1 The One who dwells in eternity created all things together. God alone will be justified, and he remains an invincible King for eternity.
2 Who is able to declare his works?
3 For who can examine his greatness?
4 And who will announce the power of his magnitude? Or who would be able to describe his mercy?
5 There is no diminishing, and no increasing, and there is no discovering, the greatness of God.
6 When man has reached the end, then he will begin. And when he ceases, he will be in need.
7 What is man, and what is his grace? And what is his good, or what is his evil?
8 The number of the days of men are as many as one hundred years. Like a drop of water in the ocean, so they are considered to be. And like a grain of sand on the shore, so do these few years compare to the days of all time.
9 For this reason, God is patient with them, and he pours forth his mercy upon them.
10 He has seen that the presumption of their heart is evil, and he knows that their rebelliousness is wicked.
11 Therefore, he has bestowed his forgiveness on them, and he has revealed to them the way of equity.
12 The compassion of man is toward those closest to him. But the mercy of God is upon all flesh.
13 He is merciful, and he teaches and corrects, like a shepherd with his flock.
14 He takes pity on those who accept the doctrine of compassion, and he applies his judgments promptly.
15 Son, in your good works, you should not complain, and in giving anything, you should not cause grief with evil words.
16 Is heat not refreshed by the dew? So also is a good word better than a gift.
17 Behold, is a word not greater than a gift? But both are with a justified man.
18 The foolish place blame sharply. And a gift from the undisciplined causes the eyes to fail.
19 Before you judge, put justice in order within yourself, and before you speak, learn.
20 Before you become sick, obtain medicine. And before you judge, examine yourself. And then you will find forgiveness in the sight of God.
21 Before you become weak, humble yourself; and in a time of infirmity, show your way of life.
22 Let nothing impede you from praying always. And then you will not dread to be justified, even unto death. For the reward of God dwells in eternity.
23 Before you pray, prepare your soul. And do not choose to be like a man who tempts God.
24 Remember the wrath that will be on the day of consummation, and remember the time of retribution, when he will turn away his face.
25 Remember poverty in a time of abundance, and remember the deficiency of poverty in a day of riches.
26 From morning until evening, the time will be changed, and all these are swift in the eyes of God.
27 A wise man will be cautious in all things, and during a time of many offenses, he will be attentive against inaction.
28 Anyone who is astute recognizes wisdom, and he will acknowledge anyone who finds it.
29 Those who show understanding with words also have acted wisely themselves, and they have understood truth and justice, and they have fulfilled proverbs and judgments.
30 You should not go after your desires; instead, turn away from your own will.
31 If you offer your desires to your soul, this will cause you to become a joy to your enemies.
32 Take no delight in disorderly gatherings, whether large or small. For their commission of offenses is unceasing.
33 You should not be reduced by the contention of borrowing, even if there is nothing in your purse. For you would be contending against your own life.
1 An inebriated worker will not be wealthy. And whoever despises littleness will fall a little at a time.
2 Wine and women cause wise men to fall away, and then they will complain against those who understand.
3 And whoever joins himself to fornicators will become wicked. Decay and worms will inherit him, and he will be denounced as the greater example, and his soul will be deducted from the number.
4 Whoever is quick to believe has a trivial heart and will be diminished. And whoever offends against his own soul will have even less.
5 Whoever rejoices in iniquity will be condemned. And whoever hates correction will have less in life. But whoever hates excessive talk extinguishes evil.
6 Whoever sins against his own soul will be punished. And whoever rejoices in malice will be condemned.
7 You should not repeat a wicked and harsh word, and then you will not be diminished.
8 Do not reveal your mind to friend or foe. And if there is a sin within you, do not disclose it.
9 For he will listen to you and watch you, and while pretending to defend your sin, he will despise you, and so he will be whenever he is with you.
10 Have you heard a word against your neighbor? Let it die within you, trusting that it will not burst forth from you.
11 Before the face of a word, a foolish man labors, like a woman groaning as she gives birth to a child.
12 Like an arrow fixed in the flesh of the thigh, so is a word in the heart of a foolish man.
13 Correct a friend, though perhaps there was a misunderstanding, and he may say, “I did not do it.” Or, if he did do it, correct him, so that he may not do it again.
14 Correct your neighbor, for perhaps he did not say it. But if he did say it, correct him, so that he may not say it again.
15 Correct your friend. For often a fault has been committed.
16 And do not believe every word. There is one who slips with his word, but not with his heart.
17 For who is there who has not offended with his words? Correct your neighbor before you reprimand him.
18 And make a place for the fear of the Most High. For all wisdom is fear of God, and it is wise to fear God, and in all wisdom is the orderly disposition of the law.
19 But the discipline of wickedness is not wisdom. And there is no prudence in the thoughts of sinners.
20 There is a wickedness, and in it there is abomination. And there is a foolish man who has been diminished in wisdom.
21 Better is a man who has been diminished in wisdom because his mind is failing, but with the fear of God, than he who abounds in intelligence, but with transgression against the law of the Most High.
