Wis 3

The happiness of the just: and the unhappiness of the wicked.

1 But the souls of the just are in the hand of God and no torment of death will touch them. 2 In the eyes of the foolish, they seemed to die, and their departure was considered an affliction, 3 and their going away from us, a banishment. Yet they are in peace. ^{▼▼3:3Exterminium can mean extermination as in utter destruction, but it can also mean banishment, a more mild term.(Conte)} 4 And though, in the sight of men, they suffered torments, their hope is full of immortality. 5 Troubled in few things, in many things they will be well compensated, because God has tested them and found them worthy of himself. ^{▼▼3:5Bene disponentur means well compensated, or well ordered, or well administered, i.e., they will be well cared for.(Conte)} 6 Like gold in the furnace, he has proved them, and as a holocaust victim, he has received them, and in the time of their visitation ^{▼▼3:6Holocaust, in the biblical sense, refers to a sacrifice or offering that is entirely burned up, a burnt offering.(Conte)} 7 they will shine, and they will dash about like sparks among stubble. ^{▼▼3:7The Latin text here (3:6-7) has been corrected against the Greek text, according to the appendix of the 1914 Hetzenauer edition of the Vulgate. Instead of saying, “in time they will be respected. The just will shine...” the Greek text has one sentence, “in the time of their visitation, they will shine...” This reading is better, because it explains when and why the just will shine and dash about. It is because, the time of their visitation has arrived, when God visits them to vindicate them over their enemies.(Conte)} 8 They will judge the nations and they will rule over the people, and their Lord will reign forever. 9 Those who trust in him, will understand the truth, and those who are faithful in love will rest in him, because grace and peace is for his elect.

10 But the impious will be chastised according to their thoughts, for they have neglected the just and have retreated from the Lord. 11 For whoever abandons wisdom and instruction is unhappy, and their hope is empty, and their labors without fruit, and their works useless. 12 Their wives are foolish and their sons are wicked; the things that serve them are accursed. ^{▼▼3:12Here the Vulgate text has been amended, taking the beginning of verse 3:13, maledicta creatura eorum, and making it the end of verse 12. This phrase is clearly a continuation of the afflictions upon those who abandon wisdom and on their hope, their labors, their works, their wives, their sons, and their servants. The phrase maledicta creatura eorum could be translated as their creations are accursed, but their works have already been condemned as useless in verse 11. Therefore, servants or, better still, the things that serve them, is the translation.(Conte)} 13 Therefore, fertile is the barren and undefiled, who has not known transgressions in bed; she will bear fruit by caring for holy souls. ^{▼▼3:13This verse begins to explain the contrast between those who abandon wisdom and those who take it to heart. Felix could be translated as happy, but this passage uses the metaphor of bearing fruit repeatedly, so the better translation is fertile. Thus, the unwise do not bear useful fruit, but the wise will bear fruit, even if they are celibate and never bear the fruit of having children.(Conte)} 14 And fertile is the celibate, who has not wrought iniquity with his hands, nor thought wickedness against God; for to him will be given a special gift of faith and a very welcome place in the temple of the Lord. ^{▼▼3:14Spado is best translated as celibate, as the context clearly indicates. The word eunuch is a poor translation.(Conte)} 15 For the fruit of good labors is glorious and the root of wisdom shall never perish. 16 But the sons of adulterers will not reach completion, and the offspring of a sinful bed will be banished. ^{▼▼3:16The expression “son of...” in Hebrew is often used metaphorically. The “sons of the priests” are priests in training, not necessarily the offspring of the Jewish priests. The expression “son of a year” means a one-year old; “son of perdition” means someone who is lost; “son of death” means someone who has died, or a dead body. In other words, the “son” is the metaphorical offspring of a particular group or concept, regardless of his biological lineage. So the expression “sons of adulterers” could be translated as the sons of adultery, i.e., those who act as if they were the offspring of adultery.(Conte)} 17 And if they live long, they will be counted as nothing, and their last years of old-age will be without honor. 18 And if they die quickly, they will have no hope, nor words of comfort on the day of reckoning. 19 For the iniquities of the people have a dreadful result.