ΣΟΦΙΑ ΣΑΛΩΜΩΝ - Sapienza - Wisdom 12

LXX	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 τὸ γὰρ ἄφθαρτόν σου πνεῦμά ἐστιν ἐν πᾶσιν	1 for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
2 διὸ τοὺς παραπίπτοντας κατ’ ὀλίγον ἐλέγχεις καὶ ἐν οἷς ἁμαρτάνουσιν ὑπομιμνῄσκων νουθετεῖς ἵνα ἀπαλλαγέντες τῆς κακίας πιστεύσωσιν ἐπὶ σέ κύριε	2 Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them, and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!
3 καὶ γὰρ τοὺς πάλαι οἰκήτορας τῆς ἁγίας σου γῆς	3 For truly, the ancient inhabitants of your holy land,
4 μισήσας ἐπὶ τῷ ἔχθιστα πράσσειν ἔργα φαρμακειῶν καὶ τελετὰς ἀνοσίους	4 whom you hated for deeds most odious-- Works of witchcraft and impious sacrifices;
5 τέκνων τε φονὰς ἀνελεήμονας καὶ σπλαγχνοφάγον ἀνθρωπίνων σαρκῶν θοῖναν καὶ αἵματος ἐκ μέσου μύστας θιάσου	5 a cannibal feast of human flesh and of blood, from the midst of. . .-- These merciless murderers of children,
6 καὶ αὐθέντας γονεῖς ψυχῶν ἀβοηθήτων ἐβουλήθης ἀπολέσαι διὰ χειρῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν	6 and parents who took with their own hands defenseless lives, You willed to destroy by the hands of our fathers,
7 ἵνα ἀξίαν ἀποικίαν δέξηται θεοῦ παίδων ἡ παρὰ σοὶ πασῶν τιμιωτάτη γῆ 8ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτων ὡς ἀνθρώπων ἐφείσω ἀπέστειλάς τε προδρόμους τοῦ στρατοπέδου σου σφῆκας ἵνα αὐτοὺς κατὰ βραχὺ ἐξολεθρεύσωσιν 9οὐκ ἀδυνατῶν ἐν παρατάξει ἀσεβεῖς δικαίοις ὑποχειρίους δοῦναι ἢ θηρίοις δεινοῖς ἢ λόγῳ ἀποτόμῳ ὑφ’ ἓν ἐκτρῖψαι	7 that the land that is dearest of all to you might receive a worthy colony of God's children.
	8 But even these, as they were men, you spared, and sent wasps as forerunners of your army that they might exterminate them by degrees.
	9 Not that you were without power to have the wicked vanquished in battle by the just, or wiped out at once by terrible beasts or by one decisive word;
10 κρίνων δὲ κατὰ βραχὺ ἐδίδους τόπον μετανοίας οὐκ ἀγνοῶν ὅτι πονηρὰ ἡ γένεσις αὐτῶν καὶ ἔμφυτος ἡ κακία αὐτῶν καὶ ὅτι οὐ μὴ ἀλλαγῇ ὁ λογισμὸς αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα	10 But condemning them bit by bit, you gave them space for repentance. You were not unaware that their race was wicked and their malice ingrained, And that their dispositions would never change;
11 σπέρμα γὰρ ἦν κατηραμένον ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς οὐδὲ εὐλαβούμενός τινα ἐφ’ οἷς ἡμάρτανον ἄδειαν ἐδίδους	11 for they were a race accursed from the beginning. Neither out of fear for anyone did you grant amnesty for their sins.
12 τίς γὰρ ἐρεῖ τί ἐποίησας ἢ τίς ἀντιστήσεται τῷ κρίματί σου τίς δὲ ἐγκαλέσει σοι κατὰ ἐθνῶν ἀπολωλότων ἃ σὺ ἐποίησας ἢ τίς εἰς κατάστασίν σοι ἐλεύσεται ἔκδικος κατὰ ἀδίκων ἀνθρώπων	12 For who can say to you, "What have you done?" or who can oppose your decree? Or when peoples perish, who can challenge you, their maker; or who can come into your presence as vindicator of unjust men?
13 οὔτε γὰρ θεός ἐστιν πλὴν σοῦ ᾧ μέλει περὶ πάντων ἵνα δείξῃς ὅτι οὐκ ἀδίκως ἔκρινας	13 For neither is there any god besides you who have the care of all, that you need show you have not unjustly condemned;
14 οὔτε βασιλεὺς ἢ τύραννος ἀντοφθαλμῆσαι δυνήσεταί σοι περὶ ὧν ἐκόλασας	14 Nor can any king or prince confront you on behalf of those you have punished.
