say they, we must be getting every way, though it be by evil means.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}For this man, that of earthly matter maketh brittle vessels and graven images,

\par }{\Q Knoweth himself to offend above all others.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{14}And all the enemies of thy people, that hold them in subjection,

\par }{\Q Are most foolish, and are more miserable than very babes.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}For they counted all the idols of the heathen to be gods:

\par }{\Q Which neither have the use of eyes to see,

\par }{\Q Nor noses to draw breath,

\par }{\Q Nor ears to hear,

\par }{\Q Nor fingers of hands to handle;

\par }{\Q And as for their feet, they are slow to go.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}For man made them,

\par }{\Q And he that borrowed his own spirit fashioned them:

\par }{\Q But no man can make a god like unto himself.


\par }{\Q \VS{17}For being mortal, he worketh a dead thing with wicked hands:

\par }{\Q For he himself is better than the things which he worshipeth:

\par }{\Q Whereas
{\ADD{he}} lived once, but they never.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}Yea, they worshiped those beasts also that are most hateful:

\par }{\Q For being compared together, some are worse than others.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}Neither are they beautiful, so much as to be desired in respect of beasts:

\par }{\Q But they went without the praise of God and his blessing.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{16}{\Q \VerseOne{1}Therefore by the like were they punished worthily,

\par }{\Q And by the multitude of beasts tormented.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}Instead of which punishment, dealing graciously with thine own people,

\par }{\Q Thou preparedst for them meat of a strange taste,

\par }{\Q Even quails to stir up their appetite:


\par }{\Q \VS{3}To the end that they, desiring food,

\par }{\Q Might for the ugly sight of the beasts sent among them

\par }{\Q Loath even that, which they must needs desire;

\par }{\Q But these, suffering penury for a short space,

\par }{\Q Might be made partakers of a strange taste.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}For it was requisite, that upon them exercising tyranny should come penury, which they could not avoid:

\par }{\Q But to these it should only be shown how their enemies were tormented.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}For when the horrible fierceness of beasts came upon these,

\par }{\Q And they perished with the stings of crooked serpents,

\par }{\Q Thy wrath endured not forever:


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{6}But they were troubled for a small season, that they might be admonished,

\par }{\Q Having a sign of salvation, to put them in remembrance of the commandment of thy law.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}For he that turned himself toward it was not saved by the thing that he saw,

\par }{\Q But by thee, that art the Savior of all.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}And in this thou madest thine enemies confess,

\par }{\Q That it is thou who deliverest from all evil:


\par }{\Q \VS{9}For them the bitings of grasshoppers and flies killed,

\par }{\Q Neither was there found any remedy for their life:

\par }{\Q For they were worthy to be punished by such.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}But thy sons not the very teeth of venomous dragons overcame:

\par }{\Q For thy mercy was by them, and healed them.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}For they were pricked, that they should remember thy words;

\par }{\Q And were quickly saved,

\par }{\Q That not falling into deep forgetfulness,

\par }{\Q They might be continually mindful of thy goodness.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{12}For it was neither herb, nor mollifying plaster, that restored them to health:

\par }{\Q But thy word, O Lord, which healeth all things.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}For thou hast power of life and death:

\par }{\Q Thou leadest to the gates of hell, and bringest up again.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}A man indeed killeth through his malice:

\par }{\Q And the spirit, when it is gone forth, returneth not;

\par }{\Q Neither the soul received up cometh again.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}But it is not possible to escape thy hand.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{16}For the ungodly, that denied to know thee,

\par }{\Q Were scourged by the strength of thine arm:

\par }{\Q With strange rains, hails, and showers, were they persecuted, that they could not avoid,

\par }{\Q And through fire were they consumed.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{17}For, which is most to be wondered at,

\par }{\Q The fire had more force in the water, that quencheth all things:

\par }{\Q For the world fighteth for the righteous.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}For sometime the flame was mitigated,

\par }{\Q That it might not burn up the beasts that were sent against the ungodly;

\par }{\Q But themselves might see and perceive that they were persecuted with the judgment of God.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}And at another time it burneth even in the midst of water above the power of fire,

\par }{\Q That it might destroy the fruits of an unjust land.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}Instead whereof thou feddest thine own people with angels’ food,

\par }{\Q And didst send them from heaven bread prepared without their labor,

\par }{\Q Able to content every man’s delight, and agreeing to every taste.


