Wisdom 7

New Catholic Bible

¹ I too am mortal, like everyone else,
    descended from the first being formed out of the earth.^[a]
I was molded into flesh inside the womb of my mother,
²     solidified in blood within a period of ten months^[b]
    from the seed of a man and the pleasure that accompanies marriage.
³ And I too, when I was born, began to breathe the common air
    and fell upon an earth equal for everyone;
    the first sound I uttered was a cry, as is true of all.
⁴ I was nurtured in swaddling clothes
    and surrounded with care.
⁵ No king has begun life in any other way,
⁶     for there is only one way of entering life, and only one way of leaving it.

⁷ Therefore, I prayed, and understanding was given to me;
    I pleaded, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.
⁸ I preferred her to scepters and thrones,
    and I accounted riches as nothing compared with her.^[c]
9 Neither did I reckon any precious stone to be her equal,
    because, compared with her, all gold is but a few grains of sand,
    and beside her, silver is accounted as clay.
¹⁰ I loved her more than health and beauty
    and preferred her to the light
    because her radiance is unceasing.
¹¹ Together with her, all good things came to me,
    and in her hands are countless riches.
¹² And I delighted in them all, since Wisdom was their source,
    although I did not realize at the time that she was their mother.
¹³ I pass on ungrudgingly what I learned about her with an open mind;
    her riches I do not conceal.
¹⁴ For she is an inexhaustible treasure for all;
    those who acquire her achieve friendship with God,
    commended to him by the gifts that derive from her instruction.^[d]

¹⁵ May God grant me the ability to speak according to understanding
    and to express thoughts worthy of the gifts I have received,
since it is he that guides Wisdom
    and directs the wise.
¹⁶ For in his hand are both we and our words,
    as are also all understanding and skill in crafts.
¹⁷ It was he who granted me accurate knowledge of what exists,
    so that I might understand the constitution of the world and the operation of its elements:
¹⁸ the beginning and the end and the midpoint of times,
    the alternation of the solstices and the changes of the seasons,
¹⁹ the cycles of the year and the positions of the stars,
²⁰     the natures of animals and the dispositions of wild beasts,
the powers of spirits and the thoughts of men,
    the varieties of plants and the properties of roots.
²¹ All that was hidden and all that was manifest I learned,
²² for Wisdom, who fashioned all things, instructed me.

^[g]Within Wisdom is a spirit that is
    intelligent, holy,
unique, manifold, subtle,
    mobile, clear, unstained,
certain, invulnerable, benevolent, shrewd, irresistible, beneficent, ²³ kindly,
steadfast, secure, tranquil,
    all-powerful, all-surveying,
and penetrating all spirits
    that are intelligent, pure, and very subtle.
²⁴ For Wisdom has more mobility than any motion;
    she is so pure that she pervades and penetrates all things.
²⁵ She is the breath of the might of God
    and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;
    therefore, nothing that is defiled can enter into her.
²⁶ For she is the reflection of eternal light,
    the spotless mirror of the active power of God
    and the image of his goodness.
²⁷ Although she is only one, she can do all things;
    while unchanging herself, she makes all things new.
Generation after generation she enters into holy souls,
    and turns them into friends of God^[h] and prophets.
²⁸ For God loves nothing more
    than one who dwells with Wisdom.
²⁹ She is more beautiful than the sun
    and outshines every constellation of the stars.
In comparison with the light she is far superior,
³⁰     for light is supplanted by the night,
    but evil cannot overpower Wisdom.