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Wisdom 4:5-7
New Catholic Bible
Wisdom 4:5-7
New Catholic Bible
5 Their immature branches will be broken off
and their fruit will be useless,
not ripe enough to eat and fit for no purpose.
6 For children born of unlawful unions
bear witness to the wickedness of their parents
when God brings them to judgment.[a]
Better To Die Young than To Die in Wickedness[b]
7 But the righteous man, even if he dies prematurely, will be at rest.[c]
Footnotes
- Wisdom 4:6 Here it is a case of the judgment of God (see Wis 3:18).
- Wisdom 4:7 The premature death of the righteous person was a shock to the ancients who were convinced that God had to reward him by a long life. The Book of Wisdom overturns this principle that was so solidly entrenched. Since death was henceforth regarded as the threshold of eternity, the old religious ideas of recompense were evolving. It must have been scandalous, at this time, to affirm that death can be a mark of favor given by the Lord to someone that he wishes thereby to keep out of sin.
- Wisdom 4:7 This rest is peace; i.e., for the author of Wisdom, not an eternal sleep but a fullness of life (see Wis 3:3).