\par }{\Q \VS{21}For thy sustenance declared thy sweetness unto thy children,

\par }{\Q And serving to the appetite of the eater,

\par }{\Q Tempered itself to every man’s liking.


\par }{\Q \VS{22}But snow and ice endured the fire, and melted not,

\par }{\Q That they might know that fire burning in the hail,

\par }{\Q And sparkling in the rain,

\par }{\Q Did destroy the fruits of the enemies.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{23}But this again did even forget his own strength,

\par }{\Q That the righteous might be nourished.


\par }{\Q \VS{24}For the creature that serveth thee, who art the Maker,

\par }{\Q Increaseth his strength against the unrighteous for their punishment,

\par }{\Q And abateth his strength for the benefit of such as put their trust in thee.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{25}Therefore even then was it altered into all fashions,

\par }{\Q And was obedient to thy grace, that nourisheth all things,

\par }{\Q According to the desire of them that had need:


\par }{\Q \VS{26}That thy children, O Lord, whom thou lovest, might know,

\par }{\Q That it is not the growing of fruits that nourisheth man:

\par }{\Q But that it is thy word, which preserveth them that put their trust in thee.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{27}For that which was not destroyed of the fire,

\par }{\Q Being warmed with a little sunbeam, soon melted away:


\par }{\Q \VS{28}That it might be known, that we must prevent the sun to give thee thanks,

\par }{\Q And at the dayspring pray unto thee.


\par }{\Q \VS{29}For the hope of the unthankful shall melt away as the winter’s hoar frost,

\par }{\Q And shall run away as unprofitable water.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{17}{\Q \VerseOne{1}For great are thy judgments, and cannot be expressed:

\par }{\Q Therefore unnurtured souls have erred.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}For when unrighteous men thought to oppress the holy nation;

\par }{\Q They being shut up in their houses, the prisoners of darkness, and fettered with the bonds of a long night,

\par }{\Q Lay
{\ADD{there}} exiled from the eternal providence.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}For while they supposed to lie hidden in their secret sins,

\par }{\Q They were scattered under a dark veil of forgetfulness,

\par }{\Q Being horribly astonished,

\par }{\Q And troubled with
{\ADD{strange}} apparitions.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}For neither might the corner that held them keep them from fear:

\par }{\Q But noises
{\ADD{as of waters}} falling down sounded about them,

\par }{\Q And sad visions appeared unto them with heavy countenances.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{5}No power of the fire might give them light:

\par }{\Q Neither could the bright flames of the stars

\par }{\Q Endure to lighten that horrible night.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}Only there appeared unto them

\par }{\Q A fire kindled of itself, very dreadful:

\par }{\Q For being much terrified, they thought the things which they saw

\par }{\Q To be worse than the sight they saw not.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}As for the illusions of art magic, they were put down,

\par }{\Q And their vaunting in wisdom was reproved with disgrace.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}For they, that promised to drive away terrors and troubles from a sick soul,

\par }{\Q Were sick themselves of fear, worthy to be laughed at.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{9}For though no terrible thing did fear them;

\par }{\Q Yet being scared with beasts that passed by, and hissing of serpents,


\par }{\Q \VS{10}They died for fear,

\par }{\Q Denying that they saw the air, which could of no side be avoided.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{11}For wickedness, condemned by her own witness, is very timorous,

\par }{\Q And being pressed with conscience, always forecasteth grievous things.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}For fear is nothing else but a betraying of the succors which reason offereth.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}And the expectation from within, being less,

\par }{\Q Counteth the ignorance more than the cause which bringeth the torment.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}But they sleeping the same sleep that night,

\par }{\Q Which was indeed intolerable,

\par }{\Q And which came upon them out of the bottoms of inevitable hell,


\par }{\Q \VS{15}Were partly vexed with monstrous apparitions,

\par }{\Q And partly fainted, their heart failing them:

\par }{\Q For a sudden fear, and not looked for, came upon them.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}So then whosoever there fell down was straitly kept,

\par }{\Q Shut up in a prison without iron bars.


