Wisdom 4:2-4

New Catholic Bible

² When it is present, men imitate it,
    and they long for it in its absence.
And throughout eternity it marches crowned in triumph,
    victorious in the struggle for prizes that are undefiled.^[a]
3 However, the prolific progeny of the wicked will avail nothing;
    none of their illegitimate stock will put forth deep roots
    or lay a firm foundation.
⁴ For even if they put forth branches for a time,
    without a firm foundation they will be shaken by the wind
    and torn up by the violence of the storms.