Wisdom of Solomon 4

¹Living right is better[#Si 16.3.]

than having children—

both God and people

will always remember you

and the good you have done.

²People imitate goodness,[#4.2 Some manuscripts “honor.”]

and they miss it

when it is gone.

Goodness always triumphs;

it receives the highest honors

because it is unselfish.

³But all of the many children

born to sinners

will be useless and helpless

like trees without roots.

⁴They may blossom for a while,

but they will be swept away

in a gust of wind.

⁵Their branches will be broken

before they mature,

and the fruit they produce

will be worthless.

⁶When God judges the world,

these children will be witnesses

against their sinful parents.

⁷Good people may die early,

but they will be at rest.

⁸True respect isn't gained

merely by growing old—

⁹people are honored because of

their wisdom and goodness.

¹⁰Enoch, a person God loved[#Gn 5.21-24; Si 44.16; He 11.5.]

and who pleased him,

was living among sinners.

But God took him away

¹¹to protect his mind and soul

from the influence of evil.

¹²Even the most innocent person

can be deceived and destroyed

by sinful thoughts.

¹³But Enoch loved the Lord;

he became mature in a few years

¹⁴and pleased the Lord.

So he quickly took Enoch away

to protect him from evil.

¹⁵Others failed to understand

that this is how

God shows kindness and mercy

and protects his holy people.

Good People Will Triumph

¹⁶Good people may die young,

but they shame those sinners

who live a long time.

¹⁷Sinners fail to understand

why God gives them a long life

and lets the wise die young.

¹⁸When they see this happen,

they simply sneer.

But God will laugh at them

because their dead bodies

will be forever disgusting

to the rest of the dead.

¹⁹God will throw them speechless

to the ground, and they will be

like buildings that crumble.

They will suffer and rot,

then be forgotten.

The Final Judgment

²⁰Sinners will be horrified

when they are condemned

by their evil deeds.