The Deeds of Wisdom throughout History

¹Wisdom protected Adam, the first father of the world,[#10:1 In 10:1-16, Adam, Cain, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Lot’s wife, Jacob, Joseph, the Israelites, and Moses are alluded to but not explicitly named in the Greek text.]

when he alone had been created.

Wisdom freed him from his sin

²and gave him power to be master over all things.

³But when Cain, an unrighteous man, abandoned wisdom in his anger,

he was destroyed because he murdered his brother in a fit of rage.

⁴When water flooded the earth because of Cain’s sin,

wisdom saved it again,

steering Noah, a righteous man, by a mere piece of wood.

⁵When the nations were thrown into confusion for planning wicked things together,

wisdom recognized Abraham, a righteous man.

She protected him from sin before God

and gave him strength to be willing to sacrifice his son, whom he loved.

⁶She delivered Lot, a righteous man,

when the wicked were being destroyed.

He escaped the fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

⁷Evidence of their wickedness still remains:

a smoking, desolate land,

trees bearing fruit that never ripens,

and a pillar of salt—a monument to Lot’s unbelieving wife.

⁸By forsaking wisdom,

the people of those cities failed to recognize good things.

But they also left us a memorial to their foolish actions,

so that their failures would always be remembered.

⁹Yet wisdom rescued those who served her.

¹⁰When Jacob, a righteous man, fled from his brother’s anger,

Wisdom guided him well.

She showed him the kingdom of God

and gave him knowledge of holy things.

She made him successful in his work

and blessed him for his efforts.

¹¹While others tried to defraud him,

wisdom stood by him and made him wealthy.

¹²She kept him safe from his enemies

and defended him from those who wanted to ambush him.

In his difficult fight she gave him victory,

so that he might know that godliness is more powerful than anything.

¹³Wisdom did not forsake Joseph, a righteous man, when he was sold

but delivered him from sin.

¹⁴She went with him down into the dungeon

and did not abandon him in prison.

In time, she made him the ruler of a kingdom

and gave him authority over those who oppressed him.

Then she exposed his accusers as liars

and gave him everlasting honor.

Wisdom Rescued the Israelites

¹⁵Wisdom rescued the Israelites, a holy and blameless people,

from the nations that oppressed them.

¹⁶She entered the soul of Moses, a servant of the Lord,

and resisted dreaded kings with wonders and signs.

¹⁷She rewarded the holy people for their work

and guided them on an amazing journey.

She was a shelter for them by day

and a starry beacon in the night.

¹⁸She brought them through the Red Sea

and led them through deep waters.

¹⁹But she drowned their enemies

and cast them up from the watery depths.

²⁰Therefore the righteous plundered the wicked.

They sang hymns to your holy name, O Lord,

and together they praised your victorious hand.

²¹For wisdom opened the mouths of the mute

and made the tongues of infants eloquent.