Wisdom 1

Catholic Public Domain Bible	New Jerusalem Bible
¹ Love justice, you who judge the land. Think of the Lord in goodness and seek him in simplicity of heart.	¹ Love uprightness you who are rulers on earth, be properly disposed towards the Lord and seek him insimplicity of heart;
² For he is found by those who do not test him, yet he reveals himself to those who have faith in him.	² for he wil be found by those who do not put him to the test, revealing himself to those who do notmistrust him.
³ For perverse thoughts separate from God. But his virtue, when it is tested, corrects the foolish.	³ Perverse thoughts, however, separate people from God, and power, when put to the test, confounds thestupid.
⁴ For wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subdued by sin.	⁴ Wisdom wil never enter the soul of a wrong-doer, nor dwell in a body enslaved to sin;
⁵ For the holy spirit of instruction will flee from falsehood, and he will withdraw himself from thoughts that are without understanding, and he will not be reached when iniquity overcomes.	⁵ for the holy spirit of instruction flees deceitfulness, recoils from unintel igent thoughts, is thwarted by theonset of vice.
⁶ For the spirit of wisdom is benevolent, and will not release the evil speaker from his talk, because God is a witness of his temperament, and a true examiner of his heart, and an auditor of his words.	⁶ Wisdom is a spirit friendly to humanity, though she will not let a blasphemer's words go unpunished;since God observes the very soul and accurately surveys the heart, listening to every word.
⁷ For the spirit of the Lord has filled the world, and he who contains all things, retains knowledge of every voice.	⁷ For the spirit of the Lord fil s the world, and that which holds everything together knows every word said.
⁸ Therefore, he who speaks unjust things cannot escape notice, nor will the chastising judgment pass him by.	⁸ No one who speaks what is wrong will go undetected, nor will avenging Justice pass by such a one.
⁹ For inquiry will be made into the thoughts of the impious, his conversation also will reach the hearing of God, to the chastising of his iniquities.	⁹ For the schemes of the godless wil be examined, and a report of his words wil reach the Lord toconvict him of his crimes.
¹⁰ For the zealous ear hears all things, and the disturbance of complaining will not be hidden.	¹⁰ There is a jealous ear that overhears everything, not even a murmur of complaint escapes it.
¹¹ Therefore, keep yourselves from complaining, which benefits nothing, and refrain your tongue from slander, because secret conversation will not pass into nothingness, and the mouth that deceives kills the soul.	¹¹ So beware of uttering frivolous complaints, restrain your tongue from finding fault; even what is said insecret has repercussions, and a lying mouth deals death to the soul.
¹² Do not court death by the error of your life, nor procure your destruction by the works of your hands,	¹² Do not court death by the errors of your ways, nor invite destruction through the work of your hands.
¹³ because God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the loss of the living.	¹³ For God did not make Death, he takes no pleasure in destroying the living.
¹⁴ For he created all things that they might exist, and he made the nations of the world curable, and there is no medicine of extermination in them, nor a kingdom of hell upon the earth.	¹⁴ To exist -- for this he created all things; the creatures of the world have health in them, in them is nofatal poison, and Hades has no power over the world:
¹⁵ For justice is perpetual and immortal.	¹⁵ for uprightness is immortal.
¹⁶ But the impious, with hands and words, have called death to them, and, esteeming it a friend, they have fallen away and have made a covenant with death, because they deserved to take part in it.	¹⁶ But the godless cal for Death with deed and word, counting him friend, they wear themselves out forhim; with him they make a pact, worthy as they are to belong to him.