1 All wisdom is from the Lord God, and has always been with him, and is before all time.
2 Who has numbered the sand of the sea, and the drops of the rain, and the days of the world? Who has measured the height of heaven, and the breadth of the earth, and the depth of the abyss?
3 Who has examined the wisdom of God, which precedes all things?
4 Wisdom was created before all things, and the understanding of prudence is before all time.
5 The Word of God on high is the source of wisdom, whose steps are eternal commandments.
6 To whom has the root of wisdom been revealed, and who has recognized her astuteness?
7 To whom has the discipline of wisdom been revealed and made manifest? And who has understood the multiplicity of her steps?
8 The most high omnipotent Creator is One, and he is the mighty King, and he is exceedingly to be feared, sitting upon his throne, and he is the sovereign God.
9 He created wisdom through the Holy Spirit, and he saw her, and numbered her, and measured her.
10 And he poured her over all his works, and over all flesh, to the extent of his favor, and he has offered her to those who love him.
11 The fear of the Lord is glory, and honor, and rejoicing, and a crown of exultation.
12 The fear of the Lord will delight the heart, and will give joy and gladness and length of days.
13 It will be well, in the very end, for him who fears the Lord, and on the day that he passes away, he will be blessed.
14 The love of God is honorable wisdom.
15 And those to whom she will appear for their consideration love her because of what they see and know of her great works.
16 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and was created with the faithful in the womb, and walks with elect women, and is known by the just and the faithful.
17 The fear of the Lord is the sanctity of knowledge.
18 Sanctity will guard and justify the heart, and will bestow happiness and joy.
19 It will be well with him who fears the Lord, and at the consummation of his days, he will be blessed.
20 To fear God is the fullness of wisdom, and it is a fullness from its fruits.
21 She will fill her entire house from her offspring, and storehouses from her treasures.
22 The fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom, the completion of peace, and the fruit of salvation.
23 And the fear of the Lord has seen and numbered wisdom; but both are gifts of God.
24 Wisdom will distribute knowledge and an understanding of prudence; and she lifts up the glory of those who hold to her.
25 The root of wisdom is to fear the Lord, and its branches are long-lived.
26 In the treasures of wisdom is understanding and the sanctity of knowledge. But to sinners, wisdom is an abomination.
27 The fear of the Lord expels sin.
28 For he who is without fear is not able to be justified. For the disposition of his spirit is his undoing.
29 Those who are patient will suffer for a brief time, and afterwards, happiness will return.
30 A noble mind will hide his words for a brief time, and then the lips of many will declare his understanding.
31 Among the treasures of wisdom is the outward sign of discipline.
32 But to those who sin, the worship of God is an abomination.
33 Son, if you desire wisdom, observe justice, and then God will offer her to you.
34 For the fear of the Lord is wisdom and discipline.
35 And what pleases him is faith and meekness. And so shall he complete his treasures.
36 You should not be incredulous to the fear of the Lord. And you should not draw close to him with a duplicitous heart.
37 You should not be a hypocrite in the sight of men. And you should not scandalize with your lips.
38 Attend to these things, otherwise you may fall and bring dishonor to your soul.
39 And then God may uncover your secrets, and he may cast you down forcefully in the midst of the congregation.
40 For you drew near to the Lord wickedly, and your heart was filled with deceit and falseness.
1 Son, when you apply yourself to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare your soul for temptation.
2 Humble your heart, and persevere. Incline your ear, and accept words of understanding. And you should not hurry away in the time of distress.
3 Endure steadfastly for God. Join yourself to God, and persevere, so that your life may increase in the very end.
4 Accept everything that will happened to you, and persevere in your sorrow, and have patience in your humiliation.
5 For gold and silver are tested in fire, yet truly, acceptable men are tested in the furnace of humiliation.
6 Believe God, and he will restore you to health. And straighten your way, and hope in him. Observe his fear, and grow old in it.
7 You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy. And do not turn away from him, lest you fall.
8 You who fear the Lord, believe in him. And your reward will not be taken away.
9 You who fear the Lord, hope in him. And mercy will approach you, to your delight.
10 You who fear the Lord, love him. And your hearts will be illuminated.
11 My sons, consider the nations of men, and know that not one of them hoped in the Lord and was confounded.
12 For who has remained in his commandment and been abandoned? Or who has called upon him, and yet he despised him?
13 For God is upright and merciful, and he will forgive sins in the day of tribulation. And he is the Protector to all those who seek him in truth.
