The Wisdom of Solomon 7
The King Is a Mere Man
1 Now I also am a mortal, the same as all men, And earthborn, a descendant of the first-formed man; For in the womb of a mother I was engraved as flesh.†
2 In a period of ten months, I was constructed with blood From the seed of a man and the pleasure of marriage.†
3 When I was born, I breathed the common air, Then fell upon the earth the same as all; And as my first sound, I cried like everyone else.
4 I was nursed with care in swaddling cloths.†
5 Thus no king had a different beginning of existence,
6 For there is one entrance into life for all, And a common departure.†
Solomon’s Love of Wisdom
7 Therefore I prayed, and discernment was given to me; I appealed to God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.†
8 I preferred her to scepter and thrones, And regarded wealth as nothing in comparison to her.
9 Nor did I liken her to any priceless stone, Because all gold is only a little sand in her sight. And silver will be counted as clay before her.
10 I loved her more than health and beauty, And I chose her instead of light, Because her light is sleepless.
11 All good things came to me together with her, And in her hands countless wealth.
12 I was gladdened by all of them Because wisdom rules them; But I did not know she was their mother.
13 So I learned both honestly and ungrudgingly, And I do not hide her wealth,
14 For it is an unfailing treasure for men Who, when they get it, obtain friendship with God, For they demonstrate her gifts that come from instruction.
15 May God grant me to speak according to His purpose And to think worthily of what I was given, For He is also the guide of wisdom and the corrector of the wise.
16 For both we and our words are in His hand, And so are all insights and knowledge of handicrafts.
17 For He gives me knowledge of the things that exist: To know the truthful structure of the world, The operative power of its elementary principles,
18 The beginning, end, and middle of the times, The changes of the solstices and the transitions of the seasons,
19 The cycles of the year and the arranging of the stars,
20 The natures of animals and the tempers of beasts, The force of winds and the reasoning of mankind, The distinction of plants and the strength of roots,
21 And to know whatever is hidden and whatever is visible. For wisdom, the artisan of all things, taught me.
22 So in herself, wisdom is a spirit that is rational, Holy, only-begotten, manifold, subtle, easily moved, clear, Undefiled, manifest, invulnerable, loving what is good, keen,†
23 Unhindered, beneficent, man-loving, steadfast, unfailing, Free from worry, all-powerful, all-surveying, And penetrating all spirits that are rational, pure, and most subtle.
24 For wisdom moves from one place to another More easily than motion itself, And because of her purity, she penetrates all things.
25 So she is the exhalation of the power of God And the emanation of the pure glory of the Almighty; Therefore nothing defiled enters her.
26 For she is the radiance of eternal light, A spotless mirror of the operative power of God And the image of His goodness.
27 Though she is one, she can do all things; So while remaining in herself, she renews all things; And in every generation, she passes into holy souls And makes them friends of God and prophets.†
28 Thus God loves nothing as much As the one who lives with wisdom.
29 For wisdom is more beautiful than the sun And more than every constellation of stars. Compared with light she is found to be superior,
30 For night succeeds the light, But evil cannot overcome wisdom.
Psalms 143
1 By David; against Goliath. †Blessed is the Lord my God, Who trains my hands for battle, My fingers for war;
2 He is my mercy and my refuge, My helper and my deliverer, My protector in whom I hope, Who subjects my people under me.
3 O Lord, what is man, that You are made known to him, Or the son of man, that You consider him?
4 Man is become like vanity, His days like a passing shadow.
5 O Lord, bow down Your heavens and descend; Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke;
6 Flash lightning, and You shall scatter them; Shoot Your arrows, and You shall trouble them.
7 Send forth Your hand from on high; Deliver me and save me from great waters, From the hand of the sons of foreigners,
8 Whose mouth speaks empty things, And their right hand is the right hand of wrongdoing.
9 O God, I shall sing a new song to You; I shall play to You on a harp of ten strings,
10 To Him who gives salvation to kings, Who redeems David His servant from the evil sword.
11 Deliver me and save me from the hand of the sons of foreigners, Whose mouth speaks empty things, And their right hand is a right hand of wrongdoing,
12 Whose sons are like new plants Matured in their youth, Their daughters beautified, Adorned like a temple;
13 Their storehouses are full, Bursting forth with abundance on all sides; Their sheep give many births, Multiplying in their streets;
14 Their oxen are fat; There is no gap in their fence or passage, Nor outcry in their streets.
15 They call the people blessed, whose lot this is; But rather, blessed is the people Whose God is the Lord.
Proverbs of Solomon 30
26 Now there are four very small things upon earth, But these are wiser than the wise:
27 The ants, which are not strong, Yet they prepare provisions in the summer;
28 The rabbits, which are not a strong tribe, Yet they make their own homes in the rocks;
29 The locust, which is without a king, Yet he marches out as one commanded in an orderly manner.
30 And the spotted lizard, which supports himself with his hands and is easily caught, Yet he dwells in the fortresses of kings.
Acts 7
Stephen’s Defense
1 Then the high priest said, “Are these things so?”†
2 And he said, “Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran,
3 and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’
4 Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell.
5 And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him.
6 But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years.†
7 ‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’
8 Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.†
9 “And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him
10 and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
11 Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance.
12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.
13 And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh.
14 Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people.
15 So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers.
16 And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.
17 “But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt
18 till another king arose who did not know Joseph.
19 This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live.†
20 At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months.
21 But when he was set out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son.