Wisdom of Solomon 9

God of my fathers, Lord of mercy, you made all things by your word.

1O God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things with thy word,

NoteThe prayer is spoken in the voice of a king who was chosen to rule, told to build the temple, and expects to sit on his father's throne (verses 7, 8, 12). The book never gives his name, but every detail points to Solomon, and the prayer is a reworking of his request for wisdom in 1 Kings 3 and 2 Chronicles 1.

2By your wisdom you appointed man to rule over the creatures you have made,

2And ordained man through thy wisdom, that he should have dominion over the creatures which thou hast made,

3and to run the world with fairness and right living, and to give judgment with an honest heart.

3And order the world according to equity and righteousness, and execute judgment with an upright heart:

4Give me the wisdom that sits beside your throne, and do not turn me away from among your children.

4Give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne; and reject me not from among thy children:

NoteFrom here on wisdom is spoken of as "she." The Greek word for wisdom, sophia, is grammatically feminine, and this book, like Proverbs 8, presents wisdom as a woman who stands beside God. "Reject me not from among thy children" asks not to be struck off the list of God's household; some Greek copies read "servants" here rather than "children."

5For I am your servant, and the son of your servant woman. I am a weak person, I do not live long, and I understand too little about judgment and laws.

5For I thy servant and son of thine handmaid am a feeble person, and of a short time, and too young for the understanding of judgment and laws.

NoteA "handmaid" is a female servant or slave, and "son of thine handmaid" is a set phrase of humility in prayer: it places the speaker in the position of a servant born inside the master's house. The Greek behind "too young" says only that he falls short in the understanding of judgment and laws; the KJV's "too young" picks up young Solomon's words in 1 Kings 3:7, where he calls himself a little child.

6For even if a man is perfect among human beings, if your wisdom is not with him, he will count for nothing.

6For though a man be never so perfect among the children of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded.

Note"Though a man be never so perfect" is an old English construction meaning "however perfect a man may be." "He shall be nothing regarded" means he will be counted as worth nothing. "Perfect" here means complete or blameless by human measure, not flawless.

7You chose me to be king of your people, and judge of your sons and daughters.

7Thou hast chosen me to be a king of thy people, and a judge of thy sons and daughters:

Note"Judge" here means ruler. In Israelite usage, judging covered governing the people and settling disputes between them, not only deciding cases in a courtroom.

8You commanded me to build a temple on your holy mountain, and an altar in the city where you live, a copy of the holy tent that you prepared from the beginning.

8Thou hast commanded me to build a temple upon thy holy mount, and an altar in the city wherein thou dwellest, a resemblance of the holy tabernacle, which thou hast prepared from the beginning.

NoteThe holy mountain is Mount Zion, and "the city wherein thou dwellest" is Jerusalem. The "holy tabernacle" is the portable tent shrine that Israel carried through the wilderness before any temple existed. The claim is that the temple copies a tent that God prepared from the beginning, an idea drawn from Exodus 25:9, where Moses is shown a pattern on the mountain and told to build to match it.

9And wisdom was with you. She knows the things you do, and she was there when you made the world. She knew what you find acceptable, and what is right by your commands.

9And wisdom was with thee: which knoweth thy works, and was present when thou madest the world, and knew what was acceptable in thy sight, and right in thy commandments.

NoteWisdom being present when the world was made echoes Proverbs 8:22 to 31, where wisdom says she was beside God at creation.

10Send her out from your holy heavens, and from the throne of your glory, so that she may be present and work beside me, and I may know what pleases you.

10O send her out of thy holy heavens, and from the throne of thy glory, that being present she may labour with me, that I may know what is pleasing unto thee.

11For she knows and understands all things. She will guide me carefully in what I do, and she will keep me safe by her power.

11For she knoweth and understandeth all things, and she shall lead me soberly in my doings, and preserve me in her power.

Note"Soberly" here means with good sense and self control, not the modern opposite of drunk. Where the KJV says wisdom will preserve him "in her power," the Greek word is glory, the visible splendor that surrounds her.

12Then what I do will be acceptable, and I will judge your people rightly, and be worthy to sit on my father's throne.

12So shall my works be acceptable, and then shall I judge thy people righteously, and be worthy to sit in my father’s seat.

Note"My father's seat" means the throne of David. "Seat" was the ordinary English word for a throne in 1611.

13For what man is there who can know the plan of God? Or who can work out what the Lord wants?

13For what man is he that can know the counsel of God? or who can think what the will of the Lord is?

14For the thoughts of people who must die are unsteady, and our plans are uncertain.

14For the thoughts of mortal men are miserable, and our devices are but uncertain.

NoteTwo words have shifted since 1611. "Miserable" here means feeble and liable to fail, not unhappy. "Devices" means plans and schemes, not machines or gadgets.

15For the body that decays presses down on the soul, and this tent made of earth weighs down a mind that is thinking about many things.

15For the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthy tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things.

Note"Tabernacle" here simply means tent, a different use from verse 8: the body is pictured as a temporary tent made of earth in which the soul lives. "Museth upon many things" describes a mind loaded with cares and calculations. The picture of a heavy body dragging at the soul uses the vocabulary of Greek philosophy current when this book was written in Greek.

16We can barely guess right about the things that are on earth, and we find the things right in front of us only with hard work. So who has searched out the things that are in heaven?

16And hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon earth, and with labour do we find the things that are before us: but the things that are in heaven who hath searched out?

Note"Hardly" means with difficulty, and "guess aright" means guess correctly. "With labour" means only by hard toil. The sentence is about how much effort even nearby things cost us to work out.

17And who has known your plan, unless you gave wisdom and sent your Holy Spirit from above?

17And thy counsel who hath known, except thou give wisdom, and send thy Holy Spirit from above?

NoteGreek is written without capital letters, so the phrase here is "holy spirit from on high," standing in the same sentence as a parallel to "wisdom." The capitals in the KJV are the translators' reading of it.

18For that is how the ways of those who lived on earth were set right, and people were taught the things that please you, and were saved through wisdom.

18For so the ways of them which lived on the earth were reformed, and men were taught the things that are pleasing unto thee, and were saved through wisdom.

Note"Reformed" here means set right or corrected, and carries none of the later sense of religious reform. The line sets up chapter 10, which runs through Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph and Moses as cases of people whom wisdom guided and rescued.