\par }{\Q \VS{17}For whether he were husbandman, or shepherd,

\par }{\Q Or a laborer in the field,

\par }{\Q He was overtaken, and endured that necessity, which could not be avoided:

\par }{\Q For they were all bound with one chain of darkness.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{18}Whether it were a whistling wind,

\par }{\Q Or a melodious noise of birds among the spreading branches,

\par }{\Q Or a pleasing fall of water running violently,


\par }{\Q \VS{19}Or a terrible sound of stones cast down,

\par }{\Q Or a running that could not be seen of skipping beasts,

\par }{\Q Or a roaring voice of most savage wild beasts,

\par }{\Q Or a rebounding echo from the hollow mountains:

\par }{\Q These things made them to swoon for fear.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}For the whole world shined with clear light,

\par }{\Q And none were hindered in their labor:


\par }{\Q \VS{21}Over them only was spread a heavy night,

\par }{\Q An image of that darkness which should afterward receive them:

\par }{\Q But yet were they unto themselves more grievous than the darkness.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{18}{\Q \VerseOne{1}Nevertheless thy saints had a very great light,

\par }{\Q Whose voice they hearing, and not seeing their shape,

\par }{\Q Because they also had not suffered the same things, they counted them happy.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}But for that they did not hurt them
{\ADD{now}}, of whom they had been wronged before, they thanked them,

\par }{\Q And besought them pardon for that they had been enemies.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}Instead whereof thou gavest them a burning pillar of fire,

\par }{\Q Both to be a guide of the unknown journey,

\par }{\Q And a harmless sun to entertain them honorably.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}For they were worthy to be deprived of light, and imprisoned in darkness,

\par }{\Q Who had kept thy sons shut up,

\par }{\Q By whom the uncorrupt light of the law was to be given unto the world.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{5}And when they had determined to slay the babes of the saints,

\par }{\Q One child being cast forth, and saved,

\par }{\Q To reprove them, thou tookest away the multitude of their children,

\par }{\Q And destroyedst them all together in a mighty water.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}Of that night were our fathers certified afore,

\par }{\Q That assuredly knowing unto what oaths they had given credence, they might afterward be of good cheer.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{7}So of thy people was accepted both the salvation of the righteous,

\par }{\Q And destruction of the enemies.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}For wherewith thou didst punish our adversaries,

\par }{\Q By the same thou didst glorify us, whom thou hadst called.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}For the righteous children of good men did sacrifice secretly,

\par }{\Q And with one consent made a holy law,

\par }{\Q That the saints should be like partakers

\par }{\Q Of the same good and evil,

\par }{\Q The fathers now singing out the songs of praise.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{10}But on the other side there sounded an ill according cry of the enemies,

\par }{\Q And a lamentable noise was carried abroad for children that were bewailed.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}The master and the servant were punished after one manner;

\par }{\Q And like as the king, so suffered the common person.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{12}So they all together had innumerable dead with one kind of death;

\par }{\Q Neither were the living sufficient to bury them:

\par }{\Q For in one moment the noblest offspring of them was destroyed.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}For whereas they would not believe anything by reason of the enchantments;

\par }{\Q Upon the destruction of the firstborn, they acknowledged this people to be the sons of God.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}For while all things were in quiet silence,

\par }{\Q And that night was in the midst of her swift course,


\par }{\Q \VS{15}Thine Almighty word leaped from heaven out of thy royal throne,

\par }{\Q As a fierce man of war into the midst of a land of destruction,


\par }{\Q \VS{16}And brought thine unfeigned commandment as a sharp sword,

\par }{\Q And standing up filled all things with death;

\par }{\Q And it touched the heaven, but it stood upon the earth.


\par }{\Q \VS{17}Then suddenly visions of horrible dreams troubled them sore,

\par }{\Q And terrors came upon them unlooked for.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}And one thrown here, and another there, half dead,

\par }{\Q Showed the cause of his death.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}For the dreams that troubled them did foreshow this,

\par }{\Q Lest they should perish, and not know why they were afflicted.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{20}Yea, the tasting of death touched the righteous also,

\par }{\Q And there was a destruction of the multitude in the wilderness:

\par }{\Q But the wrath endured not long.


\par }{\Q \VS{21}For then the blameless man made haste, and stood forth to defend them;

\par }{\Q And bringing the shield of his proper ministry,

\par }{\Q Even prayer, and the propitiation of incense,

\par }{\Q Set himself against the wrath, and so brought the calamity to an end,

\par }{\Q Declaring that he was thy servant.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{22}So he overcame the destroyer, not with might of body,

\par }{\Q Nor force of arms,

\par }{\Q But with a word subdued him that punished,

\par }{\Q Alleging the oaths and covenants made with the fathers.


