1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
And no torment shall touch them.
2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died;
And their departure was accountedto be theirhurt,
3 And their journeying away from usto be theirruin:
But they are in peace.
4 For even if in the sight of men they be punished,
Their hope is full of immortality;
5 And having borne a little chastening, they shall receive great good;
Because God made trial of them, and found them worthy of himself.
6 As gold in the furnace he proved them,
And as a whole burnt offering he accepted them.
7 And in the time of their visitation they shall shine forth,
And as sparks among stubble they shall run to and fro.
8 They shall judge nations, and have dominion over peoples;
And the Lord shall reign over them for evermore.
9 They that trust on him shall understand truth,
Andthe faithful shall abide with him in love;
Because grace and mercy are to his chosen.
10 But the ungodly shall be requited even as they reasoned,
They which lightly regardedthe righteousman,and revolted from the Lord;
11 (For he that sets at nothing wisdom and discipline is miserable;)
And void is their hope and their toils unprofitable,
And useless are their works:
12 Their wives are foolish, and wicked are their children;
13 Accursed is their begetting.
Because happy is the barren that is undefiled,
She who has not conceived in transgression;
She shall have fruit whenGodvisiteth souls.
14 Andhappy isthe eunuch which has wrought no lawless deed with his hands,
Nor imagined wicked things against the Lord;
For there shall be given him for his faithfulnessa peculiar favor,
And a lot in the sanctuary of the Lord more delightsomethan wife or children.
15 For good labors have fruit of great renown;
And the root of understanding can’t fail.
16 But children of adulterers shall not come to maturity,
And the seed of an unlawful bed shall vanish away.
17 For if they live long, they shall be held in no account,
And at the last their old age shall be without honor.
18 And if they die quickly, theyshall have no hope,
Nor in the day of decisionshall they haveconsolation.
19 Forthe end of an unrighteous generation is always grievous.