Wisdom 17

NEW JERUSALEM	NOVA VULGATA
1 Yes, your judgements are great and impenetrable, which is why uninstructed souls have gone astray.	1 Magna sunt enim iudicia tua et inenarrabilia; propter hoc indisciplinatae animae erraverunt.
2 While the wicked supposed they had a holy nation in their power, they themselves lay prisoners of thedark, in the fetters of long night, confined under their own roofs, banished from eternal providence.	2 Dum enim persuasum habent iniqui posse dominari nationi sanctae, captivi tenebrarum et longae noctis compediti, inclusi sub tectis, fugitivi perpetuae providentiae iacuerunt.
3 While they thought to remain unnoticed with their secret sins, curtained by dark forgetfulness, theywere scattered in fearful dismay, terrified by apparitions.	3 Et dum putant se latere in obscuris peccatis, tenebroso oblivionis velamento dispersi sunt, paventes horrende, et umbris perturbati.
4 The hiding place sheltering them could not ward off their fear; terrifying noises echoed round them;and gloomy, grim-faced spectres haunted them.	4 Neque enim, quae continebat illos, spelunca sine timore custodiebat, quoniam sonitus descendentes perturbabant illos, et phantasmata tristi vultu maerentia apparebant.
5 No fire had power enough to give them light, nor could the brightly blazing stars il uminate that dreadfulnight.	5 Et ignis quidem nulla vis poterat illis lumen praebere, nec siderum limpidae flammae illuminare poterant illam noctem horrendam.
6 The only light for them was a great, spontaneous blaze -- a fearful sight to see! And in their terror,once that sight had vanished, they thought what they had seen more terrible than ever.	6 Apparebat autem illis tantum subitaneus ignis timore plenus, et timore perculsi illius, quae non videbatur, visionis aestimabant deteriora esse, quae videbantur;
7 Their magical il usions were powerless now, and their claims to intel igence were ignominiouslyconfounded;	7 et magicae artis appositi erant derisus, et in sapientia gloriae correptio cum contumelia.
8 for those who promised to drive out fears and disorders from sick souls were now themselves sick withludicrous fright.	8 Illi enim, qui promittebant timores et perturbationes expellere se ab anima languente, hi cum ridiculo timore languebant.
9 Even when there was nothing frightful to scare them, the vermin creeping past and the hissing ofreptiles filled them with panic;	9 Nam, etsi nihil turbulenti illos terrebat, transitu animalium et serpentium sibilatione commoti, tremebundi peribant, et aerem, quem nulla ratione quis effugere posset, negantes se videre.
10 they died convulsed with fright, refusing even to look at empty air, which cannot be eluded anyhow!	10 Formidinis enim suae propriae nequitia dat testimonium, cum sit condemnata; semper autem praesumit saeva perturbata conscientia.
11 Wickedness is confessedly very cowardly, and it condemns itself; under pressure from conscience italways assumes the worst.	11 Nihil enim est timor nisi proditio auxiliorum, quae sunt a cogitatione;
12 Fear, indeed, is nothing other than the failure of the help offered by reason;	12 et, dum ab intus minor est exspectatio, maiorem computat inscientiam eius causae, quae tormentum praestat.
13 the less you rely within yourself on this, the more alarming it is not to know the cause of yoursuffering.	13 Illi autem per impotentem vere noctem et ab impotentis inferni speluncis supervenientem, eundem somnum dormientes,
14 And they, al locked in the same sleep, while that darkness lasted -- which was in fact quite powerlessand had issued from the depths of equal y powerless Hades-	14 aliquando a monstris exagitabantur phantasmatum, aliquando animae deficiebant proditione: subitaneus enim illis et insperatus timor infundebatur.
15 were now chased by monstrous spectres, now paralysed by the fainting of their souls; for a sudden,unexpected terror had attacked them.	15 Itaque, si quisquam illic decidisset, custodiebatur in carcere sine ferro reclusus.
16 And thus, whoever it might be that fel there stayed clamped to the spot in this prison without bars.	16 Sive enim rusticus quis erat aut pastor aut agri laborum operarius praeoccupatus, ineffugibilem sustinebat necessitatem, una enim catena tenebrarum omnes erant colligati.
17 Whether he was ploughman or shepherd, or somebody at work in the desert, he was stil overtakenand suffered the inevitable fate, for al had been bound by the one same chain of darkness.	17 Sive spiritus sibilans aut inter spissos arborum ramos avium sonus suavis aut numerus aquae decurrentis nimium aut sonus durus praecipitatarum petrarum
18 The soughing of the wind, the tuneful noise of birds in the spreading branches, the measured beat ofwater in its powerful course, the headlong din of rocks cascading down,	18 aut ludentium animalium cursus invisus aut mugientium ferissimarum bestiarum vox aut resonans de cavitate montium echo deficientes faciebant illos prae timore.
19 the unseen course of bounding animals, the roaring of the most savage of wild beasts, the echorebounding from the clefts in the mountains, all held them paralysed with fear.	19 Omnis enim orbis terrarum limpido illuminabatur lumine et non impeditis operibus continebatur;
20 For the whole world shone with the light of day and, unhindered, went about its work;	20 solis autem illis superposita erat gravis nox, imago tenebrarum, quae illos recepturae erant: ipsi ergo sibi erant graviores tenebris.
21 over them alone there spread a heavy darkness, image of the dark that would receive them. Butheavier than the darkness was the burden they were to themselves.