Wisdom 11:17-12:22
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Digression on God’s Mercy
17 For not without means was your almighty hand,(A)
that had fashioned the universe from formless matter,[a]
to send upon them many bears or fierce lions,
18 Or newly created, wrathful, unknown beasts
breathing forth fiery breath,
Or pouring out roaring smoke,
or flashing terrible sparks from their eyes.
19 Not only could these attack and completely destroy them;
even their frightful appearance itself could slay.
20 Even without these, they could have been killed at a single blast,
pursued by justice
and winnowed by your mighty spirit.
But you have disposed all things by measure and number and weight.(B)
21 For great strength is always present with you;
who can resist the might of your arm?(C)
22 Indeed, before you the whole universe is like a grain from a balance,[b]
or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.(D)
23 [c]But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;
and you overlook sins for the sake of repentance.(E)
24 For you love all things that are
and loathe nothing that you have made;
for you would not fashion what you hate.(F)
25 How could a thing remain, unless you willed it;
or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?(G)
26 But you spare all things, because they are yours,
O Ruler and Lover of souls,(H)
1 for your imperishable spirit is in all things!(I)
Chapter 12
2 Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little,
warn them, and remind them of the sins they are committing,
that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, Lord!
3 For truly, the ancient inhabitants of your holy land,(J)
4 whom you hated for deeds most odious—
works of sorcery and impious sacrifices;
5 These merciless murderers of children,
devourers of human flesh,[d]
and initiates engaged in a blood ritual,
6 and parents who took with their own hands defenseless lives,(K)
You willed to destroy by the hands of our ancestors,
7 that the land that is dearest of all to you
might receive a worthy colony of God’s servants.(L)
8 But even these you spared, since they were but mortals
and sent wasps as forerunners of your army
that they might exterminate them by degrees.(M)
9 Not that you were without power to have the wicked vanquished in battle by the righteous,
or wiped out at once by terrible beasts or by one decisive word;(N)
10 But condemning them by degrees, you gave them space for repentance.
You were not unaware that their origins were wicked
and their malice ingrained,(O)
And that their dispositions would never change;
11 for they were a people accursed from the beginning.
Neither out of fear for anyone
did you grant release from their sins.(P)
12 For who can say to you, “What have you done?”
or who can oppose your decree?
Or when peoples perish, who can challenge you, their maker;
or who can come into your presence to vindicate the unrighteous?(Q)
13 For neither is there any god besides you who have the care of all,
that you need show you have not unjustly condemned;(R)
14 Nor can any king or prince confront you on behalf of those you have punished.(S)
15 But as you are righteous, you govern all things righteously;
you regard it as unworthy of your power
to punish one who has incurred no blame.(T)
16 For your might is the source of righteousness;
your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.(U)
17 For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved;
and in those who know you, you rebuke insolence.[e](V)
18 But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency,
and with much lenience you govern us;
for power, whenever you will, attends you.
19 You taught your people, by these deeds,(W)
that those who are righteous must be kind;
And you gave your children reason to hope
that you would allow them to repent for their sins.
20 For these were enemies of your servants, doomed to death;
yet, while you punished them with such solicitude and indulgence,
granting time and opportunity to abandon wickedness,
21 With what exactitude you judged your children,
to whose ancestors you gave the sworn covenants of goodly promises!(X)
22 Therefore to give us a lesson you punish our enemies with measured deliberation
so that we may think earnestly of your goodness when we judge,
and, when being judged, we may look for mercy.
Footnotes
- 11:17 Formless matter: a Greek philosophical concept is used to interpret the chaos of Gn 1:2.
- 11:22 Grain from a balance: a tiny particle used for weighing on sensitive scales.
- 11:23 The combination of divine mercy and power is an unusual paradox, but cf. 12:15–18; Ps 62:12–13; Sir 2:18. The main emphasis is on a creating that is motivated by love; the divine “imperishable spirit” (either Wisdom as in 1:4, 7, or perhaps the breath of life as in Gn 2:7) is in everything (12:1).
- 12:5 The horrible crimes here attributed to the Canaanites (cf. also 14:23) were not unheard of in the ancient world.
- 12:17 The brunt of divine anger and justice is borne by those who know God but defy divine authority and might. Cf. 1:2; 15:2, but also 12:27; 18:13.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.