Wisdom of Solomon 9
9
Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom
1 #
1 K 3.6-9; Ws 7.7. Merciful Lord God
of my ancestors,
you created everything
by your word.
2And by your Wisdom,
you let us humans rule
all other creatures.
3We are to be honest and fair
in every decision,
4so share with me the Wisdom
that sits beside your throne,
and let me be a child of yours.
5My mother was your servant,
and so am I—a mere human
whose life is short.
I understand only a little
about laws and judgments,
6because even a perfect human
is really nothing
without Wisdom from you.
7You have chosen me to rule
and judge your people,
8and here, on your holy mountain
in the city where you live,
you have commanded me to build
an altar and a temple,
just like that sacred temple
you made at the beginning.#9.8 temple … beginning: Either a reference to Exodus 25.9,40, where God commands Moses to build the temple according to the plan that he had given Moses, or to the Jewish teaching that the temple was present before the world was created.
9Wisdom has always been with you.
She knows your mighty deeds,
and she was there
when you created the world.
Wisdom knows what pleases you,
and she knows what is right
according to your commands.
10So from your glorious and holy
throne in the heavens,
please send Wisdom
to work beside me and teach me
what is pleasing to you.
11Wisdom will guide me
in all that I do,
and her glory will guard me,
because she knows everything.
12Then you will approve my actions,
and I will rule your people
with fairness,
which will show that I am worthy
to succeed my father as king.
13No one can know what you,
the Lord God,
demand of us humans—
14our reasoning is faulty,
and our schemes often fail,
15because our mortal bodies
are merely earthly tents
that burden down our souls
and our anxious minds.
16We struggle and know so little
about things here on earth.
How could we possibly learn
about things in heaven?
17Who has known your thoughts
before you gave them Wisdom
and your Holy Spirit?
18Then they found the right path;
they learned what pleased you
and were saved by Wisdom.
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Wisdom of Solomon 9: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.