22 There is a certain cleverness, and it is unjust.
23 And there is one who utters a careful word, explaining away the truth. There is one who humbles himself wickedly, for his interior is filled with deceit.
24 And there is one who lowers himself excessively with a great debasement. And there is one who inclines his face downward, and pretends as if he did not see what has not been made known.
25 And if he is prevented from sinning by a lack of ability, and then finds an opportunity for evildoing, he will do evil.
26 A man is recognized by his appearances. But when you meet an understanding man, he is recognized by his face.
27 The clothing of the body, and the laughter of the teeth, and the walk of a man, give a report about him.
28 There is a lying correction in the anger of a contemptuous man. And there is a judgment which does not prove to be good. But there is one who is silent, and the same is prudent.
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15 But, as if this were not enough, he even presumed to enter into the most holy temple in the entire world, with Menelaus, that traitor to the law and to his own nation, as his guide.
16 And, taking in his wicked hands the holy vessels, which were given by other kings and cities for the adornment and glory of the place, he unworthily handled and contaminated them.
17 So Antiochus, having gone astray in mind, did not consider that, because of the sins of the inhabitants of the city, God had become angry for a while, and so, for this reason, contempt had fallen upon the place.
18 Otherwise, if it had not happened that they were involved in so many sins, as with Heliodorus, who was sent by king Seleucus to plunder the treasury, so also this one, as soon as he had arrived, certainly would have been scourged and driven away from his audacity.
19 Truly, God did not choose the people because of the place, but the place because of the people.
20 And therefore, the place itself also became a participant in the evils of the people. But afterwards, it shall be a companion to what is good. And she who was abandoned to the wrath of Almighty God shall be exalted again with the greatest glory, at the reconciliation of the great Lord.
21 Therefore, when Antiochus had taken away from the temple one thousand eight hundred talents, he quickly returned to Antioch, thinking, in his arrogance, to navigate the earth, even by finding a passage leading across the open ocean: such was the elation of his mind.
22 Yet he left behind rulers to afflict the people. In fact, at Jerusalem, Philip was by birth a Phrygian, but he was in manners more cruel than he who had appointed him.
23 Yet Andronicus and Menelaus hung a heavier weight over the citizens at Garizim than the others.
24 And when he had been appointed over the Jews, he sent that hateful leader, Apollonius, with an army of twenty-two thousand, instructing him to execute all men in the prime of life, and to sell the women and the youths.
25 When he had arrived at Jerusalem, feigning peace, he remained quiet until the holy day of the Sabbath. And then, when the Jews were taking rest, he instructed his own to take up arms.
26 And he slaughtered all those who were seen going out. And rushing throughout the city with armed men, he destroyed a vast multitude.
27 But Judas Maccabeus, who was the tenth, had withdrawn himself to a deserted place, and there he lived life among the wild beasts in the mountains, with his own. And they remained there, consuming herbs as food, lest they be partakers in the defilement.
9 Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not thou forsake me, lest they should triumph.
10 The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them.
11 Burning coals shall fall upon them; thou wilt cast them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand.
12 A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction.
13 I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the poor.
14 But as for the just, they shall give glory to thy name: and the upright shall dwell with thy countenance.
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, in order to make known to his servants the things that must soon occur, and which he signified by sending his Angel to his servant John;
2 he has offered testimony to the Word of God, and whatever he saw is the testimony of Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed is he who reads or hears the words of this Prophecy, and who keeps the things that have been written in it. For the time is near.
4 John, to the seven Churches, which are in Asia. Grace and peace to you, from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are in the sight of his throne,
5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the leader over the kings of the earth, who has loved us and has washed us from our sins with his blood,
6 and who has made us into a kingdom and into priests for God and for his Father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, he arrives with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, even those who pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth shall lament for themselves over him. Even so. Amen.
8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
9 I, John, your brother, and a sharer in the tribulation and in the kingdom and in patient endurance for Christ Jesus, was on the island which is called Patmos, because of the Word of God and the testimony to Jesus.
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a great voice, like that of a trumpet,
11 saying, “What you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven Churches, which are in Asia: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamus, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
12 And I turned around, so as to see the voice which was speaking with me. And having turned around, I saw seven golden lampstands.
13 And in the midst of the seven golden lampstands was one resembling the Son of man, clothed to the feet with a vestment, and wrapped to the breast with a wide belt of gold.
14 But his head and hair were bright, like white wool, or like snow; and his eyes were like a flame of fire;
15 and his feet resembled shining brass, just as in a burning furnace; and his voice was like the voice of many waters.
16 And in his right hand, he held the seven stars; and from his mouth went out a sharp two-edged sword; and his face was like the sun, shining with all its might.
17 And when I had seen him, I fell at his feet, like one who is dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
18 And I am alive, though I was dead. And, behold, I live forever and ever. And I hold the keys of death and of Hell.
19 Therefore, write the things which you have seen, and which are, and which must occur afterward:
20 the mystery of the seven stars, which you have seen in my right hand, and of the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the Angels of the seven Churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven Churches.”