15 δίκαιος δὲ ὢν δικαίως τὰ πάντα διέπεις αὐτὸν τὸν μὴ ὀφείλοντα κολασθῆναι καταδικάσαι ἀλλότριον ἡγούμενος τῆς σῆς δυνάμεως	15 But as you are just, you govern all things justly; you regard it as unworthy of your power to punish one who has incurred no blame.
16 ἡ γὰρ ἰσχύς σου δικαιοσύνης ἀρχή καὶ τὸ πάντων σε δεσπόζειν πάντων φείδεσθαί σε ποιεῖ	16 For your might is the source of justice; your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.
17 ἰσχὺν γὰρ ἐνδείκνυσαι ἀπιστούμενος ἐπὶ δυνάμεως τελειότητι καὶ ἐν τοῖς εἰδόσι τὸ θράσος ἐξελέγχεις	17 For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved; and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity.
18 σὺ δὲ δεσπόζων ἰσχύος ἐν ἐπιεικείᾳ κρίνεις καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς φειδοῦς διοικεῖς ἡμᾶς πάρεστιν γάρ σοι ὅταν θέλῃς τὸ δύνασθαι	18 But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us; for power, whenever you will, attends you.
19 ἐδίδαξας δέ σου τὸν λαὸν διὰ τῶν τοιούτων ἔργων ὅτι δεῖ τὸν δίκαιον εἶναι φιλάνθρωπον καὶ εὐέλπιδας ἐποίησας τοὺς υἱούς σου ὅτι διδοῖς ἐπὶ ἁμαρτήμασιν μετάνοιαν	19 And you taught your people, by these deeds, that those who are just must be kind; And you gave your sons good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins.
20 εἰ γὰρ ἐχθροὺς παίδων σου καὶ ὀφειλομένους θανάτῳ μετὰ τοσαύτης ἐτιμωρήσω προσοχῆς καὶ διέσεως δοὺς χρόνους καὶ τόπον δι’ ὧν ἀπαλλαγῶσι τῆς κακίας	20 For these were enemies of your servants, doomed to death; yet, while you punished them with such solicitude and pleading, granting time and opportunity to abandon wickedness,
21 μετὰ πόσης ἀκριβείας ἔκρινας τοὺς υἱούς σου ὧν τοῖς πατράσιν ὅρκους καὶ συνθήκας ἔδωκας ἀγαθῶν ὑποσχέσεων	21 With what exactitude you judged your sons, to whose fathers you gave the sworn covenants of goodly promises!
22 ἡμᾶς οὖν παιδεύων τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἡμῶν ἐν μυριότητι μαστιγοῖς ἵνα σου τὴν ἀγαθότητα μεριμνῶμεν κρίνοντες κρινόμενοι δὲ προσδοκῶμεν ἔλεος	22 Us, therefore, you chastise and our enemies with a thousand blows you punish, that we may think earnestly of your goodness when we judge, and, when being judged, may look for mercy.
23 ὅθεν καὶ τοὺς ἐν ἀφροσύνῃ ζωῆς βιώσαντας ἀδίκως διὰ τῶν ἰδίων ἐβασάνισας βδελυγμάτων	23 Hence those unjust also, who lived a life of folly, you tormented through their own abominations.
24 καὶ γὰρ τῶν πλάνης ὁδῶν μακρότερον ἐπλανήθησαν θεοὺς ὑπολαμβάνοντες τὰ καὶ ἐν ζῴοις τῶν αἰσχρῶν ἄτιμα νηπίων δίκην ἀφρόνων ψευσθέντες	24 For they went far astray in the paths of error, taking for gods the worthless and disgusting among beasts, deceived like senseless infants.
25 διὰ τοῦτο ὡς παισὶν ἀλογίστοις τὴν κρίσιν εἰς ἐμπαιγμὸν ἔπεμψας	25 Therefore as though upon unreasoning children, you sent your judgment on them as a mockery;
26 οἱ δὲ παιγνίοις ἐπιτιμήσεως μὴ νουθετηθέντες ἀξίαν θεοῦ κρίσιν πειράσουσιν	26 But they who took no heed of punishment which was but child's play were to experience a condemnation worthy of God.
27 ἐφ’ οἷς γὰρ αὐτοὶ πάσχοντες ἠγανάκτουν ἐπὶ τούτοις οὓς ἐδόκουν θεούς ἐν αὐτοῖς κολαζόμενοι ἰδόντες ὃν πάλαι ἠρνοῦντο εἰδέναι θεὸν ἐπέγνωσαν ἀληθῆ διὸ καὶ τὸ τέρμα τῆς καταδίκης ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς ἐπῆλθεν	27 For in the things through which they suffered distress, since they were tortured by the very things they deemed gods, They saw and recognized the true God whom before they had refused to know; with this, their final condemnation came upon them.