\par }{\Q \VS{23}For when the dead were now fallen down by heaps one upon another,

\par }{\Q Standing between, he stayed the wrath,

\par }{\Q And parted the way to the living.


\par }{\Q \VS{24}For in the long garment was the whole world,

\par }{\Q And in the four rows of the stones was the glory of the fathers graven,

\par }{\Q And thy Majesty upon the diadem of his head.


\par }{\Q \VS{25}Unto these the destroyer gave place, and they were afraid of them:

\par }{\Q For it was enough that they only tasted of the wrath.


\par }{\BB \par }


\PoetryChap{19}{\Q \VerseOne{1}As for the ungodly, wrath came upon them without mercy unto the end:

\par }{\Q For he knew before what they would do;


\par }{\Q \VS{2}How that having given them leave to depart,

\par }{\Q And sent them hastily away,

\par }{\Q They would repent and pursue them.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}For while they were yet mourning

\par }{\Q And making lamentation at the graves of the dead,

\par }{\Q They added another foolish device,

\par }{\Q And pursued them as fugitives, whom they had entreated to be gone.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}For the destiny, whereof they were worthy, drew them unto this end,

\par }{\Q And made them forget the things that had already happened,

\par }{\Q That they might fulfill the punishment which was wanting to their torments:


\par }{\Q \VS{5}And that thy people might pass through a wonderful way:

\par }{\Q But they might find a strange death.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{6}For the whole creature in his proper kind was fashioned again anew,

\par }{\Q Serving the peculiar commandments that were given unto them,

\par }{\Q That thy children might be kept without hurt:


\par }{\Q \VS{7}{\ADD{As namely}}, a cloud shadowing the camp;

\par }{\Q And where water stood before, dry land appeared;

\par }{\Q And out of the Red Sea a way without impediment;

\par }{\Q And out of the violent stream a green field:


\par }{\Q \VS{8}Through which all the people went that were defended with thy hand,

\par }{\Q Seeing thy marvelous strange wonders.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}For they went at large like horses,

\par }{\Q And leaped like lambs, praising thee, O Lord, who hadst delivered them.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}For they were yet mindful of the things that were done while they sojourned in the strange land,

\par }{\Q How the ground brought forth flies instead of cattle,

\par }{\Q And how the river cast up a multitude of frogs instead of fish.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{11}But afterward they saw a new generation of fowls,

\par }{\Q When, being led with their appetite, they asked delicate meats.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}For quails came up unto them from the sea for their contentment.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}And punishments came upon the sinners

\par }{\Q Not without former signs by the force of thunders:

\par }{\Q For they suffered justly according to their own wickedness,

\par }{\Q Insomuch as they used a more hard and hateful behavior toward strangers.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}For the
{\ADD{Sodomites}} did not receive those, whom they knew not when they came:

\par }{\Q But these brought friends into bondage, that had well deserved of them.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}And not only so, but peradventure some respect shall be had of those,

\par }{\Q Because they used strangers not friendly:


\par }{\Q \VS{16}But these very grievously afflicted them,

\par }{\Q Whom they had received with feastings,

\par }{\Q And were already made partakers of the same laws with them.


\par }{\Q \VS{17}Therefore even with blindness were these stricken,

\par }{\Q As those were at the doors of the righteous man:

\par }{\Q When, being compassed about with horrible great darkness,

\par }{\Q Every one sought the passage of his own doors.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{18}For the elements were changed in themselves by a kind of harmony,

\par }{\Q Like as in a psaltery notes change the name of the tune,

\par }{\Q And yet are always sounds;

\par }{\Q Which may well be perceived by the sight of the things that have been done.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}For earthly things were turned into watery,

\par }{\Q And the things, that before swam in the water, now went upon the ground.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}The fire had power in the water, forgetting his own virtue:

\par }{\Q And the water forgot his own quenching nature.


\par }{\Q \VS{21}On the other side, the flames wasted not the flesh of the corruptible living things,

\par }{\Q Though they walked therein;

\par }{\Q Neither melted they the icy kind of heavenly meat, that was of nature apt to melt.


\par }{\Q \VS{22}For in all things, O Lord, thou didst magnify thy people, and glorify them,

\par }{\Q Neither didst thou lightly regard them: but didst assist them in every time and place.


\par }