14 Woe to the duplicitous heart, and to the wicked lips, and to the hands that do evil, and to the sinner who walks the earth by two ways!
15 Woe to the dissolute in heart, who do not trust God! For, as a result, they will not be protected by him.
16 Woe to those who have lost endurance, and who have abandoned upright ways, and who have turned aside to depraved ways!
17 And what will they do when the Lord begins to examine them?
18 Those who fear the Lord will not be unbelieving toward his Word. And those who love him will keep to his way.
19 Those who fear the Lord will seek the things that are well-pleasing to him. And those who love him will be filled with his law.
20 Those who fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and they will sanctify their souls in his sight.
21 Those who fear the Lord keep his commandments, and they will have patience even until his examination,
22 saying: “If we do not do penance, then we will fall into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of men.”
23 For according to his greatness, so also is his mercy with him.
1 The sons of wisdom are the Church of the just: and their generation is obedience and love.
2 Sons, listen to the judgment of your father, and act accordingly, so that you may be saved.
3 For God has honored the father in the sons, and, when seeking the judgment of the mother, he has confirmed it in the children.
4 He who loves God will plead with him on behalf of sins, and will keep himself away from sin, and will be heeded in the prayers of his days.
5 And, like one who stores up treasure, so also is he who honors his mother.
6 He who honors his father will find happiness in his own children, and he will be heeded in the day of his prayer.
7 He who honors his father will live a long life. And he who obeys his father will be a refreshment to his mother.
8 He who fears the Lord honors his parents, and he will serve them as masters, for it is they who conceived him.
9 In word and deed, and in all things, honor your father with patience,
10 so that a blessing may come to you from him, and so that his blessing may remain to the very end.
11 The blessing of the father strengthens the houses of the sons; but the curse of the mother uproots even its foundation.
12 Do not boast in the disgrace of your father; for his shame is not your glory.
13 For the glory of a man is from the honor of his father, and a father without honor is a discredit to the son.
14 Son, support your father in his old age, and do not grieve him in his life.
15 And if his mind should fail, show kindness; and do not spurn him when you are in your strength. For almsgiving to the father will never be forgotten.
16 For even in return for the sin of the mother, good will be repaid to you.
17 And you will be built up in justice, and you will be remembered in the day of tribulation. And your sins will dissolve like ice in warm weather.
18 What an evil form has he who forsakes his father! And whoever exasperates his mother is accursed by God.
19 Son, perform your works in meekness, and you shall be loved beyond the glory of men.
20 However great you may be, humble yourself in all things, and you will find grace in the presence of God.
21 For only the power of God is great, and he is honored by the humble.
22 You should not seek the things that are too high for you, and you should not examine the things that are beyond your ability. But as for the things that God has entrusted to you, consider these always. But you should not be curious in too many of his works.
23 For it is not necessary for you to see with your own eyes the things that are hidden.
24 In unnecessary matters, do not choose to be an examiner of many different things, and you should not be curious about too many of his works.
25 For many things have been revealed to you, beyond the understanding of men.
26 Yet uncertainty in these things has also undermined many persons and has detained their minds in vanity.
27 A hardened heart will have evil in the very end, and he who loves peril will perish in it.
28 A heart advancing in two directions will not have success, and the depraved heart will be scandalized in this way.
29 A wicked heart will be burdened with sorrows, and a sinner will add further sins.
30 The synagogue of the arrogant will not be healed. For the stalk of sinfulness will take root in them, and it will not be understood.
31 The heart of the wise is understood by wisdom, and a good ear will listen to wisdom with all its desire.
32 A wise and understanding heart will abstain from sins, and will have success in works of justice.
33 Water extinguishes a burning fire, and almsgiving withstands sins.
34 And God is the watchman for him who repays a kindness. He remembers him afterwards, and in the time of his fall, he will find a firm support.
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1 To the brothers, the Jews, who are throughout Egypt: the brothers, the Jews, who are in Jerusalem and in the region of Judea, send greetings and good peace.
2 May God be gracious to you, and may he remember his covenant, which was spoken to Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, his faithful servants.
3 And may he give all of you the heart to worship him, and to do his will, with a great heart and a willing soul.
4 May he throw open your heart with his law and with his precepts, and may he create peace.
5 May he heed your prayers and be reconciled to you, and may he not forsake you in the evil time.
6 And now, in this place, we are praying for you.
7 When Demetrius reigned, in the one hundred and sixty-ninth year, we Jews wrote to you during the tribulation and assaults which overcame us in those years, from the time that Jason withdrew from the holy land and from the kingdom.
8 They burnt the gate, and they shed innocent blood. And we prayed to the Lord and were heard, and we brought forth sacrifices and fine wheat flour, and we kindled the lamps and set forth the loaves.
9 And now, celebrate the days of shelters in the month of Kislev.
10 In the one hundred and eighty-eighth year, from the people who are at Jerusalem and in Judea, and from the Senate and Judas: to Aristobulus, the magistrate of king Ptolemy, who is of the ancestry of anointed priests, and to those Jews who are in Egypt: greetings and good health.
11 Having been freed by God from great peril, we give thanks to him greatly, in as much as we have been struggling against so great a king.
15 And overthrew Pharao and his host in the Red Sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.
16 Who led his people through the desert: for his mercy endureth for ever.
17 Who smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever.
18 And slew strong kings: for his mercy endureth for ever.
19 Sehon king of the Amorrhites: for his mercy endureth for ever.
20 And Og king of Basan: for his mercy endureth for ever.
21 And he gave their land for an inheritance: for his mercy endureth for ever.
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be among you lying teachers, who will introduce divisions of perdition, and they will deny him who bought them, the Lord, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many persons will follow their indulgences; through such persons, the way of truth will be blasphemed.
3 And in avarice, they will negotiate about you with false words. Their judgment, in the near future, is not delayed, and their perdition does not sleep.
4 For God did not spare those Angels who sinned, but instead delivered them, as if dragged down by infernal ropes, into the torments of the underworld, to be reserved unto judgment.
5 And he did not spare the original world, but he preserved the eighth one, Noah, the herald of justice, bringing the flood upon the world of the impious.
6 And he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, condemning them to be overthrown, setting them as an example to anyone who might act impiously.
7 And he rescued a just man, Lot, who was oppressed by the unjust and lewd behavior of the wicked.
8 For in seeing and in hearing, he was just, though he lived with those who, from day to day, crucified the just soul with works of iniquity.
9 Thus, the Lord knows how to rescue the pious from trials, and how to reserve the iniquitous for torments on the day of judgment;
10 even more so, those who walk after the flesh in unclean desires, and who despise proper authority. Boldly pleasing themselves, they do not dread to introduce divisions by blaspheming;
11 whereas the Angels, who are greater in strength and virtue, did not bring against themselves such a deplorable judgment.
12 Yet truly, these others, like irrational beasts, naturally fall into traps and into ruin by blaspheming whatever they do not understand, and so they shall perish in their corruption,
13 receiving the reward of injustice, the fruition of valuing the delights of the day: defilements and stains, overflowing with self-indulgences, taking pleasure in their feasts with you,
14 having eyes full of adultery and of incessant offenses, luring unstable souls, having a heart well-trained in avarice, sons of curses!
15 Abandoning the straight path, they wandered astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of iniquity.
16 Yet truly, he had a correction of his madness: the mute animal under the yoke, which, by speaking with a human voice, forbid the folly of the prophet.
17 These ones are like fountains without water, and like clouds stirred up by whirlwinds. For them, the mist of darkness is reserved.
18 For, speaking with the arrogance of vanity, they lure, by the desires of fleshly pleasures, those who are fleeing to some extent, who are being turned from error,
19 promising them freedoms, while they themselves are the servants of corruption. For by whatever a man is overcome, of this also is he the servant.
20 For if, after taking refuge from the defilements of the world in the understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they again become entangled and overcome by these things, then the latter state becomes worse than the former.
21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of justice than, after acknowledging it, to turn away from that holy commandment which was handed on to them.
22 For the truth of the proverb has happened to them: The dog has returned to his own vomit, and the washed sow has returned to her wallowing in the mud.
